Howard McGillin

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Howard McGillin (born November 5, 1953, in Los Angeles, California, U.S.) is an accomplished stage, screen and television actor.

McGillin began his career on television, working as a contract player for Universal Studios. In the early 1980s he moved to New York with the intention of pursuing a career on Broadway. He was quickly cast as one of the male leads in the New York Shakespeare Festival's production of La Boheme starring Linda Ronstadt.

Other featured and leading roles on Broadway soon followed. Often considered a "tall, dark and handsome" leading man, McGillin originated the role of John Jasper in The Mystery of Edwin Drood at the Imperial Theatre; for his performance he was nominated for a 1986 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. He earned a second Tony nomination in 1988 for his portrayal of Billy Crocker in the Broadway revival of Cole Porter's Anything Goes.

Off Broadway, McGillin originated a leading role in the world premiere of Stephen Sondheim's 2003 musical Bounce and was featured in the Encores! production of the Ziegfeld Follies of 1936. He has also performed in many concerts in the United States and abroad, including a production of Sondheim's Follies that was preserved and released on video and DVD.

McGillin is perhaps best known for his role as the Phantom in Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera He holds the record for the most performances by an actor in the role on Broadway, and was part of the musical when it became the longest-running production in Broadway history on January 9, 2006.

In addition to his work onstage, McGillin has continued to perform in television and film as a voice-over artist. He supplied the singing voice of Gregory in South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, has recorded many books on tape, and narrates the PBS series Nature. McGillin also provided the voice for Prince Derek in the 1994 animated film The Swan Princess.

McGillin has released one solo CD, Where Time Stands Still. He has also contributed to numerous cast recordings, including those of The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Anything Goes, Kiss of the Spider Woman (second cast recording) and Bounce.