When he was a kid, he made a bet with his friends that he would be the youngest Phantom. “I don’t know why I said it,” Iranian-born Canadian actor and singer, Ramin Karimloo, relates. “But I’ve been thinking of the part since I was 12 years old.”

In 2004 he became the youngest actor to play the Phantom in the Phantom of the Opera. He started as a stand-by at the age of 26, then at 27, he got the part full-time. Karimloo was born in Iran at the time when the Shah was being overthrown. His father was part of the Shah’s Imperial Guards. His family had no choice but to escape. He was only a few months old when they moved to Italy, where he spent the first three years of his life. Then, they moved to Montreal. He grew up in Canada, then lived and worked in England, and now resides in America.

After his last regular performance in The Phantom of the Opera in 2009, he went on to play the Phantom in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s sequel, Love Never Dies. In 2011 Karimloo was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical.

It was during the 25th anniversary of Les Misérables in Concert in 2010 that Karimloo felt was the turning point of his career. “I saw I was part of something big here. For once, I felt confident in my schemes,” he recalls. It was during the concert when British producer Cameron Mackintosh brought up the idea that Karimloo would be the next Jean Valjean. Mackintosh sat him down and said, “I want you to do me a favour. I want you to play Jean Valjean.” Karimloo was humbled. “For someone like him to ask, he just had so much faith in me so I just said to him, ‘You know what, how can I say no?’”

(From left to right) Andrew Lloyd Webber, Sierra Boggess, and Ramin Karimloo. Boggess and Karimloo were the first actors to play Christine Daaé and the Phantom in Love Never Dies in 2009

In the beginning he thought he couldn’t sing Valjean’s part. It wasn’t just about hitting the notes. “I don’t think you can sing something if you don’t feel it,” he says. Then he started reading the Victor Hugo novel—and made the connection.

He is a huge fan and friend of Colm Wilkinson, the Irish tenor who is best known for originating the role of Jean Valjean in the West End and Broadway. “He is amazing,” Karimloo says. “In the summer, he was in my apartment playing guitar and singing. This man is 70 years old. He was hitting notes as well as he did when he was 20. He has such a good soul, and his music comes from there then goes to his heart.”

From Broadway to Broadgrass

After Karimloo ended his West End run as Jean Valjean, his first solo album was released by Sony. Then he signed up with the UK-based Big Hand Recordings and toured Europe and North America. “It’s like finding my own voice for once, because when I sing outside the show, I don’t sound like I did when I was in Phantom. It was a different sound,” he says. He coined the word “Broadgrass” to describe his music, incorporating instruments such as the mandolin and guitar in a mix of Broadway and bluegrass. “We want to put together the broad spectrum of taste,” Karimloo explains. “We don’t pretend we are an orchestra. We don’t pretend we’re theatre. We don’t pretend we’re bluegrass either. We are just influenced by everything.”

Karimloo has starred in some short independent films as well as made guest appearances and recurring roles on TV. He can see himself doing other shows, not just musicals. “I just want to be part of something that I am very passionate about,” he says. “I believe life has a path for you. You can’t direct it, so what I can do is just be the best that I can be now, and enjoy it.”

THE FILIPINO CONNECTION: In 2005 Karimloo joined the UK national tour of Miss Saigon, playing the role of Christopher Scott. He says, “Miss Saigon was the best 14 months of my career because the people I met were so natural.” He made many friends and had a fantastic time with the Filipinos in the cast. In fact, he would like to visit and even perform in Manila soon.

Words by Astra Alegre | Printed in the April 2015 issue of Philippine Tatler. Download it on your digital device via Magzter or Zinio.