Ramin Karimloo is a household name in the UK, where he has played some of the most recognizable and challenging roles in musical theatre (including the role of Phantom in both Love Never Dies and The Phantom of the Opera). He recently stepped into his most challenging role yet, Jean Valjean in the new 25th Anniversary Production of Les Miserables.
While Ramin has enjoyed commercial and critical success in the UK, what a lot of people don't know is that he is first and foremost a Toronto boy at heart. Born in Iran but raised in Richmond Hill, Ramin's musical theatre career took off after he moved to the UK and landed a role in Pirates of Penzance. He has had consistent work on the other side of the pond, and as a result has never graced a Toronto stage.
When news broke last fall that Toronto would be mounting a production of the new 25th Anniversary Les Miserables, fans went wild, demonstrating just how much love this city still has for Cameron Mackintosh's mega-musical. Sadly, that particular production was postponed indefinitely, leaving many fans clamouring for news as to when it might be revived. One interesting thing that came from the announcement was the response in social media, with many fans pleading to casting directors to consider having Ramin play the lead role here in Toronto. There was even a dedicated hashtag on Twitter: #BringRaminHome.
Ramin of course has a very busy schedule in the UK, playing Jean Valjean and preparing for the launch of his album this March. In addition he's filming two feature films this year and working on upcoming projects. So the pressing question became: "Would he even want to come back to Toronto?" BWW jumped at the chance to have a conversation with Ramin and discuss not only his feelings about Les Miserables, but also his career so far and what he hopes the future holds for him. And we are pleased to report that he does indeed want to come home:
First off, congratulations on taking on the role of Jean Valjean in Les Miserables. How are you enjoying the experience so far?
I’m loving it. I love what I’m experiencing with my craft and I’m having a ball. On paper the role was a lot more challenging when Cameron (Mackintosh) first approached me to do it, but once I read the novel and started piecing together the character and the story that I wanted to tell it became a lot easier. I didn’t want it to be an exercise of ‘young actor plays old guy’ so I tapped into his journey with God and Jesus. What leapt off the page for me was his connections, failures and journey with faith - it was something I related to. That's when things started to really connect with me and the character.
What has the response been like so far and how do you handle all the critics who feel the need to voice their opinion on you taking on the role at such a young age?
The response has been great, people seem to love what I’m doing and I’m grateful for that. But you really can’t worry about other people’s opinions because you will never please everyone. You just can’t. I compare it to an artist who paints. He’ll paint whether people buy it or not. As long as I keep getting hired and producers and casting directors keep coming to me with work then I’ve got to keep following my instincts. The only people you really have to listen to are your director and producer.
So do you read your reviews?
Not really. For example, a bad review will be like a punch in the gut which isn’t helpful because I can’t really change what I’m doing at that point. And if it’s a good review then you are simply feeding your ego. Once you start feeding your ego you as might as well go and punch yourself in the gut because it’s a vicious cycle. That’s something I try and keep very aware of – on Twitter for example you get a lot of praise which is lovely and I’m grateful for it, but you have to be careful that you don’t start going to it as a fix.
Speaking of Twitter, you do a great job of interacting with your followers and engaging on Twitter. How do you keep up?
Generally if I have some downtime I will try and send out some thank yous to show that I’m grateful for all the support I'm getting. But I’m conscious to find that balance between being polite and being overly engaged. I don’t want people to think that because I’m interacting on Twitter they have a personal relationship with me, because that’s where lines star to get blurred. That being said, I love the UFC and I know how amazing it would feel if a UFC fighter or someone else I looked up to responded to me, so I want to give that same experience.
