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Interviews
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Julian Ovenden - a Brit on Broadway Philip Fisher talks to the British actor currently starring in Butley on Broadway. Julian Ovenden is one of those driven people who makes things happen. As a result, this British actor has created a career in American TV for himself and is currently starring opposite Nathan Lane on Broadway. Determination is one thing but Ovenden can also act, as he ably demonstrates in his role as Joey, the butt of many of the jokes in Simon Gray's bittersweet comedy about academic life and love, Butley. The young Broadway debutant shares many historical connections with another British actor who has become a Broadway favourite, Simon Russell Beale. Both were educated as choristers at St Paul's in London before heading off to Oxbridge, after which they decided that a career on stage made more sense than the music for which they had been training. Subsequently, each has had almost continuous work including solid spells with the RSC and double stage successes at the Donmar. To complete the relationship, one of Ovenden's closest friends is his fellow actor's brother. However, it would be a big mistake to believe that this talented actor is in any way a Russell Beale clone. The styles are very different and their future careers may well diverge to a much greater extent. After deciding that a singing career was out, Ovenden trained at Webber Douglas and immediately after graduation landed a nine month spell in the RSC's King Lear, directed by Yukio Ninagawa and starring Nigel Hawthorne. Then Michael Grandage cast him in Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along at the Donmar - "A lead role in a great theatre with a fantastic director and it was an amazing success." Who could ask for more at the start of a professional life? Ovenden has always had a very clear idea of how he wishes to develop his career. "I've tried very hard in the seven years I've been working to constantly change what I do. That's sometimes led me to turn down things and still be horrifically poor," he chuckles. It has also led him from the stage to work in television, including three seasons in Foyle's War working with "a great actor" Michael Kitchen and The Forsyte Saga, as well as The Royal. He then turned his sights to America, partly because there was so much competition in the UK. He ended up in Hollywood, which has allowed him to expand his experience and escape being typecast, playing parts that he would never have been offered in England. This self-effacing actor has now had the golden opportunity to take over the Matthew Broderick role as comic foil to Lane but says, "I don't know how I got here". He goes on to explain that "I was working in Los Angeles and I was interested in the script but they were offering it to other more established actors. I was fairly bullish about it, I decided that I would fly myself to New York and they let me audition". He is still overwhelmed at his good fortune, even after five months in the role. "Every time I turn up at the theatre I can't really believe that I'm doing it - working with such a great actor in a great theatre on Broadway, it's amazing. "When I saw Nathan Lane in The Producers I was amazed by his dexterity. It was a brilliant performance. I was interested in how he would cope with an English accent and a completely different style of work". The measure of his success is clear: "I think that he's a pretty extraordinary actor". Lane's technical skill and mastery of the accent is greatly appreciated by someone who should know. "This is the first time I've been able to use my accent in about two years. Nathan is almost perfect. He is a very good mimic, which helps". Moving on to his fellow star's motivations, Ovenden says, "Beyond that, he wanted to do something that was deeper than The Producers or The Odd Couple. He's a true, true professional. He is 100% the whole time and never soft pedals anything, something that I sometimes don't do". The admiration is clearly genuine: "He's very open and it's very much a partnership, which is wonderful for me". Ovenden is a fan of playwright Simon Gray too. "The language (in Butley) is wonderfully inventive and colourful and dynamic and the characters are never stereotypes or clichés". He goes on to analyse the playwright. "What I like about Simon Gray's writing is that he is very in touch with the human condition", likening him to artist Lucien Freud, with his reputation for portraying characters, warts and all. He recognises that Butley is bucking a trend. "The general climate of the theatre both in the West End and on Broadway is leaning towards more commercial products because the theatre is now a big money spinner with the big budget musicals". The future, as so often for actors, is uncertain. It may include the final season of Foyle's War and a musical that he has been invited to workshop with Jonathan Kent. This could be something big as it is written by Michel Legrand along with Schoenberg and Boublil, whose Les Miserables is currently still selling well in both London and New York. In addition, he may get a part in a possible film based on Cosi Fan Tutte. This very versatile and successful actor would also love to get into a big Hollywood movie. However, he identifies the major problem that "It's like a vicious circle, you can't get a film unless you've done a film. I'm still waiting for that opportunity". He concludes that "I'm very happy with the way things have gone but I'm always on the look out for a new experience". Judging by his remarkable success to date, an exciting new experience is probably just around the corner.
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