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officer
Class Ben Mingay has downed tools as a construction worker to play the title role in An Officer And A Gentleman but, as Matt Myers discovers, it’s still all about nuts, goolies and wobbly bits!
“Girls think I’m the straightest guy they’ve ever met. Gay guys seem to think I’m gay,” says Ben. 32 DNA
Can we get you on a float at the next Mardi Gras? If I can physically be there, I’ll be on it! How switched on is your gaydar? I reckon it’s pretty tweaked. But I also get taken for a gay guy all the time. I get it a fair bit, which is funny because when girls meet me, they think I’m the straightest guy they’ve ever met. But gay guys seem to think I’m gay. Maybe it’s because I work in musical theatre? I think it might be wishful thinking. [Laughing] Maybe that’s it! What’s it like being a straight man in the world of theatre? It’s kind of a bonus working in this business because you make a lot of great friends, and also, all the ladies are available! If you were gay, who would you go for? Sean Connery in the early Bond days! You have quite a few roles on your CV, including Dirty Dancing, HAIR, South Pacific and Jersey Boys. Has there been a favourite? Definitely Jersey Boys. Tommy DeVito was the best role I’ve played so far. In some ways I can relate to him, not that I’m a gambling womaniser! But I could really relate to that character and I dived right into him. The music, the set, the direction and way it was written, all made it such a great experience. You had to go naked in HAIR? Yes, I did full-frontal nude and that was my first show! I was in the front row and the old fella was right in the grannies’ faces [laughing]. It was fun to get nude in
front of 2,500 people. Do you have a dream stage role that you‘re yet to realise? Yes, I’ve always wanted to play Mufasa in The Lion King. Who is your diva? Madonna’s up there and so was Whitney. What happened to Whitney was such a shame. I guess being in this industry we have to roll with the punches, because this often happens to people when they become famous and can’t handle it. I’m glad that nothing happened to me before now, because I wouldn’t have been able to deal with it all. I would have been one of the statistics! What’s your porn name? (Your first pet and the street you grew up in.) It’s Snoopy Jubilee! What do you think is the stand out moment in An Officer And A Gentleman? I think there are a few. Obviously at the end when he comes along and sweeps her off her feet. That’s the iconic scene and you can’t beat it, but also when Zack loses his shit and is broken down by Sergeant Foley (Bert LaBonte). Speaking of that famous fight scene, how do you deal with that major kick to the nuts? Are you wearing a cricket box? Yes! The fight scene is much more intense and longer in our show than in the movie, and I really need that box as I get knocked right in the goolies! Who is your biggest inspiration in the world of theatre? I get inspired by the older generation of theatre people, like Geoffrey Rush. People who have trodden the boards. What advice would you give to people wanting a career like yours? Keep at it! It’s the only way to make it in this business. You have to have talent but you have to keep working on your craft as a performer, and you’ll get there in the end. It’s taken me a long time to get where I wanted to be. A lot of the time you have to be willing to eat two-minute noodles and do degrading jobs. But you have to hang in there and challenge yourself. I remember living in New York without a job, pulling beers and working for tips, but also studying the whole time. If you’re challenged and you’re hungry, you’re forced to be creative. Under your uniform, do you wear a dance belt? Yeah, and I’ve never had to wear one before because I’m not really a dancer. There’s some choreography in the show, but it’s more about drill routine. But considering the fight scene and all, I have to wear one, with the box, as there may be some wobbly bits [laughing]! Speaking of wobbly bits, are you a boxers, jocks or free-balling man? I like to mix it up with all three, but generally I like a pair of loose-fitting jocks. With boxer shorts, it’s just all too crazy down there.
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DNA: You play Zack Mayo in the new musical production of An Officer And A Gentleman. Is the role challenging? Ben Mingay: It is. There are a lot of complexities to Zack’s character. He changes so much throughout the show. He begins his journey on the wrong side of the tracks, but after flight school he changes through his new friendships and his love interest, Paula. At the end of the show, we’ve got a very different guy, which is kind of cool. Obviously you’ll be compared to Richard Gere. Did you revisit the film? Yes. My mum was a massive fan of the movie and she used to watch it all the time when I was young. I’d be playing on the floor and she’d be watching either a Richard Gere or Robert Redford classic. Subconsciously, I probably watched An Officer And A Gentleman 28 times! How about hanging out with real life naval officers? My cousin Peter is in the navy. I went to his wedding and it was like something out of An Officer And A Gentleman. They were all in their white suits, holding their swords up. So, he’s good for advice. We also did a great photoshoot with fighter jets at the Museum Of Transport And Technology in New Zealand. You worked as a construction worker while studying opera at the Newcastle Conservatorium Of Music. That sounds very Flashdance! [Laughing] It was, except that I’m a bloke! In school I did a couple of plays and musicals. I got shipped off to boarding school and got homesick, so my mum suggested I do the school plays to take my mind off things, and it worked. But I also found out that I could sing! So how did the Conservatorium happen? When I left school I worked in construction. In Newcastle there’s not much of an option. My girlfriend at the time told me to audition, so I did and got in. I remember the first time I turned up in my overalls riding a motorbike, I was covered with concrete and holding a briefcase full of music. But the security guard on the door wouldn’t let me in. I think he thought I had a bomb! You look very dashing in your naval officer’s uniform. You realise that gay guys are checking you out, right? Oh absolutely! Working in the business a lot of my best mates are gay and they’ve already been on Facebook saying they love me in the white suit [laughing]. So I know it will be a hit.
An Officer And A Gentleman is currently playing at the Lyric Theatre, Sydney.
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