Gary Milner - Interview by Jasmine Storm

Jasmine Storm interviews Gary Milner who plays Baron Von Blackheart in the forthcoming production of Goldilocks and the Three Bears at Milton Keynes Theatre this December.

JS: Lovely to meet you.

GM: Nice to meet you

JS: What do you love about panto; do you love the audience participation?  And what’s your favourite panto?

GM: Well, I’ve never done panto before so this is going to be a whole new experience for me and I am really looking forward to that.  My agent said to me ‘are you sure you want to do it?’ and I said absolutely.  It’s going to be so out of my comfort zone and I am just excited.  I think it’s going to be great and its such a switch up from what I normally do: musical theatre.  Panto has got a certain freedom to it and its so much fun.  I am really looking forward to it. Favourite panto?  I would say Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

Jasmine and Gary laugh

JS: And this panto looks really exciting as it’s a circus theme

GM: Exactly!  It’s a circus take on it and we’ve got the good and bad circus.  I’m Baron Von Blackheart and…

Jasmine boos.  Gary growls.  They both laugh.

GM: So, I am in charge of the...well I think the best circus but it’s the bad one.  It’s all about having caged animals.  Brian (Billy Barnum) is all about the joy and colour and magicians and acts whereas mines all about the animals being caged up which is a good moral lesson in that.

JS: Absolutely.  Do you enjoy playing a baddie?

GM: I’ve yet to see.  I’m looking forward to it.  I get to play a baddie quite a lot.

JS: what are they trying to say to you?

GM: Exactly!  They like it because it such a disparate to what I normally play.  Its such a break from the norm because normally in theatre you are asked to play as close to your own or put as much of yourself into it to make it as real as possible.  Whereas I can’t do that with this, I don’t own a circus and I am not a baddie.  It’s gonna be good fun.

JS: Are you looking forward to being booed?

GM: Absolutely.  I was booed last year funnily enough.  I was in the new Steps musical Here and Now.  My character was the baddie.  He was the boyfriend who was having an affair.  And the whole audience booed me.  And called me names.  It was quite an experience to be shouted at by an audience.

JS: How much fun was that?!!

GM: Yeah

JS: You have a solid body of work behind you.  What’s your favourite part to play and is there a part you still desire to play?

GM: Recently I think my favourite part to play Peron in Evita which I did up at Leicester.  I’ve been through it with that show because I played Magaldi in 2009 when they did the production in London, and Philip Quast was Peron and he was just like, in my eyes, strong.  So, to then be asked to play it, all those years later (now I’m an older man), that was quite something.  Its just an incredible score, and a brilliant show to be a part of which I really loved.  Part I still want to play? They come and go but one of my favourite musicals of all time is Kiss Of The Spider Woman.  Probably Molina in that although I’ve aged out on that one now.

JS: Well, in our hearts…

GM: Yeah, in our hearts, if its in our hearts then its Chris in Miss Saigon.

both laugh

JS: If you were asked to go on a reality show, which one would you choose and why?

GM: Can I choose The Traitors?  Is that a reality show?  Yeah, that’s a reality show. Definitely The Traitors.

JS: Does that lean into the role you are going to be playing in panto?

GM: Oh yes.  I watched that with my daughter and we are absolutely obsessed.  We even watch Traitors unplugged and the podcast.  I just think its absolutely fascinating and I cannot wait until the new series comes as there is a celebrity traitors coming.  I’ve got a couple of friends in it.  I just can’t wait to see how they do.

JS: Interesting answer.  Thank you.  And my last question is if you could give your younger self some advice, what would you tell them?

GM: To not take everything so much to heart.  What’s gonna happen is gonna happen.  And if you are talking about my younger self as an actor, very much go with the flow.  If you are available and someone offers you a job – do it because work breeds work breeds’ work.  The most joyful thing about this job is meeting people.  And every time you take a job you meet a whole new family.  I call it my 6 o’clock family.  At 6 o’clock everyone meets or is on stage; you have a chat; you have a warm up and then you do the show together.  And then you disappear off into the night. But sometimes you can spend more time with your 6 o’clock family than your real family.  So, it’s an important part of your day.  You commit to these people.  On stage and in the moment.  It’s such a special thing for us all.

JS: I think I read somewhere that you do spend more time with your work family than the person you chose to spend the rest of your life with.

GM: Sure, yes you can do.  My wife and I at the moment see little of each other.  She’s doing Top Hat on tour.  We see each other at the weekends at the moment.  She spent the whole summer on tour so we cross paths at the weekend.  But it’s a special business to be in and she gets her 6 o’clock family.  She gets to go off with a lot of my friends which are on that show.  The number of times you cross over.  I did a show last year at the Barbican called Kiss Me Kate.  One of the best things to come out of that show was my friend James who I met on the show.  He is now playing opposite Sally in Top Hat.

JS: It’s a small world

GM: Very small world.

JS: It’s been lovely talking to you

GM: It’s been lovely talking to you.