Luke Evans nearly walked away from performing before he ever made it to Hollywood. Now he is Tony-nominated for his Broadway debut, playing Dr. Frank-N-Furter in a revival of The Rocky Horror Show.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Evans stands 6 feet 8 inches tall in the platform-heeled boots the role requires, towering above a cast that includes Stephanie Hsu, Juliette Lewis, and Harvey Guillén. He also wears a corset, a wig, and a jockstrap for the part. "You don't take on a role like Frank, and expect to be covered up," Evans said.
Director Sam Pinkleton said the role demanded someone specific. "He had to be a truly tremendous actor. He had to be a real comedian, like a clown. He had to have a killer voice. He had to be terrifying, and also tender," Pinkleton said. "We had to be scared of him, and we also had to want to fuck him. I also really felt strongly that it needed to be somebody who carried some kind of queerness with them, whatever that means."
Evans trained in musical theater and went on to lead West End productions including Miss Saigon and Rent. But steady work was hard to find. "I was ready to give it up and find a new career and do something else, which I was happily going to do. I'm sure I would have been very sad not to be performing, because that's the only thing I ever wanted to do. But there wasn't stability, there wasn't a financial security, there wasn't a guarantee of a next job," he said.
His fortunes shifted after a 2008 production of Small Change at London's Donmar Warehouse, a play about two Welsh boys. Evans was cast after writing a note to the director describing his own upbringing in Wales and asking to be seen. That production led to him signing with an agent and eventually moving to Los Angeles, where he built a film career in franchises including Fast and the Furious, The Hobbit, and Clash of the Titans.
The Rocky Horror Show role was never on his wish list. "I didn't even think I possibly could pull it off, to be honest, but I did get excited about the fact that, I love a challenge," Evans said.
He is now nominated for a Tony Award for his performance, with the ceremony approaching later this spring.
