biography

John Owen-Jones is a record-breaking West End and Broadway actor and singer best known for his critically acclaimed and award-winning performances as Jean Valjean in Les Misérables and as The Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera. John remains the youngest actor in West End history to have played Jean Valjean in Les Misérables (a role he also played twice on Broadway) and has performed as the Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera nearly 2000 times - more than any actor in the show’s entire West End run.

After training at the prestigious Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London, John made his West End debut at the Palace Theatre in 1995, when he first joined the cast of Les Misérables. He has been closely associated with the show ever since, appearing in every London theatre in which the show has played, including the Barbican Theatre in 2010. In an online poll, John was voted the “Best Ever Valjean” and “Best Ever Performer in Les Misérables" by fans of the show and has appeared in special finales for the Les Misérables and Phantom of the Opera 25th anniversary performances at the O2 and Royal Albert Hall -- both of which were screened to millions of people in cinemas worldwide. He returned to play Jean Valjean in the 2019 Les Misérables All Star Concert at the Gielgud Theatre London. His re-interpretation of the character on the re-imagined 25th anniversary production earned him a Manchester Evening News Award for Best Actor in a Musical in 2010 and a WhatsOnStage Best Actor in a Musical nomination.John can be heard singing the role of Valjean on the 2010 Les Misérables Live! Album recorded during the Manchester run.

Elsewhere, John has performed extensively in theatre in the West End and around the UK in shows such as La Cage Aux Folles, Much Ado About Nothing and The Pirates of Penzance at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, Sweeney Todd for the English National Opera with Bryn Terfel and Emma Thompson, Showboat at the Royal Albert Hall, A Little Night Music at the National Theatre with Dame Judi Dench and led the cast in in the world premiere of brand-new musical Tiger Bay, in a role written especially for him. He has appeared as an actor on television in shows such as Toast of Tinseltown, The Bill and Scott and Bailey and has appeared as himself many times on television and radio in shows such as This Morning, The Royal Variety Show and Friday Night is Music Night on BBC Radio 2. He is an accomplished concert performer, playing many solo headline shows around the UK and abroad and has appeared as a guest performer in concert globally in such venues as The Royal Albert Hall in London, Bunkamura Orchard Hall in Tokyo, the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Sydney Opera House and Carnegie Hall in New York. In 2022 he completed his first UK solo concert tour culminating with a sellout show in the West End at Her Majesty’s Theatre. He has appeared twice at the BBC Proms in the Park concerts, twice on The Royal Variety Show, toured the UK in concert with Katherine Jenkins and has been a special guest in concert with Collabro, Michael Ball, Alfie Boe and Bryn Terfel. He has performed leading roles in staged concert versions of The Hired Man, Sweeney Todd, South Pacific, and new musical The Clockmaker’s Daughter. He has also worked as a director, radio presenter and voiceover artist.

In 2022, John created roles in three brand new musicals: he played the leading role of “Uncle Jack” in a concept recording of Kisses on a Postcard by Terrence and Dominic Frisby; he appeared as “Lorenzo” in a fully staged concert version of new Australian musical Mimma and created the role of “Phil Hollinghurst”, the blue-eyed, silver fox baking judge in Great British Bake Off - The Musical by Jake Brunger and Pippa Cleary, which garnered him a WhatsOnStage Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical. This show subsequently opened in the West End for a limited run to rave reviews in early 2023. Following this, John appeared in La Cage Aux Folles at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, London and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to The Forum at Lido 2 Theatre, Paris

2022 also saw John launch a theatrical comedy podcast with fellow performer Alistair Brammer called “The Last Show on Earth” which asks celebrity guests that all important question – if you only had one day left to live what show would you like to see? – with new episodes released monthly.

John was named one of the Top 10 musical theatre actors in Britain by The Stage newspaper and in a poll of BBC Radio Wales listeners to find the “Greatest Living Welsh Voice”, he came third - beating legendary Welsh singers Bryn Terfel, Shirley Bassey and Tom Jones. In 2019 John realized a lifelong dream when he sang the Wales and England national anthems on the pitch for the Wales v England Six Nations Rugby game.

John has released seven solo albums which he also produced. ‘Hallelujah’ EP (2006) 'John Owen-Jones' (2009), 'Unmasked' (2011) ‘Rise’ (2015) ‘Bring Him Home’ – a compilation album (2017) ‘Spotlight’ - featuring The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra (2019), and ‘The Christmas Album’ (2021).