Who

The rotund star of stage and screen is probably best known for his performance as Max Bialystock in the mega-musical The Producers.

Backstory

Born in Jersey City, Lane had it rough as a kid: His alcoholic father died when he was young, his mother suffered from mental illness, and he was raised by his older brother. After a brief stint at college, Lane moved to New York to pursue acting, changing his first name from Joseph to Nathan when he registered with the acting union (a nod to the character Nathan Detroit from Guys & Dolls, a role he later played on Broadway). His first off-Broadway performance was in 1972's Jerz; although the production was small, it quickly led to bigger roles in Waiting for Godot, Fiddler on the Roof, and Moon over Miami. Lane made it to Broadway with 1982's Present Laughter, which he followed up with 1983's Merlin; inside of a decade, he was headlining big-time musicals like Guys and Dolls. He started taking the occasional movie role in the early '90s, playing Michael J. Fox's character's brother in Life with Mikey and Robin Williams's character's queeny partner in The Birdcage.

Despite his varied resume, Lane's tombstone will probably lead with his 2001/2002 turn as Max Bialystock in Mel Brooks's Broadway cash machine The Producers. In 2004, Lane and Matthew Broderick reprised their roles in the show for three months (earning $100,000 a week), although the 2005 film version sunk at the box office. Post-Producers, Lane has had two big stage roles. He starred in a Broadway revival of The Odd Couple opposite Broderick in 2005 and 2006; the limited run show made a formidable $21 million in advance sales, but was detested by critics and quickly faded into the shadows. In 2008, he graced Broadway anew in David Mamet's mediocre political comedy November.

Vice

Like his father, Lane has struggled with the bottle. He says he was an alcoholic for years before finally entering rehab and sobering up. He now donates to alcohol and drug rehabilitation centers like the Caron Foundation in Manhattan.

The look

At 5'7", the generously proportioned Lane almost always dresses all in black, which he says helps conceal the weight.

Personal

Lane didn't publicly address his sexuality until the death of Matthew Shepard prompted him to come out. (Members of the gay community still criticized him for waiting too long, even though his sexuality was the worst kept secret in Hollywood.) Lane now alludes to an on-again-off-again relationship with an actor in LA. "I'm still the fat kid from high school who never had a date," Lane has said. In 1999, he ditched his Upper West Side apartment and paid $1.6 million for a Moore Street triplex.