What is it he said he learned from his grandpapa Campbell - work hard, play hard!

 

His grandfather must be proud that Darius is doing just that and living life to the full every day that comes.

I bet his grandfather is just proud of all the grandchildren.

Rachel put this on .net. It's jus appeared 3 times n my emails.

 

 

 

 

' Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn! '

 

Clark Gable famous tagline as Rhett Butler in Victor Fleming’s Gone With the Wind (1939)

 

 

 

British Iranian Darius Danesh has been cast as 'Rhett Butler' in Trevor Nunn’s musical production of Margaret Mitchell’s classic novel, Gone With The Wind, which opens at the New London Theatre 22 April 2008, following previews from 4 April – booking (*) to 27 Sep 2008. He joins Jill Paice (Scarlett O'Hara), Madeleine Worrall (Melanie), and Edward Baker-Duly (Ashley Wilkes).

 

 

 

Danesh was born in Glasgow and educated at Glasgow Academy. He then went on to study English and Philosophy at Edinburgh University. His father, Dr. Booth Danesh, is Iranian and his mother, Dr. Avril Danesh, is Scottish. He has two younger brothers; all three were named after Persian Kings. Danesh's professional career began playing a ten-year-old Trojan boy in the Scottish Opera's avant garde 1990s production of The Trojans. As a teenager he then toured with the Scottish Opera in a critically acclaimed production of Carmen. After performing at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, Darius faced the first of many career crossroads. He chose to return to his studies in lieu of training his rich baritone voice for an Operatic career. While studying English Literature at Edinburgh University, a chance audition and promise of a record deal led Darius to fame on the television show Popstars. He reached the final stages, and in 2001 auditioned for Pop Idol, where his voice was compared to that of Frank Sinatra. He won over the British public and critics, millions voted for him and he became the 'Under Dog' favorite for the Pop Idol title. Although Will Young went on to claim the Pop Idol title, Darius went on to have success on his own terms.In the summer of 2002, Colourblind became Darius' first number one single and that Christmas, his self-penned album Dive In went platinum. In 2006 he ended a second West End run in the musical Chicago playing Billy Flynn at the Adelphi Theatre and 2007 saw him star as Sky Masterson in Michael Grandage’s production of Guys and Dolls.Today the 27-year-old singer Danesh is stepping into the role made famous by Clark Gable in the 1939 film. The stage version is one of the most eagerly anticipated shows in London this year this will be his biggest role to date. 'It doesn't seem real - I'm over the moon,' he told the Standard from Los Angeles, where he lives with actress and model Natasha Henstridge, star of Species. 'Just being asked to audition for Trevor Nunn was such a privilege. He's a master of Shakespeare and of musicals and of all that he touches. I knew he had at his disposal the cream of the crop to open his show. It was an ambition of mine to work with him and I can't believe that ambition is being fulfilled at the age of 27. I'm very excited.' Memories of Gable were the biggest challenge, he admitted. 'It's such a loved work of art in celluloid and one of the greatest love stories of all time,' said Darius. 'Rhett is such a wonderful and funny and charming alpha male, as well as a bit of a brute and rough diamond.'

 

 

 

Trevor Nunn, former director of the National Theatre, said: 'I don't get time to watch a great deal of television so when I first saw Darius at a casting session he was new to me. He came through the most rigorous audition process I have ever conducted.' The novel Gone with the Wind upon which the film and current musical is based on was first published in 1936 by Margaret Mitchell set in the Old South during the American Civil War and Reconstruction, It told a story of the Civil War and its aftermath from a white Southern point of view. The novel won the 1937 Pulitzer Prize and was adapted into a stage musical entitled Scarlett. It is the only novel by Mitchell published during her lifetime. The novel is one of the most popular books of all time, selling more than 28 million copies. Over the years, the novel has also been analyzed for its symbolism and mythological treatment of archetypes. The Screen adaptation of Mitchell’s novel made film history upon its release in 1939 it was directed by Victor Fleming. The epic film which was set in the American South in and around the time of the Civil War, starred Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, Leslie Howard and Olivia de Havilland. It was awarded ten Academy Awards, a record that would stand for years. It has been named by the American Film Institute as number four among the top 100 American films of all time. It has sold more tickets than any other film in history. Today it is considered one of the most popular and greatest films of all time, and one of the most enduring symbols of the golden age of Hollywood.

 

Plot: Set in 1860’s Atlanta, Georgia, Gone with the Wind follows the story of the seventeen-year-old Scarlett O’Hara, the eldest of three daughters living a life of luxury on their father’s plantation. But then President Lincoln demands the end of slavery in the South and the Civil War begins. Scarlett’s incredible journey through both the war and the peace is mirrored in her turbulent relationship with Rhett Butler, whose actions always defy prediction. Their story spans ten years and mingles romantic ecstasy with tragic grief, as the life these people once knew disappears, for better or worse: gone with the wind.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is interesting to note that Darius Danesh is the second Iranian Diaspora actor/singer in Britain to take on the leading role in a musical on the London Stage, the other being the equally talented Ramin Karimloo currently playing the lead in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera at London’s Her Majesty’s Theater.

 

 

 

Walking in the shoes of Clark Gable will certainly be a tough yet exciting challenge for the rising Scottish Iranian Pop Star who will certainly bring a fresh new outlook on one of the most celebrated epic novels and glorified movies of the 20th century. However his maturity, talent and undeniable class is certain to seduce the British audience at large.

 

 

 

VIVE LE ROI DARIUS !

 

&

 

VIVE LA COMEDIE MUSICAL!

 

Authors Notes:

 

 

 

Official Website and MySpace Website of Darius Danesh.

