lol - darn,seeing blake i automaticaly made the assumption

It does seem funny that it's another Darius and another Blake

Found this Show Must Go On

 

He was only 51 :o Given what I've heard of him, I bet he'd want the show to go ahead.

This is nice...

 

http://www.californiachronicle.com/articles/yb/151694684

 

Charming? Oh yes I am ; Darius Campbell does not care aboutthe critics... aslong as hecanentertain us with his many talents

 

By STEVE HENDRY

 

Alot of people have a lot to say about Darius Campbell. In the office straw poll, his name provokes a response which, in polite terms, ranks him somewhere between charming and cheesy. Very, very cheesy.

 

Whichever extreme you are drawn towards, however, no one can doubt his ability to take it on the chin and bounce back stronger.

 

It's a quality which has been the making of him since he arrived on talent show Popstars in 2001, hair slicked back in a ponytail and oozing all the self-confidence you'd expect of a 21-year-old singing Britney Spears' Hit Me Baby One More Time.

 

He has been doing it his way ever since, returning for more on X Factor predecessor Pop Idol, for a respectable third place finish behind Gareth Gates and Will Young.

 

Since then, he's written and recorded a No.1 single, penned a best-selling book and landed leading roles on stage in London's West End, each leap forward being met with incredulity by critics who wrote him offas another reality show wannabe.

 

Darius' most recent triumph was winning Popstar to Operastar, which led to his opera debut in Carmen with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at The O2 arena.

 

The star, now 30, said: "It's a bit like when someone comes to you with a problem. It's much easier to solve someone else's problem than your own. It's very difficult to see yourself as others see you. It's tough enough working out who the sharks andcharlatans are in the business I'm swimming through and just trying to be a good entertainer, actor, singer and songwriter.

 

"I'm very lucky that the people who matter to me have been my harshest critics. That's the criticism I care about. I realise it's about having a thick skin but part of me doesn't care enough because I just want an opportunity to entertain and it doesn'tmatter what label is attached to that."

 

His latest chance to entertain us will be at Snow White, this year's panto at the King's Theatre in Glasgow. It means a special return to Scotland for Christmas with his family and fans.

 

Speaking before the tragic death of his King's co-star and panto legend Gerard Kelly last week, Darius said: "It's good to find a reason to be in Glasgow for so long. Part of the thing you want to do as a performer is play to your home crowd. It's rareyou get a chance to do that to thousands of people over many, many nights in such a traditional family way. This has been a year of firsts for me - winning Popstar to Operastar to performing my first Opera with the Royal Philharmonic in front of 20,000people.

 

"That scope and scale was amazing. It was a dream come true to be the bullfighter Escamillo, to be the youngest guy ever to play that role in professional opera and to be the only person to perform who isn't classically trained. But I missed the intimacyyou get with an audience in a theatre. The 02 is so big you don't even know there is an audience because of the way the lights are.

 

"I love that interaction with the audience. You know you are doing your job because you can see their faces, you get instant feedback.

 

"Panto is like that. If you are not getting a laugh every 30 seconds, or you are not getting a boo or a hiss or a shout of 'he's behind you!' you are not doing your job right."

 

Darius revealed thatit was seeing Kelly, who died on Thursday after a brain aneurysm, aged 51, when he was a kid that made him a lifetime fan of panto "I fell in love with it when I was 10 years old, watching Gerard in Mother Goose at the King's. Then Iwatched him in Aladdin and Sleeping Beauty. I remember thinking he was like a cartoon character but was real. Then you realise it's because he wore the same wig in every show."

 

Darius is also pleased to be home this year after a traumatic 12 months for his family. This time last year his dad, Booth Danesh, was gravely ill.

 

He said: "Last Christmas we almost lost him twice. He had pulmonary embolisms. Now he is in flying form, back at work. My little brother did really well in his exams and my other brother got a scholarship to university in Pennsylvania, so we thought,'Right, everybody is coming home and we are going to be together this Christmas'.

 

"My mum says this will be the longest I've been at home since I was 16."

 

There is an argument for saying Darius won't see much of his nearest and dearest given panto is one of the most demanding jobs in showbusiness but he's been through worse. Having replaced Ewan McGregor in Guys And Dolls and played Rhett Butler in GoneWith The Wind, the pressure is, comparatively, off. As Prince Charming, he's the straight man and he's there to enjoy himself.

