Often mistaken for supermodel Gigi Hadid, Eric Canfield is an actor, writer, comedian and singer from Thomaston, Connecticut. As a whimsical and unmedicated six year old, Eric was inspired to perform, entranced by shows like The Doodlebops, The Wiggles, and 1985 sitcom The Golden Girls. Quickly growing up in a household with an epileptic father and frequently working mother, Eric was captivated by the joy, escape, and hilarious honesty storytelling could bring to a life that felt so serious; even if it was four middle aged women talking about sex after menopause. A childhood immersed in musical theatre and acting classes quickly followed, leading him to pursue theatre professionally.

And so, after a long and public affair with Ian McKellen, Eric found himself at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts earning a BFA in Acting. These four years sparked a new love of writing and comedy-specific work for Eric, who had always assumed you had to be a micro-aggresive straight man to do stand up.

Now, soon graduating from UNCSA, Eric has grown into an authentic, versatile artist who fits into many genres and styles. Influenced specifically by comic actors like John Early, and writers like Christopher Durang, he is most interested in creating work that looks at life’s darkest tragedies and says: honestly, that’s a little funny.

Eric spent this past summer onstage in a reading at FRIGID New York’s Queerly Festival, and at Playhouse on Park’s Playwrights Lab, workshopping his newest play. Last seen at UNCSA in Twelfth Night as Sir Toby Belch, and Dance Nation as Dance Teacher Pat, you can catch Eric this fall as Edward the Second in Brecht’s Edward the Second, Jules in boom, and this coming spring as Old Prince Bolkonsky in Natasha, Pierre, and The Great Comet of 1812.