In 2019, Fontana won the Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards for his lead performance as Michael Dorsey in the stage adaptation of Tootsie.

[3] In addition to his stage and TV work, Fontana voiced Prince Hans in Disney's 2013 animated film Frozen.

[1] Highly regarded for his stage work, which includes 10 Broadway credits, Fontana has performed in a vast number of roles during his career.

The Washington Post wrote, "Fontana is a find as Stanley, immensely likable and thoroughly convincing in the character's struggle between his selfish impulses and his fiscal obligations to the family.

Fontana received rave reviews, with Entertainment Weekly writing, "Kudos especially to the ever-versatile Fontana-best known on Broadway as the angry older brother in Billy Elliot- as the "ostentatiously eligible" Algernon, who gets the bulk of Wilde's ridiculously clever bons mots.

"[6] Fontana received his first Tony nomination with his portrayal of Prince Topher in the 2013 production of Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella opposite Laura Osnes.

Scott Brown of Vulture commended his performance, stating, "Santino Fontana...firmly establishes himself as an indispensable stage star.

The role he plays here, Joseph Douayhii- a young man dealing with an older man's pain, spiritually, physically psychologically, and perhaps psychosomatically- couldn't be more different than his buoyant, impish Algernon Moncrieff, yet both parts display Fontana's impressive gifts: his flawless timing, his jeweler's eye for the emotional cruxes of every exchange, his comfort with discomfort.

Fontana is a reliably wonderful actor, but his performance as the good-hearted troubled Eliot Rosewater is masterful– quite simply, this is the best I've ever seen him.

He appeared in Sisters (2015) opposite Tina Fey and Amy Poehler and starred in Lost & Found in Cleveland (2023), currently in post-production.

His independent film work includes the romantic comedy Off The Menu (2018), the psychological thriller Impossible Monsters (2019), Brenda & Billy and The Pothos Plant (2023), Stalking The Boogeyman (2023), and the comedy Papercop in 2018, for which he won the Best Actor Award at the Williamsburg International Independent Film Festival.

He has appeared with the New York Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra, at the American Songbook Series at Lincoln Center, and Birdland Jazz Club, among many others.

[17] In addition to Fontana's extensive work as an actor, he is also heard on many notable audiobook recordings including Stephen King's The Institute, where he won an Audie Award for his performance.