| Ramin Karimloo | |
| Native Name Lang: | fa |
| Birth Date: | 19 September 1978 |
| Birth Place: | Tehran, Imperial State of Iran |
| Years Active: | 2001–present |
| Spouse: | Amanda Ramsden |
| Children: | 2 |
Ramin Karimloo (;[1] Persian: رامین کریملو|italic=no; born 19 September 1978[2] [3]) is a Canadian actor, singer and songwriter recognized for his work in London's West End and New York's Broadway theatre.
He has played the leading male roles in both of the West End's longest running musicals: The Phantom and Raoul de Chagny in The Phantom of the Opera, as well as Jean Valjean, Enjolras, and Marius Pontmercy in Les Misérables. He also originated the leading roles of Gleb Vaganov in Anastasia, a stage adaptation of the 1997 animated film of the same name, Nick Arnstein in the Broadway revival of Funny Girl, and The Phantom in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Love Never Dies, which continues the story of Phantom. He is also known for his many portrayals of Anatoly Sergievsky in the musical Chess. He first played the role at the Kennedy Center in 2018, followed by a 2020 Japan tour and a Broadway concert in 2022. He’s set to return to Broadway in 2025 as the Pirate King in a revival of The Pirates of Penzance.
He is 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 also appeared in reprising the role of Enjolras in October 2010. In early 2011 it was streamed on PBS and released on DVD and Blu-ray.
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.[4] He can also be heard as Stavros in As The Curtain Rises, Broadway's first original podcast soap opera.[5]
After moving to the United Kingdom, Karimloo's first role was in a pantomime of Aladdin in Chatham, in which he played the title role. He joined the UK national tour of The Pirates of Penzance playing the role of a police officer, as well as understudying the Pirate King in 2001.
In 2002 he took the role of the Pirate King in Bath, England. During this year Karimloo joined the national tour of Sunset Boulevard, playing Artie Green and covering the role of Joe Gillis.
Karimloo made his West End debut in Les Miserables where he played Feuilly and understudied the roles of Marius Pontmercy and Enjolras. He later returned to the production in 2004 as the full-time Enjolras.
In 2003, Karimloo took on the role of Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny and three years later was the standby for the Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera. His final matinee performance as Raoul was filmed for use on a behind-the-scenes feature on the DVD of Joel Schumacher's film adaptation of the musical, in which he also appeared in a cameo role as Gustave Daaé.
Karimloo appeared in two concerts: one of Les Misérables, as Marius Pontmercy, and one of Jesus Christ Superstar, as Simon Zealotes, and a featured singer in "Superstar". In 2004, he returned to Les Misérables to the role of Enjolras. That December, he appeared in a concert of Les Misérables at Windsor Castle in honor of the French president Jacques Chirac.
In June 2005, Karimloo joined the UK national tour of Miss Saigon, playing the role of Christopher Scott.
Karimloo started appearing in the West End production of The Phantom of the Opera as the Phantom in September 2007. The role earned him a Theatregoers' Choice Award nomination for Best Actor in a Take Over Role, he played the role from September 2007 to November 2009.
Karimloo released an EP, Within the Six Square Inch, on which he duets with Hadley Fraser and Sophia Ragavelas, with both of whom he had already appeared in Les Misérables, as Marius Pontmercy and Éponine Thenardier.
In July 2008, Karimloo participated in the Sydmonton Festival and was the first actor to play the Phantom in the workshop presentation of Love Never Dies. It was the first act to the sequel of The Phantom of the Opera. He played the role alongside Sierra Boggess when the sequel opened in London in March 2010.
In 2008, Karimloo recorded the song "I Only Wish for You" with Shona Lindsay and Dianne Pilkington for the album Songs from the Musicals of Alexander S. Bermange, an album of 20 new recordings by 26 West End stars, released in November 2008 on Dress Circle Records.[6]
In 2009, Karimloo participated in the recording of new musical album called Bluebird, by Gareth Peter Dicks. Bluebird is a dramatic World War II musical, in which he played American serviceman Ben Breagan. The 24-track album was released in four countries in September 2009.[7] Karimloo's last regular performance in The Phantom of the Opera was on November 7, 2009.
