Manu Narayan | |
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Manu Narayan in New York
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Born |
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States |
August 16, 1973
Occupation | Actor, singer, songwriter, saxophonist |
Years active | 1999–present |
Manu Narayan (born August 16, 1973) is an American actor, film producer, singer, songwriter, composer and saxophonist. He serves as a Trustee on the board of Carnegie Mellon University, his alma mater.
Narayan was hailed as a "promising young star...a compelling actor and outstanding singer who can light up a stage with sheer force of personality," by UPI in 2004 when he made his Broadway debut in the Andrew Lloyd Webber, A.R. Rahman musical Bombay Dreams, originating the role of the "hero" Akaash. Narayan co-starred as Rajneesh alongside Mike Myers in the Paramount Pictures' feature film The Love Guru (2008).
Narayan was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
He is an accomplished classical saxophonist in the western and South Indian Carnatic styles. When Narayan was a freshman at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, he won the Concerto Competition and performed the Glazunov Saxophone Concerto with orchestra at Carnegie Hall in Pittsburgh. Narayan studied the Carnatic saxophone in Mangalore, India with Sri Kadri Gopalnath, and played on All India Radio as the winner of the All India Radio music competition of Mangalore.
On stage, Narayan made his Broadway debut in the Andrew Lloyd Webber/A.R. Rahman musical Bombay Dreams in 2004, originating the role he is most widely known for, the “hero” Akaash, and garnered a New York Drama League nomination. Narayan starred as Richard Roma in La Jolla Playhouse's critically acclaimed revival of Glengarry Glen Ross, receiving critical praise for his performance as well as a nomination for a 2012 San Diego Critics Circle Craig Noel Award.