Paolo Montalban | |
---|---|
![]() Montalban in 2023 | |
Born | |
Education | St. Peter's Preparatory School |
Alma mater | Rutgers University (BS) |
Occupation(s) | Actor, singer |
Years active | 1997–present |
Notable work |
|
Paolo Montalban (born May 21, 1973) is an American actor and singer best known for his performance in the 1997 Disney television film Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella as Prince Christopher, opposite Brandy as Cinderella. [1] He reprised that role in a stage version of the musical with Deborah Gibson and then Jamie-Lynn Sigler as Cinderella and Whitney Houston as the Fairy Godmother. [2] [3]
Montalban was born in Manila, Philippines, to Paul and Vivian Montalban. [4] His family immigrated to the United States when he was a year old and lived in a studio apartment in Manhattan's West Side across the street from The Juilliard School and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. [4] He is an alumnus of St. Peter's Preparatory School and holds a degree in pre-med psychology from Rutgers University. [5]
In 1997, Montalban starred in Cinderella as Prince Christopher alongside Whitney Houston, Whoopi Goldberg and Brandy. He also played Kung Lao in the syndicated series Mortal Kombat: Conquest along with Daniel Bernhardt and Kristanna Loken.
Montalban was also cast in John Dahl's The Great Raid as Sgt. Valera, and played Raul [6] in the independent film American Adobo . He also appeared in Just Wright starring Queen Latifah, The Adjustment Bureau, and the short film Two Weeks.
Montalban was named one of People's 50 Most Beautiful People of 1998. [7]
He has appeared on Broadway in Pacific Overtures , The King and I and Breakfast at Tiffany's , starring Emilia Clarke. Off-Broadway, he was in Two Gentlemen of Verona at Shakespeare in the Park, The Romance of Magno Rubio at Ma Yi Theater Company, among others. [8] He also guest starred in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (season 8, episode 20: "Annihilated") and One Life to Live .
Montalban has appeared in productions of The King and I on Broadway and around the country, where he has played both Lun Tha, the young lover, and the title role of the King. [9] In 2022, Montalban starred as Captain Von Trapp in the Dallas Theater Center production of The Sound of Music at the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre. [10] On March 28, 2023, he succeeded Peter Francis James as Florenz Ziegfeld in the Broadway revival of Funny Girl and remained with the show until it closed on September 3 of that year. [11] [12]
He reunited with Brandy in the Disney+ movie Descendants: The Rise of Red , part of the Descendants franchise, which premiered July 12, 2024. [13]
On January 17, 2024, he originated the role of Kurt Huber in the world premiere of the off-Broadway musical White Rose. [14]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2001 | American Adobo | Raul | |
2005 | The Great Raid | Sgt. Valera | |
2010 | Just Wright | Sommelier | |
2012 | Two Weeks | Dad | Short film |
2020 | The Girl Who Left Home | Tony | |
2023 | Asian Persuasion | Lee-Kwan Lee | |
2024 | Descendants: The Rise of Red | King Charming |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1997 | Cinderella | Prince Christopher | Television film |
1998–1999 | Mortal Kombat: Conquest | Kung Lao | 22 episodes |
2007 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Wahid | Episode: "Annihilated" |
2010 | One Life to Live | Tahiti Cop #1 | 1 episode |
2013 | City of Dreams | Paolo Montalban | Episode: "The Ballad of Ofagina" |
2015 | Madam Secretary | Military Tech | 2 episodes |
Nurse Jackie | Second Investigator | Episode: "Jackie and the Wolf" | |
The Blacklist | Forensic Agent | Episode: "Arioch Cain" |
Year | Title | Role | Venue | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1998 | The King and I | Lun Tha | Neil Simon Theatre | Original Broadway Cast |
2004 | Pacific Overtures | Manjiro | Studio 54 | Original Broadway Cast |
2005 | Two Gentlemen of Verona | Eglamour | Delacorte Theater | Off-Broadway |
2013 | Breakfast at Tiffany's | u/s Jose, u/s Yunioshi | Cort Theatre | Original Broadway Cast |
2017 | Bella: An American Tall Tale | Tommie Haw/Skeeter | Playwrights Horizons | Off-Broadway World Premiere Nominated - Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical |
2020 | The Unsinkable Molly Brown | Arthur | Abrons Arts Center (Transport Group) | Original Off-Broadway Cast |
2023 | Funny Girl | Florenz Ziegfeld | August Wilson Theatre | Broadway Replacement |
2024 | White Rose: The Musical | Professor Kurt Huber | Theatre Row | Original Off-Broadway Cast |
Into the Woods is a 1986 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine.
Funny Girl is a musical with score by Jule Styne, lyrics by Bob Merrill, and book by Isobel Lennart, that first opened on Broadway in 1964. The semi-biographical plot is based on the life and career of comedian and Broadway star Fanny Brice, featuring her stormy relationship with entrepreneur and gambler Nicky Arnstein.
Henry Robert Merrill Levan was an American songwriter, theatrical composer, lyricist, and screenwriter. He was one of the most successful songwriters of the 1950s on the US and UK single charts. He wrote musicals for the Broadway stage, including Carnival! and Funny Girl (lyrics).
