Ramin Karimloo

Best-known for his long-running West End affiliation with "The Phantom of the Opera," musical theater performer Ramin Karimloo also enjoyed Broadway success with a Tony-nominated turn as Jean Valjean in "Les Miserables." Born in Tehran, Iran in 1978 but largely raised in Ontario, Canada, Karimloo made it his ambition to star as The Phantom after falling in love with the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical on a high school class trip. After stints in various rock bands, cruise ship shows and local theatre projects, he moved to England where he played Aladdin in pantomime, joined the UK national tours of "The Pirates of Penzance" and "Sunset Boulevard," and made his screen debut in short film "Flipside" (2001). Karimloo appeared on the West End stage for the first time when he was cast as Feuilly in "Les Miserables" in 2002 and a year later got a little closer to his dream when he played Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny in "The Phantom of the Opera." He also appeared as Gustave Daae in Joel Schumacher's 2004 big-screen adaptation, before returning to "Les Miserables" in the role of Enjolras and enjoying a brief stint in the UK national tour of "Miss Saigon." Karimloo fulfilled his ambition in 2007 when he was cast as The Phantom, and having made the role his own he was then asked to play the same character in the much-anticipated sequel, "Love Never Dies." Although the production was widely regarded as a disappointment, Karimloo's performance received much more favorable reviews, and following its West End closure he moved straight into the lead role of Jean Valjean in "Les Miserables" at London's Queen's Theatre. Following a one-off appearance as a Scientologist in Ricky Gervais' mockumentary "Life's Too Short" (BBC Two, 2011-13) he released his self-titled debut album, a largely contemporary pop-rock affair which peaked at No.16 in the UK. Karimloo then enjoyed his first recurring TV gig as Costas in sitcom "The Spa" (Sky Living, 2013), and showed up in Danny Dyer vehicle "Vendetta" (2013) before returning to the role of Jean Valjean in Toronto and Broadway productions of "Les Miserables," picking up a Tony Award nomination for his performance in the latter. In 2015 he starred in the Tokyo opening of "Prince of Broadway" and guested as a professor on police procedural "Blue Bloods" (CBS, 2010-), while a year later he added "The Secret Garden," "Evita" and "Murder Ballad" to his list of stage credits. Following a supporting turn in thirty-something drama "Cleveland "(2016), Karimloo was cast as General Gleb Vagonov in "Anastasia," the Broadway musical adaptation of the 1997 same-named animated movie.