In 2010, he moved on to playing the Phantom in Andrew Lloyd Webber's sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, Love Never Dies, alongside Sierra Boggess, performing the role until the show closed on August 27, 2011.
On October 3, 2010, Karimloo played the role of Enjolras in the 25th anniversary concert of Les Misérables at The O2 Arena in London.
In 2011, he sang Andrew Lloyd Webber's "The Music of the Night" from The Phantom of the Opera at the Miss World Competition, which took place in London.
On October 1 and 2, 2011, he and Boggess reunited as the Phantom and Christine Daaé and played opposite Hadley Fraser as Raoul for the 25th anniversary production of The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall, which was streamed live to cinemas worldwide.
From November 29, 2011, to March 31, 2012, Karimloo returned to Les Misérables to play the lead role of Jean Valjean opposite Fraser as Javert at The Queen's Theatre, London, for which he won the 2013 Theatregoers' Choice Award for Best Takeover in a Role.[8]
In 2011, Karimloo had a guest appearance in Warwick Davis's BBC2 comedy Life's Too Short as a Scientologist. He has also had a recurring role in The Spa (TV series) on Sky in the United Kingdom.
As part of the 25th anniversary of The Phantom of the Opera, Karimloo performed the title song at The Royal Variety Performance – held in The Lowry, Manchester. Performing alongside Pussycat Dolls' lead singer Nicole Scherzinger, he was joined by three other former Phantoms (Simon Bowman, Earl Carpenter and John Owen-Jones). The performance was aired on ITV1 on December 14, 2011.[9]
Karimloo can also be found on The Music Box album as a hidden track. The song is from the musical Bluebird by Gareth Peter Dicks and is a short acoustic version of a track from the album of the same name. His solo album, Ramin, was released by Sony Music Entertainment on April 9, 2012, in the UK. The album was released in Canada and the US in August 2012.
On January 26, 2013, Karimloo joined John Owen-Jones, Peter Joback, and Hugh Panaro to sing the title song from The Phantom of the Opera with Sierra Boggess and "The Music of the Night" for the encore of Phantom 25th anniversary on Broadway.
He also played a small role in the action film Vendetta.
Karimloo then played Jean Valjean in the Canadian production of the newly staged Les Misérables, which opened in September 2013.[10]
He returned to the role of Valjean in the 2014 Broadway revival of Les Misérables, making his Broadway debut,[4] and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. He concluded his run on August 30, 2015, and was replaced by Alfie Boe, who portrayed Valjean in the 25th Anniversary concert.
On 16 February 2015, he played Tom Watson in Parade at Lincoln Center opposite Jeremy Jordan, Joshua Henry, Laura Benanti, and Davis Gaines.[11]
On May 29, 2015, it was announced that Karimloo would be leading the musical Prince of Broadway that features songs from all of Harold Prince's famous musicals in Japan. Rehearsals began in September in New York.
On September 25, 2015, he played the role of Barry Hamidi in the sixth-season premiere episode of the CBS police procedural drama Blue Bloods.
In February 2016, Karimloo reunited with Boggess for the Manhattan Concert Productions' staging of The Secret Garden. Also starring opposite Cheyenne Jackson and Sydney Lucas.[12]
In April of the same year, he played Ché in the Vancouver Opera's production of Evita, with John Cudia as Juan Peron. His run lasted until May 8, 2016.
From September 30 until December 3, he starred as Tom in Murder Ballad at the Arts Theatre in London.
