Joaquin Pedro Valdes is a Filipino stage actor and singer. He began his career as a child actor and was a member of the boyband 17:28. He has since become known for playing Light in the London production of '' Death Note: The Musical'' in 2023.

Early life and education

Born in

Makati Makati ( ), officially the City of Makati ( fil, Lungsod ng Makati), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. Makati is the financial center of the Philippines; it has the highest concentration ...

, Philippines, Valdes started his stage career in the Philippines at the age of eleven, when cast in the musical ''

Evita Evita may refer to: Arts * Evita (1996 film), ''Evita'' (1996 film), a 1996 American musical drama film based on the 1976 concept album of the same name * Evita (2008 film), ''Evita'' (2008 film), a documentary about Eva Péron * Evita (album), ''E ...

''. He studied Film and Audio Communication at the

University of the Philippines Film Institute The University of the Philippines Film Institute, also known as the UP Film Institute or UPFI, is a film school located in Quezon City, Philippines. It is attached to the UP College of Mass Communication and engages in theater and extension serv ...

(UPFI). Valdes moved to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 2017.

Career

Musical Theatre

Valdes moved to the UK in 2017, when he was cast as understudy Thuy in the UK tour of ''

Miss Saigon ''Miss Saigon'' is a stage musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera ''Madame Butterfly'', and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed rom ...

''. In 2018 he joined the International tour of ''

The King and I ''The King and I'' is the fifth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the childre ...

'', understudying the role of Lun Tha and performing alongside Kelli O'Hara and

Ken Watanabe is a Japanese actor. To English-speaking audiences, he is known for playing tragic hero characters, such as General Tadamichi Kuribayashi in '' Letters from Iwo Jima'' and Lord Katsumoto Moritsugu in ''The Last Samurai'', for which he was nomi ...

. Valdes was then cast as Ram Sweeney in the West End run of ''Heathers: the Musical'' in 2021, with

Jordan Luke Gage Jordan Luke Gage (born 8 April 1992) is a British actor. Though he has appeared in several television shows, Gage is best known as a musical theatre performer, most notably originating the roles of Romeo in the 2019 jukebox musical ''& Juliet'' ...

as JD,

Christina Bennington Christina Bennington (born 30 January 1992) is a Northern Irish actress and singer. She is best known for originating the lead role of Raven in '' Bat Out of Hell: The Musical'', in various productions of the show from 2017 to 2019 in both the UK ...

as Veronica Sawyer, Jodie Steele, Bobbie Little and

Frances Mayli McCann Frances Mayli McCann (born 14 September 1989) is a Scottish actress. She is best known for her work in theatre. She is the recipient of Laurence Olivier and WhatsOnStage Award nominations. Early life McCann was born and raised in Bishopbriggs, a ...

as "The Heathers". In May 2023 it was announced that ''Death Note: the Musical'' will have its English premiere at the London Palladium in August, as a staged concert version. Valdes was cast in the lead role of Light Yagami, together with

as Misa and

Dean John-Wilson Dean John-Wilson (born 6 June 1989) is a British actor. During 2008, he went on ''Britain's Got Talent'', where he was a semi-finalist. He subsequently played the title role in the original West End production of Disney's ''Aladdin'' at the Prin ...

as L. The creative team of the UK version of the musical included Alexzandra Sarmiento as associate director and choreographer, Kimie Nakano as costume designer and Ben Cracknell as lighting designer. The show's run was then extended to September and moved to the Lyric Theatre, with new cast members Georgie Maguire, Jessica Lee and Carl Man, taking over the roles of Ryuk, Misa and alternate L respectively. In June 2023 Valdes joined the cast of ''Then, Now and Next'' at the

Southwark Playhouse Southwark Playhouse is a theatre in London, located between Borough and Elephant and Castle tube stations. History The Southwark Playhouse Theatre Company was founded in 1993 by Juliet Alderdice and Tom Wilson. They identified the need for a h ...

, as Alex's (

Alice Fearn Alice Fearn (born 23 October 1983) is a British stage actress. She is best known for playing captain Beverley Bass in ''Come from Away'' and Elphaba in ''Wicked'' in London's West End. Early life and education Fearn was born in Bath, where sh ...

) love interest Stephen. The musical was written by Christopher J Orton and

Jon Robyns Jon Robyns (born 8 December 1982) is a British stage actor, who is best known for playing the roles of Princeton and Rod in Avenue Q the musical and Jean Valjean in Les Misérables in London's West End. Early life Robyns was born in Manchester ...

and directed by

Julie Atherton Julie Atherton is a British actress and singer. On 3 October 2009, she finished portraying the roles of Kate Monster and Lucy the Slut in the West End production of '' Avenue Q''. She released her debut album, ''A Girl of Few Words,'' on 2 Octo ...

Music

In 2002 Valdes joined the boy band 17:28, under the name Wakie Valdes. The group included Jonard Yanzon, Giancarlo Magdangal and Chino Alfonso. In 2005 the group announced their split to pursue different ventures.

Theatre credits

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:valdes, joaquin pedro Living people Filipino expatriates in the United Kingdom Filipino male child actors Filipino male musical theatre actors Male actors from Makati University of the Philippines alumni Singers from Makati Year of birth missing (living people)