Millsy puts Paris behind him for Wicked
Rob Mills has put his tryst with Paris Hilton behind him and reformed his ways.
The 25-year-old former Australian Idol contestant says that’s why he is perfect to play party boy turned good guy Fiyero in the stage musical Wicked, which opens in Melbourne in July.
“I think I’m definitely born to play this role,” Mills said.
“He’s a very carefree guy when you first meet him - he doesn’t care too much about anyone else other than himself and he’s extremely shallow.
“I think he grows over the three hours of the show, the same way I’ve grown in the last four years of my life since first being on Idol and I was pretty carefree.
“I got into a fair bit of trouble back in those days.”
Wicked is based on the best-selling novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire.
The re-imagining of L Frank Baum’s classic story The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is told from the perspective of the witches of the Land of Oz - Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda, the Good Witch of the North.
Fiyero is the wealthy, handsome party boy who initially pursues the ditzy blonde Glinda, played by Lucy Durack, before becoming intrigued by the smart, fiery and misunderstood Elphaba, played by Amanda Harrison.
“The character is very cool, he’s such a dude,” Mills said.
“He tries hard, and he fumbles through some awkward love moments, which I can relate to as well.”
Mills had a brief but highly publicised fling with American socialite Paris Hilton when she was in Australia for the Melbourne Cup in 2003.
The pair was photographed kissing on the balcony of her hotel.
These days, Mills says that just like Fiyero, his priorities have changed.
“(Fiyero) realises what’s important in life and really goes for it,” he says.
“It’s about making a difference and making a change in life.
“I can definitely relate to the character.”
Part of his positive change was landing the role in Wicked - something he set his mind to the first time he saw the show in London.
“I first heard the music when it came out five years ago, and I thought the songs were amazing,” he says.
“I saw the show in London in preview week and the next day I rang my manager and said, ‘I have to be in this show. When it comes to Australia - get me an audition. I will work my bum off and do whatever just to be in the show’.”
Four auditions later that dream came true.
Mills more experienced castmate Amanda Harrison has starred alongside Hugh Jackman in Sunset Boulevard, Todd McKenney in The Boy From Oz, and in productions of Miss Saigon, We Will Rock You, Leader of the Pack and Oklahoma!
But she says she has never been more nervous than she was for the Wicked auditions.
“For me it was the most nerve-wracking audition experience of my life, because it’s such a big role, and the songs are quite powerful,” Harrison says.
“This is going to be the biggest musical Australia has seen in a very long time.”
A lifelong fan herself, Harrison says Wizard of Oz lovers will find plenty to enjoy in Wicked.
“It’s a beautiful film, and it’s what (Wicked) is based upon,” she says.
“All the characters that you know and love in The Wizard Of Oz appear in Wicked, and you find out a lot more about them.
“The whole premise is that you don’t really know what went on in Oz during that time.
“You find out why the characters become who they are, especially Elphaba who becomes the Wicked Witch of the West - why she is green and why she is wicked.
“Is she really wicked?”
It appears theatregoers don't need any convincing.
Wicked is setting box office benchmarks not matched in 25 years.
The musical has its Australian premiere at Melbourne’s Regent Theatre on July 12 and already holds more than $7.25 million in advance bookings.
All of that means plenty of pressure on the production’s young cast, who will have just three weeks of rehearsals.
“We’re taking our scripts to the toilet,” says the still-cheeky Mills.
“Oh, girls don’t do that, they don’t read on the toilet, do they?
“Ok, we’re taking our scripts to bed to learn it then.”