 

He said: "After doing Gone With The Wind, which including the break was four hours a show, singing solid for two hours, eight shows a week, everything else is a walk in the park.

 

"I'm looking forward to turning up in a kilt, singing a song, wooing the girl and hopefully waking her up with a kiss. It's a bit of a result."

 

Working with theatre bigwig Sir Trevor Nunn on Gone With The Wind was a turning point for Darius, when he was accepted as a serious performer. He said: "Sir Trevor Nunn is the longest standing head of the RSC at the National. He was a hero when I wasstudying English Literature at university. I'd save up to go down to London or Stratford and see his productions so to audition for him 10 years later was a privilege. To be cast in a role he originally developed with Hugh Jackman, for him to say,'Darius, you are my only Rhett Butler'. That was my proudest moment. I realised then that as an actor I was being validated."

 

He is also in a sense validated by being home.

 

He's passionate about his roots, even going so far to change his surname, dropping Danesh in favour of Campbell, his mother Avril's maiden name.

 

He said: "One of the reasons I changed my name, is wherever I go in the world, I'm checking into hotels and they say, 'Are you Scottish? Your name is not'. I got that in America a lot. As soon as they know you are Scottish, they love you. Scotland's theplace I feel at peace. I don't get that anywhere else. I've been privileged to have spent a lot of time in different countries and split my time between London and Los Angeles but it's just a rat race. As Jimmy Reid, a true and great Scot who passed thisyear, said, 'A rat race is for rats and we're not rats, we're humans'. Scotland has that. You drive 20 minutes and you're in Loch Lomond. Turn the ignition offand it's a different world. It's where I want my kids to grow up."

 

Who will be having his children is the one point he's not willing to discuss. His relationship with Species actress Natasha Henstridge, to whom he was engaged before reports of a break-up, are shrouded in mystery. He skirts round the issue using a lot ofcharm and little bit of cheese.

 

He said: "Who will that be with? "I think Prince Charming's quest is to wake Snow White up, whether it's actually consummated beyond the snog, you'll have to come to Snow White and find out."

 

Snow White is on at the King's Theatre , Glasgow.

 

© 2010 Sunday Mail; Glasgow (UK). Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.

that is a lovely piece - and i agree, having driven to glasgow then up along loch lomond on hols, - its amazing- beats la imo hands down

My daughter lived in Glasgow for 3 years and it was lovely. I always got lost when we went shopping but she says that that time was the happiest in her life - says a lot because she's a person who tends towards happiness. She always said she'd never come back south as the clean air and beautiful scenery where she lived couldn't be beaten.

She returned when she decided to start a family - babysitters are always required but still has many happy memories of Glasgow. She actually kept the flat there just in case for about 4 years after she came back.

Really nice read

 

Yeah Scotland is a great and nice place to be when the weather is nice and sunny lol :)

It's the mozzies I hate.

I loved Glasgow, spent several years there on and off during my daughters ops, often two weeks at a time. Much preferred it to Edinburgh. Stayed always at Bearsden and used to visit the auction houses i n Glasgow and come back laiden up with stuff, once I drove from here up to there on my own with my daughter in one trip. The exhaust pipe fell of at Carlisle.I imagine it has changed a lot however since it was City of culture.It now seems such a long trip to do.

A lovely article. I'm ashamed to say it will be my first trip to Glasgow when we go up for the pantomine. Sue

well we only went due to me wanting to see where darius lived, had always said it was too far before..it was a very very long drive with the four kids in the savanna lol, it was worth it, we did lot of driving seeing as much as possible. we are determined to get there again, must remember to avoid midge season if poss

The barrows - I used to love that. I don't know what it's like now but we found some really nice things then.

The Barrows had a distinctive smell when I was there if I remember, bit like soup cooking all the time.

I didn't notice that.

I've never been to Glasgow either. The pantomime will be my first time.

Mind you, there are many, many, many places I've not been to yet. If I hadn't got an Aunt born and brought up in Glasgow and 2 children who both went of to Scotland, I may never have been there either.

"He's been doing it his way ever since." That's a fact! .................not always in his best interests, but always his own way.

Found a bit of the Buzzcocks programme Darius did after Popstars

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPbqqQRKNMY&NR=1

aww - seems so long ago,

It was.

 

Ten fun-filled years ago!

 

:cheer: Here's to the next 10

Edited November 1, 201014 yr by Baytree