On September 22, 2016, it was announced Karimloo would return to Broadway in the stage musical adaptation of the film Anastasia as General Gleb Vaganov. The show began previews March 23, 2017 and opened April 24, 2017 at Broadway's Broadhurst Theatre.[13] His final performance in Anastasia was on December 3, 2017.[14]
Karimloo took part in the Kennedy Center performance of Chess as Anatoly, which took place February 14 through the 18th, 2018. He starred opposite Raul Esparza, Karen Olivo, and Ruthie Ann Miles.[15]
He was in the Broadway Classics in Concert at Carnegie Hall alongside Sierra Boggess, Laura Osnes, Norm Lewis, Lea Salonga, Ryan Silverman, Tony Yazbeck, Michael Arden, Carolee Carmello, Allan Corduner, Nikki Renêe Daniels and Quentin Earl Darrington.[16]
Karimloo took part in the Toronto Symphony on April 10, 11 and 12, 2018 at Roy Thomson Hall alongside Stephanie J. Block.
He reprised the role of the Phantom in May 2018 in a series of The Phantom of the Opera concerts held at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Seoul, Korea alongside Anna O'Byrne as Christine, as part of the celebration for Andrew Lloyd Webber's 70th birthday. He also performed in Gold Coast, Australia June 16, 2018, Melbourne, Australia June 20, 2018, and in Sydney, Australia on June 23, 2018, again alongside O'Byrne,[17] followed by a special run of Evita in Tokyo, Japan from July 4 to the 29, 2018 at Theatre Orb, where he reprised the role of Che.[18]
On September 13, 2019, the BBC cast him as consultant cardiothoracic surgeon Kian Madani, the rival of Jac Naylor in Holby City.[19]
On September 1, 2019, he played the lead role Yurii Zhivago in the concert production of musical Doctor Zhivago, with his costar Celinde Schoenmaker as Lara. The show was the UK premiere of Doctor Zhivago and only performed twice at Cadogan Hall.[20] [21]
In January 2020, he reprised his role of Anatoly opposite Samantha Barks as Florence in a Japan tour of Chess.[22]
In summer 2021, he starred as Joe Gillis an Off-West End concert of Sunset Boulevard. In December that same year he reprised the role at the Royal Albert Hall.[23] [24]
On October 6, 2021, it was announced that Karimloo would be returning to Broadway as Nick Arnstein in the Broadway revival of Funny Girl, alongside Jane Lynch, Jared Grimes, and Beanie Feldstein and was directed by Micheal Mayer. It started previews on March 26, 2022, and officially opened on April 24, 2022, at the August Wilson Theatre.[25] He stayed with the show through its closing in September 2023 where he starred opposite Lea Michele as Fanny Brice.[26]
In October 2022, Karimloo played the Pirate King in a Broadway concert of The Pirates of Penzance at the American Airlines Theatre.[27] In December 2022, he reprised his role of Anatoly Sergievsky in a Broadway benefit concert of Chess opposite Darren Criss, Lena Hall, and Solea Pfeiffer at the Broadhurst Theatre.[28]
He reprised his role of Yurii Zhivago in a concert production of the musical Doctor Zhivago, opposite Celinde Schoenmaker as Lara at the London Palladium on May 7, 2023.[29]
On February 27, 2023, it was announced that Karimloo would reprise his role of the Phantom in the Italy premiere of The Phantom of the Opera. He starred opposite Bradley Jaden as Raoul, Earl Carpenter as Monsieur André, and Amelia Milo as Christine. Performances began on July 4, 2023 at the Politeama Rossetti in Trieste, Italy. This same production toured to Milan in October 2023 and Monaco in December 2023.[30]
On October 31, 2023, it was announced Karimloo would play Gomez Addams in the musical The Addams Family live in concert at the London Palladium in February 2024. This would be the West End premiere of the show.[31]
In March 2024, Karimloo made his operatic debut in Songbird, playing the title role at the Kennedy Center as part of the Washington National Opera. In June 2024, he made his Encores! debut in Titanic as Frederick Barrett at New York City Center.
