Gest speaker
VM: What role will you have on the panel?
David: "I’m going to do what I do for a living which is to find the best people for the roles of Danny and Sandy. If they’re good I’ll say so and put them through, and if they’re not I’ll say, ‘Look, stop wasting your time and mine’. I have to be straight with them. It’s my job. We’re not here to play around. We’re here to cast people in a role."
VM: What made you decide to become a judge on the show?
David: "I wasn’t sure at first because I didn’t know if I would enjoy being a judge. I’m very nervous doing something like this. “I’m like two different people; when I’m on stage I am a certain character but when I go home I’m not this kind of person. I freaked this morning when I had to go out in front of the crowd, and once, when I had a party in LA, I actually stayed in my room!"
VM: How do you fit in with the panel?
David: "I’d never met the others before but I love Sinitta, she’s like a breath of fresh air. She’s not only beautiful, she’s got the greatest legs! We’ve become good friends and I gave her a jacket that Michael Jackson wore, as a gift. When I go out on the panel I know I have to work."
VM: What do you think the biggest challenge is going to be?
David: "First of all, we’re looking for English people to do an American accent so we’ve immediately got the challenge of accents. People auditioning in America have it easier - Grease and high school is in their DNA. So that’s the biggest challenge - to actually get the sense of America and Americana into a Brit."
VM: Can you spot if someone has genuine talent very quickly?
David: "In all honesty, there are some that walk out and you know right away that it’s not them. But there is a certain light, and it comes perhaps once in every 10 people. There was one girl that did not immediately have the look but she came out and transformed herself,"
VM: In your high school yearbook, what would it read?
David: "I think I left high school, I ran away. I don’t remember what the yearbook said."
VM: Have you got a favourite scene or song from the movie?
David: "I love to hear You’re The One That I Want, because it’s such a wild scene in the movie that number."
VM: What’s the worst audition that you’ve seen?
David: "I can’t bear it when they sit and tell you that they’re not leaving. I find that repulsive because you’re the judge and they’re the contestant, and they have to take direction. If they can’t take direction to leave the stage how are you going to work with them? Only once, so far, has someone actually answered back to me and he was adamant he wasn’t leaving. I just had to say finally ‘It’s over baby! Asta la Vista’. "
VM: What advice would you give contestants?
David: "I remember I had a cousin who wanted to be a dancer; to be in a Broadway play. The day of his audition he got ill, but he went in, gave it his all and he got the part. That’s my advice for contestants. They need to come in and make the best of their time. Be ready, be focused and, you know, be prepared."
30th March, 2007