From the Northern Beaches to the big stage, local musical theatre talent Andy Cook tells us about his rollercoaster journey and his ‘super iconic’ current role as the villain in the Capitol’s production of Moulin Rouge!
“I definitely started out as a musician on the Northern Beaches,” Andy begins.
“And then just straight into acting. I was acting in local stuff around town through a couple of different companies, and then I sort of started to put it all together to do musicals as I got older.”
Andy, who is now 33-years-old, says that while he focused on rugby, swimming and soccer during his time at St Paul’s Catholic College, he started taking acting and performing seriously when he was just a young teenager.
The local would meet with teachers and mentors who told him, ‘You could really do this’.
Andy then studied Music and Theatre Performance at university before tumbling straight into his first role after finishing his Bachelor of Arts degree.
Although he has had many career highlights, Andy said that his current role in Moulin Rouge! The Musical is an ‘amazing’ and ‘super iconic’ moment.
“Moulin Rouge [the Baz Luhrmann film] was 20 years ago, so from that period we have had 20 years of amazing music come through,” he explains.
“So, when they put the stage show on, they thought, ‘Well we can’t have the music from 20 years ago, we need to update it with Beyonce and Rhianna and all of these amazing artists who have made massive strides in that 20 years’.
“So, the musical is like the film, but add 20 years of music catalogue to that and put the film onto steroids!” Andy laughs.
Andy plays the Duke, who is the villain of the piece, and says he has had a very different take on the role compared to the character we all know in the famous movie.
“In this version, they’ve made him a bit more charming and handsome and sexy,” Andy describes.
“The thing that I like about the Duke is that there’s a lot of space to give him. A lot of light and humour, which I very much enjoy because there’s a darkness to every villain you play. But I think it’s my job to try and find as much light and vulnerability as I possibly can.”
There have been many challenges in Andy’s career, with one of the big ones suffering injury.
“When you’re an actor and a dancer, when an injury comes along it is really difficult because your body and your voice is your livelihood. When that is taken away from you, you kind of take it personally as if it’s a failure or something,” he says.
Another recent challenge for the arts was the COVID-19 pandemic, the obstacles from which Andy describes as ‘monumental’.
“I think it will never be the same as what we had before. I just think too much has happened and we all have changed so much our perspectives on everything,” he says.
“I think it’ll take another few years for us to find our feet again.”
While Andy has loved his time travelling around Australia, he is now enjoying being back in Sydney and is looking to return to the Northern Beaches.
“I very much feel the pull often to come back to the Beaches as it’s such a calm environment,” he says.
“Everyone there is so chill and doing their thing. It’s the polar opposite of what I do for work, and I love that.”
Moulin Rouge! The Musical is on at The Capitol Theatre until 28 February 2023. Visit moulinrougemusical.com for tickets and further information.