BWW Interviews: Miles Phillips - Theatrical Journeyman Travels Many Roads

Singing in nightclubs has been an important creative release for Phillips. "I went through a rough relationship break up and wrote a cabaret show about balancing art, showbiz, travel, and love, to express my feelings. It was about the challenges every actor faces," he said.

In a profession that can be mercurial and cruel, Phillips has earned a reputation for being reliable and kind. He teaches master classes to help actors learn how to sing, and he helps singers learn how to act. Behind the scenes, he's helped other performers rescue their cabaret shows.

Not content to be pigeonholed into one genre, Phillips occasionally dabbles in films. He starred in and wrote the screenplay for the indie film, Keepers. In the category of "most unique movie experience" he was the stand-in for Kevin Spacey in K-Pax, where he rehearsed and ran scenes with Jeff Bridges. "Kevin Spacey likes to block and shoot, but Jeff Bridges likes to rehearse first and run the scenes during camera blocking, so I ended up doing all these scenes with Jeff and nobody saw it but the director and cinematographer," he said.

His recent experience on the Fiddler studio cast album, has provided Phillips with the opportunity to expand his range even further. With his California good looks, Phillips was about as far from Zero Mostel's signature bug-eyed Tevye, as one could get. So when Stage Stars producer Stephen M. Pearl initially asked him to play the part, he turned him down. "In fact I turned him down five times. I just couldn't see myself in the part," he said.

But the project was delayed and Pearl was persistent. "He convinced me I could do it, so I agreed and worked hard to find my hook, getting the Yiddish Russian accent and the vocals just right. Plus the dialogue within the songs is so rich, I had to use all my tools as an actor for that role," he said.

Although Phillips never considered himself a character actor before, after Fiddler, it's something he said he is happy to add to his skills set.

As Phillips continues his career, there are two roles he would especially like to play - Arthur in Camelot and Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady. With word of a new production of My Fair Lady coming to Broadway starring Colin Firth, wouldn't it be loverly if the producers considered a well-seasoned journeyman for Higgins' standby?

Miles Phillips stars as Tevye in the studio cast album recording of Fiddler on the Roof.

At age 4, Miles Phillips was already a fan of musicals

Miles Phillips won a Drama-Logue award for his performance as Mordred in Camelot.

Miles Phillips as The Captain in The Sound of Music.

Miles Phillips as Bassanio in Merchant of Venice.

Best Man Miles Phillips sings Moon River at the wedding reception of entertainer Richard Skipper and Dan Sherman, one of the first same sex marriages in New York.