Alum Anand Nagraj entered the University of Richmond as a music major. But the fact that the theatre department was a short walk across a bridge meant that Nagraj could easily move between the two areas of studies.

“My time at the University set me on my path,” said Nagraj,  a Chicago-based actor, singer, guitarist, and playwright/composer who is on the North American tour of Disney’s Aladdin. “The faculty in both departments were so accessible and really championed me while I was there. My teachers left a huge impact on me.”

The 2006 UR graduate is making his national tour debut in Aladdin, in which he plays the evil sorcerer Jafar. The tour, which started in October 2022, will continue through at least May 2024.

“Disney’s villains are the most fun to portray,” he said. “You get to approach them like you would a character in Shakespeare. That level of precision, the big feelings — I’m using all those tools I’ve learned over the past 20 years.”

Nagraj, who minored in theatre, boasts an impressive resume. He’s appeared in a half-dozen films and television shows, including Chicago PD, Chicago Fire, and Proven Innocent. He has performed in 16 of William Shakespeare’s plays, several of them multiple times. For the past four years, the bass baritone has been the commercial voice of Tony the Tiger, including a spot on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

He remains in touch with several of his professors, including Jennifer Cable, his voice teacher who recently helped him — remotely — get his voice in shape for the demands of a Broadway show. He also credits Jeffrey Riehl in the music department and Walter Schoen (emeritus), Dorothy Holland, Chuck Mike, and Anne Norman Van Gelder in the department of theatre & dance for providing him with the opportunities to explore his talents.

Nagraj, who grew up in Yorktown, Virginia, said he was 8 or 9 years old when the original Aladdin movie came out. “It was hugely formative for me, not least of all because there were characters in a Disney movie who looked like me. I didn’t realize at the time how important that was.”

While he performed in high school plays, he didn’t decide to pursue a career in acting until his junior year at UR. Having professional actors in residence exposed him to roles in Richmond venues, including Theatre IV and the Barksdale Theatre (which have since merged into Virginia Repertory Theatre). He performed in University productions as well.

“There were so many resources and opportunities available at UR,” he said.

To theatre majors, he offers this advice: “Study everything, learn about everything, and try to be as well-rounded as you can, because it all feeds into what you do.”

To music majors: “Be patient with yourself and with your instruments.”

That’s also a lesson he had to learn with his voice. “Be patient but keep on plugging away. I wanted to do all these things right away, and it’s only been the past five years that it’s all clicked. My voice has settled and matured. I’ve become the singer and actor that I was meant to be.

“I am very grateful,” he said. “UR helped make me who I am in life but also who I am in my work.”