Timothy Howar (born 24 November 1969) is a Canadian-born English actor and singer who is currently with the pop-rock band Mike + The Mechanics.

Career

Howar was born in Spirit River, Alberta, Canada.Mandel, Lyssa
"Tim Howar"
broadway.com, February 25, 2006 He has spent his career on both sides of the Atlantic, starring in both West End and Broadway productions. In his theatre career he has played an extensive variety of roles, ranging from rock musicals such as ''

Rent Rent may refer to: Economics *Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property *Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production *Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...

'' and ''

Rock of Ages Rock of Ages may refer to: Films * ''Rock of Ages'' (1918 film), a British silent film by Bertram Phillips * ''Rock of Ages'' (2012 film), a film adaptation of the jukebox musical (see below) Music * ''Rock of Ages'' (musical), a 2006 rock ...

'', to classical musicals such as ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its origin ...

'' and '' On the Town''. He is currently co-lead-singer of the band Mike + The Mechanics. His career in music started young, singing in the Alberta Youth Choir, the Centennial Singers, and Pro Coro Canada, before joining Edmonton Musical Theatre. His dance career began at 16, which led to him becoming an apprentice with Ballet North. He had been offered a full scholarship to the

Royal Winnipeg Ballet The Royal Winnipeg Ballet is Canada's oldest ballet company and the longest continuously operating ballet company in North America. History It was founded in 1939 as the "Winnipeg Ballet Club" by Gweneth Lloyd and Betty Farrally (who also fou ...

, which he declined after deciding to pursue his love of theatre / musical theatre. He began his career on stage at age 18 playing the Artful Dodger in '' Oliver!'' (Stage West's 100th production, Edmonton) just after winning the Grand Prize in the Youth Talent International Competition in Memphis, Tennessee - he is still the only Canadian to hold this award - and then went on to appear in the Canadian productions of Broadway shows '' Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' (cover Joseph), and ''

Miss Saigon ''Miss Saigon'' is a stage musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera ''Madame Butterfly'', and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed roma ...

'' in Toronto (cover Chris). He played the title role in The Who’s ''

Tommy Tommy may refer to: People * Tommy (given name) * Tommy Atkins, or just Tommy, a slang term for a common soldier in the British Army Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tommy'' (1931 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Tommy'' (1975 fil ...

'' (Toronto and Canadian National tour) in 1996. Other Canadian productions include ''Anne of Green Gables'' (Charlottetown Festival, PEI), Guilliame /cover Arnaud in ''

The House of Martin Guerre ''The House of Martin Guerre'' is a musical written by Leslie Arden (music, lyrics & co-book) and Anna Theresa Cascio (co-book). It is inspired by the 16th century French peasant Martin Guerre. Production history It was first produced by Theat ...

'' (Toronto), Screamin’ John McGee in ''Rock and Roll'' (Theatre New Brunswick), Barnaby in '' Hello, Dolly!'' (Edmonton), Martin in Outrageous (Toronto), and Joel in ''Anything That Moves'' (Toronto). He then went on to play Marius in ''

'' (1998 US National tour and Toronto) with

Colm Wilkinson Colm Wilkinson (born 5 June 1944), also known as C. T. Wilkinson, is an Irish tenor and actor who is best known for originating the lead role of Jean Valjean in ''Les Misérables'' (in the West End and Broadway) and for taking the title role i ...

for over 2 years, playing most every state in America (except Alaska!). He moved to the UK to play Michael in the new musical ''

Peggy Sue Got Married ''Peggy Sue Got Married'' is a 1986 American fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola starring Kathleen Turner as a woman on the verge of a divorce, who finds herself transported back to the days of her senior year in high sch ...

'' at the

Olivier Theatre The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. In ...

in 2001, and decided to stay in the UK after being asked to originate the role of Stuart Clutterbuck in the Rod Stewart musical '' Tonight's the Night'' (2003, Victoria Palace Theatre). In between, he also did ''

Ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott J ...

