Earl Carpenter is an English musical theatre actor and singer, recognized chiefly for his work in London’s West End. He is known for his performances as Inspector Javert in the stage musical Les Misérables and as the title character in The Phantom of the Opera, both roles he has played on and off for two decades. He is widely known for his rich, deep baritone singing voice.
In 1995, he made his West End debut as a Javert understudy in Les Misérables. In 2003, he became the standby for the role of The Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera and two years later was promoted to the principal actor for the role replacing John Owen-Jones for two years before being replaced by Ramin Karimloo. In 2008, he returned to the West End production of Les Misérables as the principal Inspector Javert and also played the role a year later on the 25th Anniversary UK Tour. 2011 and 2012 saw Carpenter reprise his roles of both the Phantom and Inspector Javert in the West End productions of each show, he also played The Phantom in the 25th Anniversary UK Tour in 2012, replacing John Owen-Jones, who left the tour in September.