Gary Watson recently joined the West End production of Jersey Boys at the Piccadilly Theatre as Nick Massi.
Jersey Boys has been seen by over 19 million people worldwide and is firmly established as one of the West End's longest running and most popular shows. It tells the true story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons and their rise to stardom from the wrong side of the tracks.
In 2013 Gary finished as a runner-up in West End Frame’s Understudy of the Year Award for covering the role of Zach in A Chorus Line (London Palladium).
His West End credits also include: Rudolpho in Matilda the Musical (Cambridge Theatre/RSC), Marius in Les Miserables (Queen's Theatre), Evita (Adelphi Theatre) and Saturday Night Fever (Apollo Victoria Theatre).
Gary’s further credits include: Norman in Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be (Stratford East), G.K Chesterton in Finding Neverland (Leicester Curve), Claude in Hair (Slovenia), Sky in Mamma Mia! (International Tour) and Rum Tum Tugger in Cats (National Tour).
He also recently appeared in the television adaptation of Victoria Wood’s That Day We Sang (BBC2), Kenneth Branagh’s film of Cinderella (Walt Disney Productions) and Kiss Me, Kate for the 2014 proms, the performance was later televised on BBC2 on Christmas Day.
I recently spoke to Gary about joining Jersey Boys, taking over BBC2’s Christmas schedule last year and why understudying Zach in A Chorus Line was one of the most terrifying things he has ever done…
When was the first time you saw Jersey Boys?
I saw the show very early on at the Prince Edward, I think it was during its first year and I hadn’t seen it since. I loved the show, it’s a great show for guys and I have always had my eye on it so feel very lucky to have got this role!
Was Nick the character you always had your eye on?
Yes, I was really drawn to him. He’s got some great comic moments; he’s this dry and sort of quirky character so I’ve always really liked him and when we started auditioning I was like ‘this fits me really well’. I’m really enjoying playing him so far. I think it all starts with the script because that’s your first point of reference. Your agent sends through the material and, I’ve been saying it from day one, Jersey Boys is so well written that the first time you read it out loud you know how you’re going to say it. With certain scripts for shows you have to work quite hard with the material to make it natural or whatever, but with Jersey Boys the text is so brilliantly concise and funny and sad and witty and powerful. It leaps off the page so it’s just a joy to perform.
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