Nadim Naaman (born 12 August 1985) is a British actor, singer, playwright, and composer. He is known for his work in musical theatre.
Early life Naaman was born in London to a Lebanese father and a British mother who had met in Dubai. Naaman attended Eton College. He took part in choir, and the school's head of drama Simon Dormandy suggested Naaman pursue the performing arts professionally. His father was supportive but suggested he get a university degree first. Naaman graduated from the University of Warwick in 2006 with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and Performance Studies and completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Musical Theatre at the Royal Academy of Music in 2007.
Career Upon completing his diploma, Naaman made his professional stage debut as Jamie Wallerstein in the 2007 Edinburgh Fringe Festival production of the musical The Last Five Years. The following year, he made his West End debut when he took over as Rolf Gruber in The Sound of Music at the London Palladium. Naaman starred as the titular character of James and the Giant Peach at Watermill Theatre in 2009, appeared in Knight Crew at Glyndebourne in 2010, and was in the ensemble of The Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty's Theatre on the West End. He was also the understudy in the latter for Raoul.
After leaving The Phantom of the Opera, Naaman appeared in Thirteen Days at the Arcola Theatre and Marguerite at the Tabard Theatre, and played Anatoly in the Union Theatre production of Chess. Naaman released his debut album of 11 songs he had written over the course of a decade titled We All Want The Same in 2013. He subsequently played Charles Clarke in Titanic at Southwark Playhouse and the Princess of Wales Theatre and Anthony in the Tooting Arts Club production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. He was also an understudy for Alan and Alfie in One Man, Two Guvnors.
From 2015 to 2017, Naaman returned to the West End production of The Phantom of the Opera, starring as Viscount Raoul de Chagny. Through the independent record label Auburn Jam Music, Naaman released his second album Sides in 2016, containing a combination of original songs and reinvented covers and featuring artists such as Celinde Schoenmaker, Rob Houchen, and Eva Noblezada. In 2017, he starred in Andrew Lloyd Webber's By Jeeves at the Old Laundry Theatre in Cumbria.
With Dana Al Fardan, Naaman co-wrote and co-composed the musical Broken Wings, based on Lebanese-American writer Kahlil Gibran's 1912 novella of the same name, with Naaman portraying Gibran in the original cast. The musical premiered at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in 2018 and was subsequently showcased at the 2019 Beiteddine Festival, Doha's Katara Opera House, and Dubai Opera in early 2020. Naaman once again collaborated with Al Fardan on Rumi: The Musical, which premiered at the London Coliseum in 2021. Naaman starred as the titular character opposite Ramin Karimloo on the concept album and original cast.
Naaman once again returned to The Phantom of the Opera for its 2023 and 2024 international tour in the Middle East, this time starring as the titular Phantom.
Personal life As of 2015, Naaman lived in Southfields, London. That year, he ran the London Marathon for the Make a Difference (MAD) Trust. Naaman married his wife Gillian in December 2016. They have two daughters.
Discography We All Want The Same (2013) Sides (2016)
Stage Year Title Role Notes 2007 The Last Five Years Jamie Wellerstein Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2008 The Sound of Music Rolf Gruber London Palladium 2009 James and the Giant Peach James Watermill Theatre, Newbury 2010 Knight Crew Lance Glyndebourne, Sussex 2010 The Phantom of the Opera Ensemble / Raoul cover Her Majesty's Theatre, London 2012 Thirteen Days Andrei Arcola Theatre, London 2012 Marguerite Armand Tabard Theatre, Chiswick 2013 Chess Anatoly Union Theatre, London 2014–2015 Titanic Charles Clarke Southwark Playhouse, London / Princess of Wales Theatre, Toronto 2014 One Man, Two Guvnors Alan / Alfie cover Theatre Royal Haymarket, London 2015 Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Anthony Tooting Arts Club 2015–2017 The Phantom of the Opera Raoul de Chagny Her Majesty's Theatre, London 2017 By Jeeves Bertie Wooster Old Laundry Theatre, Bowness-on-Windermere 2018 Broken Wings Kahlil Gibran Created with Dana Al FardanTheatre Royal Haymarket, London 2018 On the Town Ozzie BBC Proms, Royal Albert Hall 2020 A Little Night Music Count Carl-Magnus Opera Holland Park 2021 Rumi: The Musical Rumi Co-wrote and composed with Dana Al FardanLondon Coliseum 2023 Doctor Zhivago in Concert Viktor Komarovsky London Palladium 2023–2024 The Phantom of the Opera The Phantom International tour 2025–2026 My Fair Lady Henry Higgins The Mill at Sonning, Reading
References
External links
Nadim Naaman at Spotlight Nadim Naaman at Global Artists