Zubin Varla

Zubin Varla, born in 1970, is a British actor and singer. He is known for his work across West End, Off-West End, regional theatre productions, and television projects.

Varla completed his professional training at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. In July 1992, while at Guildhall, he performed as Renato di Rossi in Do I Hear a Waltz? at the Barbican Theatre in London.

One of Varla's early prominent roles came in 1996, when he played Judas in the West End revival of Jesus Christ Superstar at the Lyceum Theatre, performing alongside Steve Balsamo, Joanna Ampil, and David Burt. Between 2001 and 2002, he initiated the stage role of Saleem in the first adaptation of Midnight's Children at the Barbican Theatre. He also played Frederick Trumper in a Danish production of Chess in 2001.

Over the following years, Varla appeared regularly in classical and contemporary theatre. In 2004, he performed in Cyrano de Bergerac at the Royal National Theatre and toured with the Royal Shakespeare Company as Marcus Brutus in Julius Caesar. In 2009, he played Feste in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night alongside Derek Jacobi, and in 2010 he appeared as Herod Agrippa in I, Claudius. His stage credits also include starring in Equus at the Theatre Royal Stratford East, which later transferred to the Trafalgar Theatre.

Varla's screen and television appearances include playing Detective Superintendent Vijay Asher in the Silent Witness episode "Cargo," and portraying Daniel Doyce in the 2008 BBC TV adaptation of Little Dorrit. He played Gustav Mahler in a 2013 performance with the London Arts Orchestra, appeared as Leo Kamali in season four of Strike Back in 2013, and featured as Qaseem in five episodes of the BBC production Our Girl in 2014.

In 2018, Varla starred as Bruce in the Off-West End production of Fun Home at the Young Vic, earning a nomination for the 2019 Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical. In 2019, he appeared in the London premiere of Dave Malloy's Ghost Quartet, taking on the roles of the Astronomer, the Subway Driver, and Edgar Usher.

In 2022, Varla appeared in Tammy Faye at the Almeida Theatre, a performance that earned him the 2023 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical. In 2023, he played Harold Stein in the stage adaptation of Hanya Yanagihara's A Little Life at The Harold Pinter Theatre, which subsequently transferred to The Savoy Theatre for an extended run. He has also been cast to appear in season three of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power in 2026.