Len Cariou facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Len Cariou OC OM
Cariou in September 2009
Born	Leonard Joseph Cariou (1939-09-30) September 30, 1939 (age 85) Saint Boniface, Manitoba, Canada
Alma mater	St. Paul's College
Occupation	Actor
Spouse(s)	Heather Summerhayes ​ (m. 1985)​
Awards	Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical

Leonard Joseph Cariou (born September 30, 1939) is a famous Canadian actor, singer, and stage director. He is well-known for his amazing performances on stage and in movies and TV shows.

He became very popular for playing the main character, Sweeney Todd, in the first Broadway musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street in 1979. For this role, he won a special award called the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. He was also nominated for Tony Awards for his roles in the musicals Applause (1970) and A Little Night Music (1973).

You might also know him from movies like Thirteen Days (2000), About Schmidt (2002), and Spotlight (2015). He played Franklin D. Roosevelt, a former US President, in the TV movie Into the Storm (2009). For this, he was nominated for an Emmy Award. From 2010 to 2024, he played Henry Reagan, the wise grandfather and retired Police Commissioner, in the popular TV series Blue Bloods.

Early Life and School

Leonard Joseph Cariou was born on September 30, 1939. His hometown is Saint Boniface, which is in Manitoba, Canada. His father was from a French group called Breton, and his mother had Irish family.

Len went to Miles Macdonell Collegiate for high school. There, he started acting and even directed school plays. He later studied at St. Paul's College.

Career Highlights

Early Stage Work (1959–1979)

Len Cariou was offered a scholarship to a special acting school in Montreal. But he had a young child and family duties, so he couldn't go. Instead, he spent two years learning acting at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Stratford. He returned there in 1981 to play big roles like Prospero and Brutus.

In the 1960s, he became a main actor at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. He played many famous characters, including Iago and King Lear.

In 1968, Len Cariou made his first appearance on Broadway. Two years later, he got his first starring role with Lauren Bacall in the musical Applause. This role earned him a Tony Award nomination.

In 1973, he was nominated for another Tony Award for A Little Night Music. He even played the same role in the 1977 movie version with Elizabeth Taylor. Six years later, he won both a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award for his amazing performance as Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. He starred alongside Angela Lansbury in this famous musical.

Movies and TV (1980–1999)

In 1981, Len Cariou starred in the comedy movie The Four Seasons. He acted with stars like Carol Burnett and Rita Moreno. He also performed in many plays, including A Christmas Carol, where he played Scrooge.

Len Cariou has performed in many theaters across North America. He played Macbeth in Toronto and Richard Nixon in Frost/Nixon. He also played Joe Keller in All My Sons, a role he performed in Dublin, Ireland, where it was very popular.

From 1985 to 1992, he appeared in many episodes of the TV show Murder, She Wrote. He played Michael Hagarty, a secret agent who helped the main character, Jessica Fletcher (played by his friend Angela Lansbury), solve mysteries.

He also narrated many Major League Baseball's World Series films from 1992 to 1997. He was the voice for a video celebrating the 25th anniversary of the New York Mets baseball team.

In 1995, Len Cariou was the first actor to play Walt Disney in a TV movie about Annette Funicello. In 1997, he appeared in an episode of Star Trek: Voyager, playing a character disguised as Captain Kathryn Janeway's father.

Recent Work (2000–Present)

In the 2000s, he acted in several movies. These included Thirteen Days (2000), About Schmidt (2002), and Secret Window (2004). In Secret Window, he starred with Johnny Depp, who later played Sweeney Todd in a movie version of the musical Len Cariou made famous.

In 2009, Len Cariou played Franklin D. Roosevelt in the HBO movie Into the Storm. This role earned him an Emmy nomination.

In 2010, he played Louis Tobin, a character involved in a Ponzi scheme, in the TV show Damages. He has also appeared in other popular TV shows like Law & Order and The West Wing.

He currently plays Henry Reagan in the TV series Blue Bloods. Henry is the wise, retired Police Commissioner and the head of the Reagan family.

More recently, in 2015, Len Cariou played Cardinal Law in the movie Spotlight. This movie won the Oscar for Best Picture.

Personal Life

Len Cariou has been married to author Heather Summerhayes since October 25, 1985. Before his marriage, he had relationships with actresses Glenn Close and Lauren Bacall.

Awards and Recognitions

Len Cariou has received many awards for his acting. On Broadway, he was nominated for three Tony Awards for 'Best Actor in a Musical'. He won the Tony Award in 1979 for his role in Sweeney Todd.

In 2004, Len Cariou was welcomed into the American Theater Hall of Fame. This is a special honor for people who have made great contributions to theater.

In 2009, his role as Franklin D. Roosevelt in Into the Storm earned him an Emmy nomination. On June 23, 2012, his name was added to the Miles Macdonell Collegiate Alumni of Distinction. This recognized his contributions to theater and arts, which started when he starred in a school play called The Pirates of Penzance.

He has also received special honors in Canada. He holds the Order of Manitoba and was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2018. These are high honors given to Canadians for their achievements. He also received the Canadian Version of the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002.

Theatre Roles

Here are some of the plays and musicals Len Cariou has acted in:

Filmography

Movies

Here are some of the movies Len Cariou has been in:

Television Shows

Here are some of the TV shows Len Cariou has appeared in: