Ramin Karimloo

Ramin Karimloo (Persian: رامین کریملو; /rəˈmiːn ˈkærɪmlu/; born September 19, 1978) is a Canadian actor, singer and composer recognized for his work in London's West End and Broadway theatre. He has played the leading male roles in both of the West End's longest running musicals: the Phantom and Raoul in The Phantom of the Opera, as well as Jean Valjean, Enjolras, and Marius Pontmercy in Les Misérables. He also originated the roles of Gleb in Anastasia and the Phantom in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Love Never Dies, which continues the story of Phantom. He's also known to many Phantom fans for playing the role of the Phantom during The Phantom of the Opera 25th Anniversary Performance at the Royal Albert Hall, which was shown live in movie theaters around the world in October 2011, appearing opposite Sierra Boggess and Hadley Fraser as Christine Daaé and Raoul de Chagny, respectively. He made his Broadway debut as Jean Valjean in the 2014 Broadway revival of Les Misérables, for which he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. He can also be heard as Stavros in As The Curtain Rises, Broadway's first original podcast soap opera. When Ramin Karimloo was a baby, his family fled Iran because his father was in the Imperial Guard of the Shah during the revolution. They fled to Italy, where they stayed until they moved to Canada. As a 12-year-old living in Canada, Karimloo decided to become a performer. His inspiration was Colm Wilkinson, who was performing the title role in the Canadian production of The Phantom of the Opera in Toronto at the time. Karimloo fell in love with Phantom and hoped he would one day perform the title role. He moved to Richmond Hill from Peterborough and attended Alexander Mackenzie High School.[citation needed]