As Jean Valjean in the acclaimed Broadway revival of Les Misérables, Ramin Karimloo is electric: a physical and vocal powerhouse firmly in tune with the complexities of his character: a man who evolves from an angry prisoner serving 19 years for stealing a loaf of bread to ostracized parolee to respectable citizen, a mayor, and ultimately, a hero.

“He’s the most selfless man; he’s all about redemption,” explained Karimloo. “He fueled himself in prison to take on the world and it took one person to show him grace. Ultimately, he’s a good-hearted man.”

Ramin Karimloo is a vocal powerhouse as Jean Valjean. (Photo: Matthew Murphy)

Valjean’s salvation found its guidance in a bishop’s forgiveness and beneficence, the latter in the form of silver candlesticks. Yet even with the means to redefine his life, he realizes he must assume a new identity to move forward, thus setting in motion a life on the lam, stalked by the relentless Inspector Javert (Will Swenson).

Despite Javert’s pursuit, Valjean manages to rescue Cosette, the dying Fantine’s little girl, raising her as his daughter into young adulthood where she falls for the idealistic student Marius.

Interestingly, when Karimloo was building his early stage career in London he played Marius in the West End production, little imagining it would one day be his destiny to play Valjean.

"I always thought that if I returned to Les Miz, I wanted a crack at Javert,” he said. “It has its own challenges, but Valjean was a monumental task. I didn’t want to slay that dragon at that time.” But he changed his mind when asked by producer Cameron Mackintosh. To get to the core of Valjean, Karimloo delved into Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel to help him get a better sense of how his character walked, how he stood and how he carried himself.

“The main conduit to understanding him was his struggle with his faith,” Karimloo said. “I could understand and relate to it, and once I allowed that door to open, images came through and I knew how to play him.”

Karimloo, whose family emigrated from Iran to Peterborough, Ontario, not far from Toronto, found his initial acting ambitions stoked when he saw Colm Wilkinson, the original Valjean, in The Phantom of the Opera in Toronto. “I just though it was so impressive... it was the first time I was moved to feel emotional about an artistic experience. I wanted to have the same effect,” he recalled.

Decades later he and Wilkinson sang a duet of “Bring Him Home” at the Princess of Wales Theater in Toronto in early 2014 after a charity performance of Les Misérables. Wilkinson prophesied that night that Karimloo “is going to be a superstar.”

And if his Broadway debut performance at the Imperial Theatre is any indication, he’s well on his way.

Having celebrated its one-year anniversary on March 23rd, Les Miz recently welcomed a handful of new cast members to its ranks including Gavin Lee (Mary Poppins) in the role of Thenardier, the unscrupulous innkeeper who, along with his wife Madame Thenardier (Rachel Izen), merrily bilk and connive their way through the show. Lee’s number “Master of the House” is the production’s comedic highlight.

As for Karimloo’s future, he looks forward to tackling somewhat less vocally taxing projects when he leaves the show at the end of the summer. “I’d love to look at plays and TV and film,” he said, adding that he’d also like to do more traditional musical theatre as well. “What I love about great shows like Oklahoma! is the singing is not as difficult. You just sing what needs to be sung."

Les Misérables is playing now at the Imperial Theatre, 249 W. 45th St., 800-447-7400. For more info on the prouduction, as well as some essential Les Miz trivia, click here.