Gavin Creel

Gavin Creel starred as 'Claude' in Hair at the Gielgud Theatre

Birthday?
April 18, 1976

Place of Birth?
Findlay Ohio USA

Did you go to training school, if so which one?
University of Michigan School of Music

Briefly tell us how you became involved with Hair.
I got the audition. I went. I sang. I got cast. Plain and simple :-)

Briefly tell us about the character of Claude you play in Hair
Claude is a young man stuck between his sense of duty and his desire to freely discover who he is. He walks through the world trying to ignore his greatest fear, but in the end he ends up having to confront it.

How do London audiences respond to the show compared to Broadway?
I love the audiences here. They may seem a bit more reserved than back home, but they make us work for it, they listen. And they love it.

Your first stage performance?
I was the Magic Mirror in the 5th and 6th grade play at Jefferson Elementary School in Findlay Ohio

Career highlight to date?
Marching with the cast of Hair and 1500 other members of our theatre community at the national equality march in Washington DC last year.

What roles would you most like to play?
New ones. Real ones. Passionate ones. Joyful ones.

What's the best advice you've ever received?
Other people's successes are not your failures.

What has been your most embarrassing moment on stage?
Any time I forget my lines or lyrics...which happens more often than i care to admit.

What is the most annoying part about your job?
Missing out on dusk. I love dusk. Also, dealing with showbizziness. Or as they call it here, staginess. I don't enjoy that at all.

If you had not become a performer, what might you have done instead?
Still something passionate, loud, and lively. I think something with food. I love to eat and i would like to know how to cook really well and entertain people with food.

Favourite after-show haunts
Le deuxieme, Ping Pong, Soho House, Sophies, Mews on Mayfair....i'm still finding more....

Who are your favourite actors/actresses
I love Toni Collete and Kate Winslett. I would like to do something with the both of them....maybe a musical where I play their brother or lover or something wild. Please?

If you could meet anyone in the world dead or alive who would it be and what would you say to them?
Jesus and I would ask him who/what god is.

What was the last book you read, and name some of your favourite authors?
I'm not a big reader, but my favorite books are The Alchemist, The Perks of being a Wallflower and East of Eden

What was the last film you saw, and name some of your favourite movies?
Last film: Cemetery Junction (loved it) favs: Flirting with Disaster, Clue, Run Lola Run

Favourite tv programs?
Anything on the home and garden network. Top chef. Price is Right (version 1.0 with Bob Barker)

Favourite holiday destinations?
Somewhere with clear water, soft sand, and not a lot of people..

Do you have any hobbies?
I love playing games. A game night with friends, food, and drink is my dream outing.

Do you have any superstitions?
I knock wood, I don't walk under ladders, toss salt over my shoulder when it is spilt...but I don't really really believe in them.

If you were stranded on a desert island, what three items would you Take with you?
Tequila, Margarita mix, and ice.

What are your future plans?
Letting go.

Originally published on

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