Mike Faist

Michael David Faist ( FEIST; born January 5, 1992) is an American actor. His accolades include a Grammy Award and a Daytime Emmy Award, as well as nominations for a Tony Award and a BAFTA Award.

An alumnus of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, Faist began his acting career in 2011 in Disney's Newsies, appearing in its Broadway production (2012–2013). He continued to appear in several independent films, television series and starring in Off-Broadway productions before his breakthrough role in the Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen (2015–2018), for which he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical and won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.

In 2021, Faist starred in the television series Panic and had his first major film part as Riff, the leader of the Jets, in Steven Spielberg's West Side Story, for which he received a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. He has since played Jack Twist in a West End theatre production of Brokeback Mountain (2023) and starred in the heated romance Challengers (2024). In 2026, Faist starred as Charles Trask in the Netflix miniseries East of Eden.