Andy Karl

Born in Baltimore, United States, in 1973, Andy Karl is an Olivier Award-winning actor. In the United Kingdom, he’s best known for playing weatherman Phil Connors in Groundhog Day. Like the film, history will repeat itself, as Karl plays Phil in Groundhog Day at the Old Vic in 2023.

After graduating from Towson University with a degree in voice and music, Karl made his stage debut as the Rum Tum Tugger in a US tour of Cats. He then made his New York debut in Stephen Sondheim’s Saturday Night at Second Stage Theatre in 2000, alongside Lauren Ward and Christopher Debut.

That same year, Karl made his Broadway debut as Joey in Saturday Night Fever at the Minskoff Theatre. His Broadway career continued: David Fonda in The Wedding Singer, Chad and Kyle in Legally Blonde, Joe in 9 to 5, Fiyero in Wicked, Tommy DeVito in Jersey Boys and Neville Landless in The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

In 2014, Karl played his first lead role in a Broadway musical, taking on boxer Rocky Balboa in Rocky at the Winter Garden Theatre. Read reviews of Rocky on New York Theatre Guide.. For Rocky, Karl received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical.

A year later, he was then cast as Bruce Granit in On The Twentieth Century earning a second Tony nomination. In a five-star review on New York Theatre Guide, a critic said: "this is a musical of extraordinary proportions. It is as fine a production as you will find anywhere. And if musicals are your preferred theatrical flavor, you will be in h-e-a-v-e-n."

Recently, he originated the role of Edward Lewis, as portrayed in the film by Richard Gere, in Pretty Woman: The Musical at the Nederlander Theatre. He starred opposite Samantha Barks in the Broadway musical.

In 2016, Karl made his West End debut as Phil Connors in Groundhog Day, eventually winning the Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical. Following the London run, he starred in the Broadway transfer, and received his third Tony Award nomination. In 2023, Karl reprises the role for the Old Vic.