Daruis Danesh is Rhett Butler
February 1st, 2008 by Laura WestWe were left saying huh? when we heard this latest piece of theatre gossip, the pony-tailed, Britney Spears singing pop idol - Darius Danesh- has been cast as Rhett Butler in the up coming stage version of Gone with the Wind!
Ok he has been in Chicago and Guys and Dolls, but Rhett Butler - really? Personally I see Rhett Butler as suave and charming, someone who’d own the stage - however all I remember of Darius Danesh is a smarmy egotistical popstar wannabe!
Hats off to Danesh though as it would seem he’s been working on his ego, director Trevour Nunn hand picked Danesh from all the other hopefuls and wasn’t aware of his previous so called “fame”, he claims “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”.
Once again theatre lovers, we will have to wait and see how this one will pan out. Will the Scotsman charm us? Or will he kill Rhett Butler like he did Britney Spear’s song?
Stay tuned to find out!
Technorati Tags: darius danesh, gone with the wind, gone with the wind west end, london theatre, rhett butler, trevour nunn, west end
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February 2nd, 2008 at 8:07 am
Trevor has no idea how to cast an american musical…..Whatever as they say……Not only is Rhett a mistake with Darius, but even Jill , the Scarlett is not that good either……Trevor just has a crush on her……im a very accomplished person who works in theater…..not just a fan …..What a disaster this is going to be….especially when it had so much potential…..
February 7th, 2008 at 10:23 pm
I have been coming to this site a lot lately, so i thought would be proper to leave a note of appreciation here.
Thanks,
Jim Mirkalami
February 8th, 2008 at 4:31 am
Darius auditioned in New York with the American producers as well as in London with Sir Trevor Nunn. I should think they might know a tiny bit about American musicals!
February 13th, 2008 at 9:47 am
I can see Darius playing the part very well, he succeeded as Billy Flynn and Sky mastarton, both swauve, charismatic characters. He has the dark swauvy looks and the stage presence required and has proved he can act and sing in the West End previously. Trevor Nunn held the auditions so must have seen what Darius could do, plus I beleive Darius has been taking acting lessons for two years while gaining stage experience, hardly someone who isnt keen to put the work in and make a career for himself, its about time people let go of the image they have held of him since 2000 from a few clips on an editted TV show. Heaven help us all if we were held back by something so trivial, I call it media bullying myself.
February 13th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
Hi John,
I didn’t manage to catch Daruis in Chicago or Guys and Dolls, so unfortunately I am unaware of his acting skills. I’m afraid to say the only prior knowledge I have of Darius is through Pop Stars, however your passion and enthusiasm for his acting talent is exciting and makes us more intrigued about his upcoming performance.
After taking a break from his singing career I thought he’d dropped off the radar like so many others, but it was interesting to learn from your comment that he was in fact taking acting lessons and trying to carve a career for himself in the West End.
I think that the negative reaction stems from the fact that nobody expected Darius to be picked for the part, Broadway was rumoured to be getting the world famous Hugh Jackman to open as Rhett Butler. In today’s society it is big names that bring in the big audiences and you can see that Daruis’s fame (unfortunately) does not compare to that of Hugh’s. I think most people were expecting Jude Law or Clive Owen to fill the part in this long awaited theatre production, so in comparison when a small (but perfectly formed!) Daruis got the part I think people were a bit disappointed because they expected a bigger name. As shallow as it is - I think that is the root cause of this uproar.
However as I mentioned in my blogs, you can’t truly pass judgement on something until you’ve witnessed it - so we shall all wait with baited breath until we see the show.
Thanks for your comment and feel free to reply - as they say variety is the spice of life!
Laura