Character guide
Kristoff
from Frozen
Kristoff is the gruff, good hearted ice harvester who helps Anna in Frozen, the 2018 Disney musical by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez.
- Show
- Frozen
- Broadway premiere
- 2018
- Role
- Supporting
- Music by
- Anderson-Lopez & Lopez
Who played Kristoff?
- On screen
- Jonathan Groff (voice), Disney's 2013 film
- Originated on Broadway
- Jelani Alladin (2018)
Kristoff: from the film to Broadway
Broadway compared with the 2013 Disney film
Kristoff's childhood is cut from the stage version. Disney's 2013 film opens with ice harvesters singing Frozen Heart and introduces Kristoff as a boy among them; the Broadway musical drops that introduction, so audiences meet him as an adult. Jonathan Groff voiced him on screen, while Jelani Alladin originated the role on Broadway in 2018 and earned a Drama Desk nomination.
On stage Kristoff keeps Reindeer(s) Are Better Than People and gains What Do You Know About Love? with Anna, Hygge, and a solo, Kristoff Lullaby. He is raised by the Hidden Folk instead of trolls, and Sven is played by a ballet dancer in a full-body reindeer costume, walking on tiptoe while holding stilts.
Who is Kristoff?
Kristoff is an ice harvester who lives on the fringes of Arendelle society, more comfortable with his loyal reindeer Sven than with people. When Anna needs help reaching Elsa in the mountains, Kristoff reluctantly agrees to guide her, and their journey together gradually turns his wariness into genuine affection.
Raised by the hidden folk, the stage version's stand-in for the film's trolls, Kristoff carries a slightly outsider perspective on both nature and human relationships, which gives him a dry, practical humor that contrasts with Anna's impulsiveness. His steady loyalty makes him Anna's true match by the story's end.
Kristoff's role in Frozen
Kristoff is a supporting role built around warm, grounded vocals rather than flashy belting, with numbers that highlight his skepticism toward people and his growing tenderness toward Anna. The role calls for an actor who can make gruffness feel charming rather than cold.
Jelani Alladin originated the role on Broadway, bringing both comic timing and sincerity to the part. Audiences remember Kristoff as the show's most level headed character, whose understated decency provides a steady counterweight to the story's more dramatic royal conflicts.
Kristoff: frequently asked questions
Who voiced Kristoff in Frozen?
Jonathan Groff voiced Kristoff in Disney's 2013 animated film. Jelani Alladin originated the role on Broadway in 2018 and earned a Drama Desk nomination.
Who is Kristoff in Frozen?
Kristoff is an ice harvester raised by the hidden folk, the Broadway musical's version of the film's trolls, and he is more comfortable with his reindeer Sven than with people. He guides Anna into the mountains and becomes her love interest by the end of the show.
What songs does Kristoff sing in Frozen?
Kristoff introduces himself in Reindeer(s) Are Better Than People, sung to Sven, and later duets with Anna in What Do You Know About Love?, a number written for the Broadway production. In Act 2 he sings Kristoff Lullaby as he realizes he is falling in love with Anna.
Is Kristoff Anna's husband in Frozen?
No. Kristoff and Anna are a couple by the end of the musical, but neither the stage show nor the original film has them married. Kristoff proposes to Anna, and she accepts, in the 2019 animated sequel Frozen II.
What show is Kristoff from?
Kristoff is a supporting character in Frozen, which opened on Broadway in 2018.
Is Kristoff a lead or supporting role?
Kristoff is a supporting role as Anna's love interest and traveling companion.
Who wrote the music for Frozen?
Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez composed the music and lyrics for Frozen.
Think you can name today's mystery character in eight guesses?
Play today's Character Guesser