Derek Klena

Klena was born in San Dimas, California. He grew up with his two younger siblings in West Covina, California, outside of Los Angeles, where he attended South Hills High School. His brother, Dillon, is also an actor.

He attended the University of California, Los Angeles where he initially studied theater but switched his major to psychology. His freshman year he played baseball before seriously pursuing acting and auditioning. From 2009 to 2011, he took part in regional Southern California theater. He participated in American Idol's ninth season. Around 2010, Klena was invited to audition as a standby for Aaron Tveit in the Broadway musical Catch Me If You Can after show producer Marc Shaiman contacted Klena regarding a cover he did of its song "Goodbye" at a Los Angeles cabaret show. He did not get cast but was subsequently invited to audition for the workshop of Carrie. He took a leave of absence at UCLA in his junior year to take part in the 2012 Off-Broadway revival of Carrie.

He originated the role of Eddie Birdlace in the stage adaptation of Dogfight. In 2013, he played Fiyero in the 10th anniversary company of Wicked on Broadway. Subsequently, he played son Michael Johnson in the original Broadway musical The Bridges of Madison County.

In 2014, he was cast in the pre-Broadway musical adaptation of the 1982 film Diner at the Signature Theatre in Virginia. Adapted by original screenwriter Barry Levinson and with music by Sheryl Crow, the musical originally planned to open on Broadway but did not transfer.

In 2016, he was cast to star as Dmitry in the original production of Anastasia, the stage musical adaptation of the animated film of the same name. Premiering in Hartford, Connecticut, in March 2016, it opened on Broadway in April 2017. After a year with the production, he left to take part in the original Cambridge, Massachusetts, production of Jagged Little Pill, a musical based on the music of Alanis Morissette. The Broadway production opened in December 2019. Klena was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his portrayal of Nick Healy. The show went on hiatus in March 2020 and reopened in October 2021 but closed a few months later due to the Omicron surge in New York City.

In May 2022, he replaced Aaron Tveit as Christian in Moulin Rouge! on Broadway. He left the cast in January 2023 and returned in April that same year for three months. In February 2023, he starred as Joe Gillis opposite Stephanie J. Block as Norma in Sunset Boulevard at the Kennedy Center. On 8 January 2024, it was announced Klena would return to Moulin Rouge! on 6 February replacing Casey Cott. He left the cast on 21 July.

He resides in New York City. Klena married his longtime girlfriend Elycia Scriven in 2018. In April 2022, Klena and his wife announced that they were expecting their first child. The couple welcomed a son, Dax Arthur Klena, on September 8, 2022.