 

 

 

(*) Gone With The Wind Musical previews at the New London Theatre, Drury Lane, London, WC2, GB from 4 April. Reserve or Buy Tickets here.

 

 

 

Photo 1: title ©Darius Danesh & Imdb.com & New London Theater & photocomposition ©DK

 

Photo 2: Iranian Scotsman Darius Danesh as Rhett Butler co-star's with Jill Paice as Scarlett O’Hara © Darius Danesh & imdb.com & photocomposition ©DK

 

Photo 3: Vivien Leigh’s Classic Hairdo and Wardrobe became fashionable worldwide as well as for Iran’s aristocracy ©imdb.com & pictory Iranian.com

 

Photo 4: The 1939 Hollywood classic ©imdb.com

 

Photo 5: Darius’ Challenge of the Year: Replace a Hollywood Legend Clark Gable ©imdb & Darius Danesh

 

 

 

 

This is the only pic on the one that came to me.

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v614/megham/DariusPersianMirror.jpg

thanks, Meg that is lovely to read

Thanks, megham.

 

I won't hold it against them but I think, technically, they've got one thing wrong.

 

Darius was the 1st actor of Iranian descent to play the lead male role in a West End production when he played Billy Flynn at the Adelphi. By that stage Ramin had played Marius in concerts and Enroljas in the West End but not Valjean. He'd played Christopher in the tour of Miss Saigon.

 

He's the 1st to originate a role in a brand new musical.

I thin it's great for both of them. I must try and see 'Les Mis' again while he's in it.

Ramin's now the full-time Phantom in London - since Sept last year. He was the alternative Phantom for a while before that.

I would go now - but I need the money for GWTW

I would be tempted to see Phantom if Darius was in it, husband would like to see it - I saw the original film, and it never inspired me to want a non Darius trip.

I saw Phantom when it first started - with Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman. The set worked really well

What is it he said he learned from his grandpapa Campbell - work hard, play hard!

 

His grandfather must be proud that Darius is doing just that and living life to the full every day that comes.

 

That bit about "work hard, play hard" is typically Scottish. My Dad is of the same generation as Mr Campbell. Born and raised during the depression of the 1930s in Scotland where work disappeared first. That kind of hardship burns into your soul, even onwards down to how you raise your own family. In the 1950s/60s and 70s Dad's motto was if you could get work, you did it no matter when it was or what it was. My Dad was still working at the age of 77 and he still admits that when the newspaper drops through the door he looks in the situations vacant to see if there are any jobs about he could do - and this is a man who will start his eightieth year on Sunday! But that never stopped either of them (as far as I know) enjoying life to the full, most probably in both cases with a pint in one hand and a wee dram before taking the road home.

 

There were times when it crossed my mind, what on earth was Darius up to for the best part of nearly three years in LA? We know he is a prolific songwriter and has knowledge now of the recording process to be able to do so much for himself in the studio. Where was the third album though? I have to say it did anger me to think that maybe he had "retired" to a Hollywood lifestyle whilst fans in the UK were hanging onto every word written and every picture that appeared of him going to parties and openings and the never ending "awards" It may have been his plan to seclude himself in order to emerge from a chrysalis, ready to take on new opportunities, yet with no word from him we were left standing.

 

It was only after seeing him in Guys and Dolls that I realised what he had been up to. His singing had had the rough edges smoothed off, he was taking command of the stage with the spoken word not just with his singing voice. Now we know that the time in LA was spent learning from the best in the world We can look forward with every confidence that we are going to see something very very special in GWTW. This is like a major upgrade, more ROM, more RAM, faster processing! This is Darius Danesh Vista! Still the same wonderful bloke we know but with added features!

 

You bet his Grandad is proud!

Well said, Trishiboo.

 

I have also been known to question whether D's 'family' responsibilities and the lifestyle in LA had left him without his famed drive and determination and whether he would succumb and start a career in the US to make life easier.

 

He's absolutely adamant - the album will come out only when he is 100% satisfied with it, however long it takes. There aren't any monkeys on his back. It's an enviable position but one which is hard for his fans to deal with, because his own songs have touched them deeper than just being 'hits' and they want more.

 

Thank goodness , Rhett came along at the right time and he was able to turn down those film roles. We have him back and ready to show just how far he's come from the Darius the media still try to pretend he is - a 19 year old in Popstars, out of his depth, desperately trying to put on an air of confidence to cover his feelings of inadequacy and overdoing it and topping it off with an "I'll show them', performance and discussion which divided the country.

 

here, here!

 

Found this montage on another site, www.payvand.com which appears to have the Darius Kadivar article "Winds of Change- Darius is Rhett Butler"

 

http://payvand.com/news/08/feb/Darius-Danesh2.jpg

 

Just look at that picture of the young Clark Gable between the Billy Flynn ones of Darius.

Edited February 19, 200817 yr by Baytree

I didn't actually like Clark Gable but I do Darius. I must admit, I wouldn't have recognised that one as Clark.

Clark had appalling teeth when he first turned up and started working as an extra in films. He had the good sense to get himself some quality dentistry.

I was never keen on Gable, Wasnt Gary Cooper the first choice for the film or did I dream I read that somewhere..now thats more like Darius

 

Gary Cooper did try out and was said to relieved it was Gable and not him who would be linked with this film that had had so much difficulty coming to the screen and Cooper was sure would flop..

 

Gable didn't want to play Rhett at all but he was owned by the studio and had to do what he was told. Gable's preferred choice for Rhett was Ronald Coleman. Lots of guys tested for Rhett but it was only in case the producers couldn't get Gable.

I wonder if we'll ever get the history of who auditioned for the part this time?