Robert Manion (born December 29, 1993) is an Australian actor, singer and performer based in Los Angeles. He is best known for his work with American musical theatre company Team StarKid.
Early Life and Education[]
Robert grew up in Tasmania, Australia[1] and spent a year living in Japan in 1999. He studied screen acting in Los Angeles and visited America frequently.
Work[]
Robert has featured in a number of theatrical productions appearing as Moritz Stiefel in Spring Awakening, Max Bialystock in The Producers as well as appearing as multiple characters in Stranger Things 2: A New Musical Parody at the Hollywood Fringe Festival.
He has also had a number of on-screen appearances such as appearing as Jason in the short film, Promising, Michael Whitaker in A Step in the Right Direction, Jamie in the short film Help Yourself to Some Self-Help and as Neal 2 in the Quibi TV show Royalties.
Robert has also featured in a number of YouTube productions such as the narrator in BB8: Behind the Circuits, Brenda in the Hogwarts Moms and has appeared in a number of HISHE videos. Robert also has a successful YouTube channel of his own with popular videos including Disney Mean Girls and What If Elsa Was the Villain of Frozen. Over the COVID-19 pandemic, Robert and a number of other members of Team StarKid, did some live readings of the movies Scream, Hocus Pocus and The Addams Family Values.
Starkid Productions[]
Robert first came into contact with StarKid via their songwriting contest for A Very Potter Senior Year. He wrote a song called The Wizard Duel which won the competition and was due to appear in the musical, but, due to rehearsal constraints, the song was not used. Robert was invited to join StarKid at the Leakycon Q&A panel to present his song. Robert was later invited to fill in for Dylan Saunders at a performance by Jim and the Povolos at Beast Kitchen.
Robert remained in contact with the members of Team StarKid and was approached about appearing in Twisted: The Untold Story of a Royal Vizier. Robert made his StarKid debut in the show, appearing as the characters Abdul, Baful and Gaston, among others. Robert then later joined StarKid as the Production Assistant for Firebringer.
Robert has since appeared in three Hatchetfield productions: The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals, Black Friday and Nightmare Time, most notably as the characters of Professor Hidgens and Ethan Green. Robert was to appear in Nightmare Time 2 but was removed due to him admitting to sexual harassment.
| Year | Production | Creative Role | Acting Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Twisted: The Untold Story of a Royal Vizier | N/A | Baful |
| Abdul | |||
| Gaston | |||
| Ensemble | |||
| 2016 | Firebringer | Production Assistant | N/A |
| 2018 | The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals | N/A | Professor Hidgens |
| Peter Spankoffski | |||
| Ensemble | |||
| 2019 | Black Friday | N/A | Ethan Green |
| Chris Kringle | |||
| Ensemble | |||
| 2020 | Nightmare Time | N/A | Professor Hidgens |
| Ethan Green | |||
| Tony Green | |||
| Ensemble |
Awards[]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | BroadwayWorld Los Angeles Awards | Featured Actor in a Musical - Local | The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals | Won |
Personal Life[]
Robert currently lives in Los Angeles. On June 10, 2020, Robert publicly came out as bisexual[2].
Controversy[]
On September 23, 2021, Robert posted an Instagram story admitting to sending his colleague unsolicited messages and making sexual remarks, leading to major backlash from the fandom. He later posted an additional explanation of the situation and stated that the original story was posted consensually as a way to resolve the subject with his colleague. Team Starkid issued a statement as well, after consulting with an HR professional, saying that Robert would not be participating in Nightmare Time Season 2, so he could work on bettering himself and rebuilding trust with his colleagues. Robert did not return for Nerdy Prudes Must Die and his role was given to Joey Richter.
Trivia[]
- For a long time, Robert was the youngest person to appear in a StarKid show, appearing in Twisted at 19. This record was since beaten by Kendall Nicole.