'' at the Cardiff International Festival. Following this, he played the role of Ozzie in '' On the Town'' at the ENO (London Coliseum and Théâtre du Châtelet). He returned to New York to play Roger in the Broadway production of ''

'' for the 10th Anniversary production, from January 30, 2006 through July 29. He stayed in New York for 3 more years, before returning to London after landing a record deal with his rock-band Van Tramp. UK credits include ''Latin Fever'' (West End and UK Tour), Shoes (Sadlers Wells and Peacock Theatre), and Stacee Jaxx in ''

'' (2013, Shaftesbury Theatre and Garrick Theatre). In 2018 he recreated the role of Freddie Trumper in the London revival of ''

Chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...

'' for the

English National Opera English National Opera (ENO) is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in English ...

at the London Coliseum. From 3 September - 8 December 2018, he will play the role of the Phantom in the Andrew Lloyd-Webber musical ''

The Phantom of the Opera ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pier ...

'' at

Her Majesty's Theatre Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Haymarket in the City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established t ...

in London. He is also a regular guest soloist for concerts around the world, including Raymond Gubbay concerts at the Royal Albert Hall, Friday Night is Music Night for BBC Radio, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Abbey Road 80th Concert, the Halle Orchestra, the National Orchestra of Belgium and France, the London Philharmonic, London Concert Orchestra, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, and BBC Concert Orchestra. In 2009, he was asked to join legendary rock-band Mike + The Mechanics as co-frontman with

Andrew Roachford Andrew Roachford (born 22 January 1965) is a British singer-songwriter and the main force behind the band Roachford, who scored their first success in 1989 with the hit record, hits "Cuddly Toy (song), Cuddly Toy" and "Family Man". He has als ...

, and has spent the past few years recording and touring around the world singing hits such as “All I Need is a Miracle” and “I Can’t Dance" to sell-out audiences and arenas. Their latest album of new material Let Me Fly was released in 2017 and stayed in the top 10 for over 8 weeks on BBC Radio 2. They continue to tour and play at festivals and gigs around the world. He is currently working on another MATM album set for release in 2019 on BMG, as well as a solo album. He is also in demand as a voiceover artist, having lent his voice to many varied projects, in particular gaming and corporate work. Original Cast Recordings / rock recordings include: *Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat (original Canadian cast recording) *Tonight’s the Night (Original London cast recording) *Somewhere in the Audience (Eric Woolfson) *Burning Blue (Movie soundtrack) *Comrade Rockstar (Original cast recording) *"Wrong Songs For Summer" & "Uncle David" (for composer Richard Thomas) *Shoes the Musical (Richard Thomas) *Wheels of Fortune (Van Tramp) *The Road; The Hits; Let Me Fly (Mike + the Mechanics) TV/Film includes: *F/X (Canada) *''Last Chance Harvey'' (with Dustin Hoffman & Emma Thompson) *Commercials (inc. Tim Hortons, Canada)

Personal life

Howar was married to

Ruthie Henshall Valentine Ruth Henshall (born 7 March 1967), known professionally as Ruthie Henshall, is an English actress, singer and dancer, known for her work in musical theatre. She began her professional stage career in 1986, before making her West End d ...

from 2004 and divorced in 2009. They have two daughters, Lily and Dolly.Gans, Andrew
" Peggy Sue Got Married's Ruthie Henshall and Tim Howar to Marry"
''Playbill'', 26 February 2004 In September 2016 he married Musical Director Jodie Oliver at

Greyfriars Kirk Greyfriars Kirk ( gd, Eaglais nam Manach Liath) is a parish church of the Church of Scotland, located in the Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is surrounded by Greyfriars Kirkyard. Greyfriars traces its origin to the south-west parish of Edin ...

in Edinburgh. They have one son, Hamish, born in April 2018. Howar left midway through the opening performance of the musical ''Chess'' when his wife gave birth.Foster, Alistair
"A star is Bjorn: 'Chess' star Tim Howar leaves musical midway through as wife goes into labour"
''Standard'', 27 April 2018

References

External links

Tim Howar's Official WebsiteProfile at Broadway.com
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Howar, Tim Mike + The Mechanics members 1969 births Musicians from London Living people Canadian expatriates in the United Kingdom