Skipped college to pursue an acting career in NYC

Professional acting debut in the play "Jerz"

Changed first name from Joe to Nathan after portraying Nathan Detroit in a NYC production of "Guys and Dolls"

Moved to Los Angeles with friend Patrick Stack; formed the comedy team Stack and Lane

Made TV acting debut in Jacqueline Susann's "Valley of the Dolls" (CBS)

Moved back to NYC

Broadway debut in a revival of Noel Coward's "Present Laughter"

TV series debut as a regular on NBC's "One of the Boys" starring Mickey Rooney and Dana Carvey

Made second Broadway appearance as the dimwitted Prince Fergus in the musical "Merlin"

Feature acting debut, "Ironweed" starring Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep

Played Stanley in the national tour of Neil Simon's "Broadway Bound"

Starred in Jon Robin Baitz's play, "The Film Society" as a mild-mannered yet ruthless South African schoolteacher

First big stage hit, playing a gay Maria Callas obsessive in Terrence McNally's "The Lisbon Traviata"

Acted in revival of Terrence McNally's "Bad Habits"

Re-teamed with McNally for the Off-Broadway hit "Lips Together, Teeth Apart"

Acted in the film adaptation of McNally's play "Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune"; McNally wrote the part of Michelle Pfeiffer's gay neighbor specifically for him

Portrayed Death in the Broadway revival of "On Borrowed Time"

Starred as Nathan Detroit in the Broadway revival of "Guys and Dolls"; earned a Tony nomination for Lead Actor; first stage teaming with Ernie Sabella (who played Harry the Horse)

Had a cameo role in "Addams Family Values"

Portrayed Sid Caesar-like Max Prince on Broadway in Neil Simon's "Laughter on the 23rd Floor"

Offered an excellent turn as a caustic witted gay man coping with HIV and looking for love in McNally's Tony-winning "Love! Valour! Compassion!"; became estranged from McNally when he dropped out of the film version citing "scheduling conflicts"

Provided character voice for Timon the meerkat in Disney's "The Lion King"

Had hilarious cameo as a musical comedy loving priest in "Jeffrey"

Reprised vocals for Timon in the CBS animated series "The Lion King's Timon and Pumbaa"; also voiced Timon for the straight-to-video "The Lion King II: Simba's Pride" (1998)

Played the Cowardly Lion in the TNT production of "The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Comes True"

First starring role, "The Birdcage"; playing Albert in Mike Nichols' US adaptation of "La Cage aux Folles"

Returned to Broadway as lead in revival of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum"

Starred as one of a pair of brothers who become the hapless victims of a rodent in "Mouse Hunt"

Featured in Jon Robin Baitz's Off-Broadway play "Mizlansky/Zilinsky, or the Schmucks"

Cast as an opera singer who returns to his family's California winery in the NBC sitcom "Encore! Encore!"

In interview with Bruce Villanch in The Advocate, officially "came out" as a homosexual

Voiced Snowbell, the fluffy white Persian cat, in the commercial blockbuster "Stuart Little"

Co-starred with Bette Midler in "Isn't She Great," a biopic of author Jacqueline Susann scripted by Paul Rudnick

Portrayed the clown Costard in Kenneth Brannagh's film version of "Love's Labour's Lost"

Provided the voice of Spot, a talking canine in the animated Disney series, "Teacher's Pet" (ABC)

Starred in the Roundabout revival of "The Man Who Came to Dinner"

Reprised role of Max Prince in the Showtime airing of Neil Simon's "Laughter on the 23rd Floor"

Starred alongside Matthew Broderick in the stage musical adaptation of "The Producers"; played the role of Max Bialystock (originated in the film by Zero Mostel); picked up second Tony Award

Reprised the voice of the cat Snowbell in the sequel "Stuart Little 2"

Revisied his role as Max Bialystock on Broadway in "The Producers"

Agagin voiced Spot in "Disney's Teacher's Pet: The Movie"

Portrayed Josh Duhamel's agent, Richard Levy in "Win A Date With Tad Hamilton"

Re-teamed with Broderick to play Oscar and Felix in the Broadway revival of "The Odd Couple"; directed by Joe Mantello

Reprised the role of Max Bialystock in the film version of "The Producers"; earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor

Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (January)

Starred on Broadway in the title role of Simon Gray's "Butley"

Cast as an incumbent U.S. President in the Broadway production of David Mamet's "November"

Played a Democratic campaign manager in the comedy "Swing Vote"

Co-starred in Roundabout Theatre Company's Broadway revival of Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot"

Will co-star with Bebe Neuwirth in "The Addams Family" at Broadway's Lunt-Fontanne Theatre (2010)