Which actor played the Phantom of the Opera in the 1925 silent film?

Which actor played the Phantom of the Opera in the 1925 silent film? Lon Chaney played the Phantom of the Opera.

Directed by Rupert Julian, the 1925 Universal Pictures film adapts Gaston Leroux’s 1910 novel about Erik, a disfigured musician haunting the Paris Opera House. Chaney’s performance made the production one of the landmark horror films of the silent era, alongside his earlier success in The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Chaney was famous for designing and applying his own makeup. For the Phantom, he altered the shape of his face with materials, painted deep shadows around his eyes, changed his nose, and created a skull-like grin. The studio kept the makeup secret, making the unmasking scene especially shocking to first audiences. His work earned him the nickname “The Man of a Thousand Faces.”

The actor is often confused with Lon Chaney Jr., his son, who later became famous as Larry Talbot in The Wolf Man. Chaney himself died in 1930, before the film received a 1929 sound re-release. The original silent version remains one of the most influential screen interpretations of the character.