Admiring friends have nicknamed Jos N. Banks “Fearless Joe” for his drive, work ethic and rejection of labels. He describes himself as “a true Jos of all trades” and a renaissance man with an insatiable hunger for life and learning.
Banks’s resumé backs up that description. Where others might occasionally color outside the lines, Banks refuses to acknowledge that there are lines. The Chicago native (now a resident of New Jersey) is equal parts actor, singer, costume designer, stylist, director, creative director and teaching artist.
The arts have always consumed Banks. Inspired by his illustrator mother, he was receiving national recognition and winning awards as a sketch artist and painter by the time he entered high school. Then his world opened up.
Says Banks: “It actually wasn’t until halfway through high school that I even discovered our theater program, which fundamentally opened my eyes to a world of possibility—and I’ve never looked back.”
In 2011, Banks took the lead role in Rise Against’s iconic “Make It Stop (September’s Children)” video, which supported the LGBTQ+ community in its fight against bullying and teen suicide. Six years later, he was cast as the drag-queen protagonist Lola in an international tour of the Tony Award-winning Kinky Boots.
In 2023, Banks reprised the role of Lola in a sold-out Orlando Shakes production of the musical. Last February, he served as costume designer for the Shakes’s Cabaret. Now he’s collaborating with the company in its production of Fat Ham, billed as a “Southern-fried take on Hamlet” that explores identity, pain and loss with a comedic flair.
This project is “the first time I’m donning both hats as a performer and costume designer on the same production,” says Banks. “I’ll be the first artist in the history of Fat Ham to both design and perform in a production at the same time.”
Banks will tap into his vulnerability—once the subject of mocking, now claimed as a superpower—in his role as Larry, the modern-day parallel to Shakespeare’s Laertes. “I cannot wait to explore Larry’s world and bring that soundness and heart to the role.”
Orlando Shakes will present Fat Ham from March 4 to 29 in the Orlando Shakespeare Theater, 812 East Rollins Street, Orlando, in Loch Haven Cultural Park. Because the show is an adult-themed dark comedy, parents or guardians must accompany minors. Children younger than 5 will not be admitted. For tickets or more information, visit orlandoshakes.org, or call 407.447.1700.