On 4 June 2024, it was announced that Dirty Rotten Scoundrels would return to the West End for a concert run at the London Palladium on 24 November 2024, marking 20 years since the show premiered. Karimloo is set to star as Freddy Benson opposite Hadley Fraser as Lawrence Jamieson.[32]
In July 2024, he performed both broadway and folk songs at Broadway by the Boardwalk, a free summer concert series by the Hudson River.[33]
In April 2025, he is set to return to Broadway in a revival of The Pirates of Penzance as the Pirate King at the Todd Haimes Theatre.[34]
Karimloo and his wife Amanda Ramsden have two sons.[35]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Flipside | Paul | Short film | |
| 2004 | data-sort-value="Phantom of the Opera, The" | The Phantom of the Opera | Gustave Daaé | Cameo |
| 2010 | Enjolras | Filmed concert | ||
| 2011 | data-sort-value="Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall, The" | The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall | The Phantom | Filmed concert |
| 2012 | data-sort-value="Rain, The" | The Rain | Sam | Short film |
| 2013 | Vendetta | New York Thug | ||
| 2018 | Nativity Rocks! | Doru's Dad | ||
| 2022 | Tomorrow Morning | Bill/Will | [40] | |
| 2023 | Bound[41] | Owais | Indie Film |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Life's Too Short | Scientologist | Episode 5 | |
| 2013 | data-sort-value="Spa, The" | The Spa | Costas | 4 episodes |
| 2015 | Blue Bloods | Barry Hamidi | Episode: "Worst Case Scenario" | |
| 2019–2021 | Holby City | Kian Madani | Main role, 68 episodes |
Karimloo co-wrote the song "Why Am I Falling" with composers Daniel and Laura Curtis for the BBC Children in Need 2013 appeal.
In March 2014, he released the EP The Road to Find Out: East, including the tracks "Oh, What A Beautiful Morning" from the musical Oklahoma!; "Losing", which he and Hadley Fraser wrote for their band, Sheytoons; "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" from the musical Les Misérables; and "Broken", another song written by Karimloo and Fraser for Sheytoons.
In 2016, Karimloo released his second EP, The Road to Find Out: South, including the tracks "Wings", which he co-wrote with Fraser; "Traveller's Eyes", a song he wrote with his other band, The Broadgrass Band; "Edelweiss" from the musical The Sound of Music; "Letting the Last One Go", another song he wrote for The Broadgrass Band; and "Old Man River" from the musical Show Boat. He went on a UK tour, Lead Me Home, to promote the EP from January 12 to 29, 2017.
In 2022, Ramin released his third EP, "The Road to Find Out: North", including the tracks"Driftwood, Music of the Night, I Vow thee to my Country, When Does it Go Away, Once UponA December and Androgynous." He went on concert performances to promote the EP.
In May 2023 Karimloo released his Fourth and final EP "The Road To Find Out: West', including the tracks "The Road To Find Out / Wild World, Feed The Birds, Solitude, Hushabye Mountain, Bring Him Home and Will The Circle Be Unbroken?" He went on concert performances to promote the EP.
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | BroadwayWorld Award | Best Leading Actor in a Musical | Love Never Dies | |
| 2011 | WhatsOnStage Awards | Best Actor in a Musical | ||
| Laurence Olivier Award | Best Actor in a Musical | |||
| 2013 | WhatsOnStage Awards | Best Takeover in a Role | Les Misérables | |
| 2014 | Tony Award | Best Actor in a Musical | ||
| Drama League Award | Distinguished Performance | |||
| Theatre World Award | ||||
| Dora Award | Outstanding Male Performance in a Musical | |||
| 2017 | WhatsOnStage Awards | Best Actor in a Musical | Murder Ballad | |
| 2022 | Broadway.com Audience Choice Awards[42] | Favorite Leading Actor in a Musical | Funny Girl | |
| BroadwayWorld New Jersey Awards | Best Performer in a Musical | The Last Match: A Pro-Wrestling Rock Musical | ||