John Owen-Jones (born 5 May 1971) is a Welsh musical theatre actor and singer, best known for his portrayals of Jean Valjean in Alain Boublil & Claude-Michel Schönberg's Les Misérables and of the Phantom in Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera. He most recently appeared as Valjean on the 25th Anniversary Tour of Les Misérables, and as The Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera UK Tour, as part of the 25th anniversary celebrations. He has now recorded six studio albums. Early life Owen-Jones was born in 1971 and originates from Burry Port in Carmarthenshire. He was educated at Glan-y-Mor Comprehensive School, and was a member of the still running local theatre group, Llanelli Youth Theatre. Jones went on to train at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. He graduated in 1994 with a BA (Hons) in Acting. He has been married since 1999 to Teresa, a primary school teacher. They live in Surrey with their two children. Musical Theatre During 1995 he played the 'liebeslieder' in Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music at the National Theatre along with Judi Dench, Patricia Hodge, Joanna Riding and Siân Phillips, and in The Ladies Paradise at the RNT Studio. In 1998, he became the youngest person ever to play the role of Jean Valjean full-time when he took over in the London production at the age of 26. He had previously understudied the role, and had also performed the roles of the Factory Foreman, Feuilly, Grantaire and Enjolras. Owen-Jones also appeared in the choir of the 10th Anniversary Concert at the Royal Albert Hall in 1995. In 2000, he was part of that year's season at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre. He played roles in The Pirates of Penzance and Much Ado About Nothing. In 2001, he was chosen to succeed Scott Davies in the title role in The Phantom of the Opera. He left the role on 26 February 2005, after three and a half years and nearly 1,400 performances, making him the longest running London Phantom. His last performance in this run was with Rachel Barrell. In 2015 he agreed to play the Phantom again for a limited period of time – 7 September 2015 until Saturday 30 January 2016. His other theatre work includes Antipholus in The Boys from Syracuse and Lorenzo in The Merchant of Venice at Harrogate Theatre, Herr Zeller in