Episode 73 - Julian Ovenden

Julian Ovenden, a Screen Actors Guild Award winner, talks with Ilana about his roles on "Knightfall," "Downton Abbey," and many other amazing projects. Julian shares details about his first musical in London, "Merrily We Roll Along," by the inimitable Stephen Sondheim. Sondheim was there at rehearsal daily and re-worked material for and with Juilan. The two often sat at the piano together since Julian had to play a lot in the show. Julian's gorgeous tenor voice has made him one of the most sought after concert performers in the world; he has three solo albums to his name. The son of a vicar who became the vicar for England's royal family, Julian's discusses what is was like for his family to live on the property at Windsor Castle. An actor who once had a phobia about accents, Julian shares how he learned to embrace them in order to stretch himself. And Julian gets candid with Ilana about the ups and downs of his career and tells hilarious audition stories that any actor will relate to. British actor, Julian Ovenden is an accomplished thespian and musician, who has also had memorable performances in globally renowned television and film projects over the span of his 17-year career. He has starred on Broadway and in the West End, in high profile television series on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as fashioning an international career as a concert and recording artist. Ovenden currently stars as ‘William De Nogaret’ in HISTORY’s “Knightfall,” created by Don Handfield and Richard Rayner and executively produced by Jeremy Renner. The story centers on the mysterious but true accounts of the Knights Templar, the elite warriors of the Crusades. It delves into the great secrets protected by the Templars and tells the story of faith, loyalty, and brotherhood that help sustain these warriors on the battlefield and the dark events that would forever sear the infamous date of Friday the 13th into the world’s psyche.  As a solo singer, Ovenden has appeared with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including The New York Philharmonic, The New York Pops, The Northern Sinfonia, The Liverpool Philharmonic, The RPO, The LPO, The Belfast Symphony Orchestra, the John Wilson Orchestra, The BBC Symphony, The Royal Concertgebouw, and The BBC Concert Orchestra. Ovenden made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2014 and with much success, performed an additional headlining concert in 2016. In 2013, Ovenden recorded a debut album for Decca records entitled “If You Stay” and has since made a “Rogers and Hammerstein” record with John Wilson for Warner Classics and a “Downton Abbey Christmas” release.  On stage at the Booth theatre in 2006, Ovenden made his Broadway debut in “Butley,” as ‘Joseph Keyston’ opposite Nathan Lane. In 2011, Ovenden starred as ‘Death’ in “Death Takes a Holiday” for The Roundabout Theatre Company and appeared as ‘J.M. Barrie’ in The Weinstein Company’s “Finding Neverland.”  Ovenden first appeared on British television as ‘Andrew Foyle’ starring opposite Michael Kitchen in the widely adored “Foyle’s War” for five seasons. He has also appeared as ‘Charles Blake’ in two seasons of the worldwide phenomenon “Downton Abbey.” Domestically, Ovenden is best known for playing ‘Jeremy Lambert’ in Season 3 and 4 of CBS’s drama series, “Person of Interest.” Further television credits include ‘Val Dartie’ in “The Forsyte Saga,” “Related,” and “SMASH.” Ovenden can be seen in the films, “Colonia,” “The Confessions,” and the British indie war film “Allies.” Ovenden currently resides in England with opera singer Kate Royal, their son Johnny Beau, daughter Audrey, and Roman the dog. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices