Michael Ball (singer) represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest, finishing second with the song "One Step Out of Time". In 1995, he reprised the role of Marius in "". His other West End roles include Giorgio in "Passion" (1997) and Caractacus Potts in "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" (2002). He has twice won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical. He won in 2008 for his role as Edna Turnblad in "Hairspray", and then in 2013 for the title role in the revival of "". Ball was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in
Michael Ball (singer) Cameron Mackintosh asked Ball to play Raoul in the second casting of "The Phantom of the Opera" in London, which was necessary after Michael Crawford (who played the Phantom) and Steve Barton (who played Raoul) left the London show to appear in the Broadway staging in New York City. Mackintosh thought that Ball would not be under too much pressure as Raoul, and that the part was right for him. Ball played Alex in "Aspects of Love", both in London and New York, and Giorgio in the London production of Stephen Sondheim's "Passion". "Alone Together" was his one-man show first