Gary Beach was an American actor of stage, film and television. His roles included Roger De Bris in both the stage and film productions of The Producers, which won him a Tony Award, and Lumiere in the stage musical version of Disney's Beauty and the Beast, for which he was nominated for a Tony Award.
Judy Kuhn is an American actress, singer and activist, known for her work in musical theatre. A four-time Tony Award nominee, she has released four studio albums and sang the title role in the 1995 film Pocahontas, including her rendition of the song "Colors of the Wind", which won its composers the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella is a musical written for television, but later played on stage, with music by Richard Rodgers and a book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based upon the fairy tale Cinderella, particularly the French version Cendrillon, ou la petite pantoufle de verre, by Charles Perrault. The story concerns a young woman forced into a life of servitude by her cruel stepmother and self-centered stepsisters, who dreams of a better life. With the help of her fairy godmother, Cinderella is transformed into a princess and finds her prince.
Shoshana E. Bean is a Tony-nominated American singer, songwriter, and stage actress. She has appeared in numerous musicals, performing in major Off-Broadway and Broadway theatres, including in the original production of Hairspray.
Ramin Karimloo is a Canadian actor, singer and songwriter recognized for his work in London's West End and New York's Broadway theatre.
Robert Westenberg is an American stage actor and singer, acting teacher, and professor. He received a Tony Award nomination for his performance in the original Broadway cast of Into the Woods.
Kate Reinders is an American actress and singer, who has performed as lead and understudy in several Broadway shows.
Andy Karl is an American actor and singer. He is best known for performing in musical theatre specifically musicals adapted from successful movies. He has received several accolades including a Laurence Olivier Award and a Drama Desk Award as well as nominations for three Tony Awards. He is also known for playing Sgt. Mike Dodds in Law and Order: SVU from 2015 to 2016.
Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella is a 1997 American musical fantasy television film produced by Walt Disney Television, directed by Robert Iscove, and written by Robert L. Freedman. Based on the French fairy tale of the same name by Charles Perrault, the film is the second remake and third version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical, which originally aired on television in 1957. Adapted from Oscar Hammerstein II's book, Freedman modernized the script to appeal to more contemporary audiences by updating its themes, particularly re-writing its main character into a stronger heroine. Co-produced by Whitney Houston, who also appears as Cinderella's Fairy Godmother, the film stars Brandy in the title role and features a racially diverse ensemble cast consisting of Jason Alexander, Whoopi Goldberg, Bernadette Peters, Veanne Cox, Natalie Desselle, Victor Garber, and Paolo Montalban.
Rose Hemingway is an American actress, performer and singer. She made her Broadway debut starring as Rosemary Pilkington in the musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (2011) earning a Theatre World Award.
Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella is a musical in two acts with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Douglas Carter Beane based partly on Hammerstein's 1957 book. The story is derived from the fairy tale Cinderella, particularly the French version Cendrillon ou la petite pantoufle de verre, by Charles Perrault. The story concerns a young woman forced into a life of servitude by her cruel stepmother. She dreams of a better life, and with the help of her Fairy Godmother, Cinderella is transformed into an elegant young lady and is able to attend the ball to meet her Prince. In this version, however, she opens the Prince's eyes to the injustice in his kingdom.
Phillipa Anne Soo is an American actress and singer. Known for her leading roles on Broadway primarily in musicals, she has received two Grammy Awards along with nominations for a Tony Award and a Primetime Emmy Award.
Anne L. Nathan is an American actress and singer known for her work on Broadway.
Ashley Jini Park is an American actress and musician. She is best known for her portrayal of Mindy Chen on the Netflix comedy series Emily in Paris. She originated the role of Gretchen Wieners in the Broadway musical Mean Girls, for which she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical.
Once Upon a One More Time is a jukebox musical based on songs popularized by Britney Spears. Set in a fantasy storybook realm, the plot follows numerous fairy-tale characters transformed by a feminist awakening.
Ted Chapin is a producer, performer, presenter, and former president of the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization. Chapin has led and encouraged many Broadway productions and revivals, some of the most well-known including: "Irving Berlin’s White Christmas,” “Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella,” “South Pacific” Broadway revival, “The King and I,” “Oklahoma!” and “Carousel.” He also approved many television productions such as “The Sound of Music Live!” on NBC and “Cinderella,” starring Whitney Houston and Brandy, on ABC. Chapin serves on several boards including: American Theatre Wing, Godspeed Musicals, New Music USA, New York City Center, Kurt Weill Foundation for Music, and the Tony Award Administration Committee. He is the co-founder of the Encores! series at New York City Center, and was the producer of the 92nd Street Y’s Lyrics and Lyricists series for two seasons with programs saluting Bobby Darin, Sammy Davis Jr., Irving Berlin, and others. In 2016, Chapin hosted NJTV’s American Songbook at NJPAC.
Descendants: The Rise of Red is a musical teen fantasy comedy film directed by Jennifer Phang from a screenplay by Dan Frey and Ru Sommer. Produced by Disney Channel, the film is the fourth in the Descendants franchise, being a spin-off of the previous three films and a follow-up from Descendants: The Royal Wedding. The film was released on July 12, 2024 on Disney+, and is scheduled to debut on Disney Channel on August 9, 2024.
Star Awards--Best New Actor nominee, Paolo Montalban ... WINNER Filipino Heritage Award – Most Promising Talent, Paolo Montalban