After reaching the finals of the show revolution In 2021, dancer Tommy Durand is breaking new ground by taking on one of the lead roles in the musical The bodyguard.
• Also read: Musical “The Bodyguard”: In the footsteps of Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner
Tommy Durand’s life took a turn in the fall of 2021 when his second appearance on the show Révolution – this time alone – took him to the finals and then on a provincial tour. When that whirlwind passed, the young dancer found himself at a crossroads: Would he try his luck at other Canada’s Got Talent-caliber competitions? Are you looking internationally?
Being invited to audition for the musical The Bodyguard solved that question and took him down a new path that he had never really thought about.
PHOTO DIDIER DEBUS SCISSORS
“It’s still difficult to get out of a whirlwind like the Revolution tour and not have a project overnight. I needed a new challenge and Le Bodyguard came at the right time. I never thought that one day I would do a musical. But when I was called to an audition, I said to myself, “Let’s go!” says Tommy Durand in an interview with the Journal.
According to his own statements, the 21-year-old artist was not at all familiar with the original works, neither the film nor the stage production of the bodyguard. The musical, currently playing at the Capitole de Quebec, follows the main lines of the 1992 feature film, in which an international star is forced to hire a bodyguard to protect her from the insistent threats of an anonymous fan. The film was then brought to the stage, first in London in 2012.
However, he was no stranger to the songs, as Whitney Houston’s voice imprinted the songs “I Wanna Dance With Somebody”, “Run to You”, “I Have Nothing” and “I Will Always Love You” into his memory.
“These are classics! We often hear them in the middle of the dance,” he specifies.
Above all, dance
But playing his very first role — that of stalker — was a step out of his comfort zone. Luckily, the young Quebec native was able to draw on his extensive dance experience to bring to life the one that torments the show’s star, Rachel Marron (played here by Jennifer-Lee Dupuy).
“In dance, I’m used to telling stories and conveying emotions. Of course it’s very different in the theater, but I was very well surrounded by the show team. And I dance more than lines,” he says.
PHOTO DIDIER DEBUS SCISSORS
Actually. Because the director Joël Legendre advocated a different approach to the role of the stalker. Rather than adopting the genre’s clichés – a stocky, gruff, and naturally menacing man – he chose to cast him as a lean and graceful character. This move therefore allows Tommy Durand to capitalize on his background in ballet, contemporary and lyrical dance.
“I think it adds something to the story. It’s very different from what people expect, it makes the character more mysterious and poetic,” he says.
The bodyguard experience may even have sparked a new passion in him, both for acting and for musical comedy. Although dance will never leave him, Tommy Durand does not hide his desire to deepen his theatrical skills.
“I haven’t planned anything after Le Bodyguard. Am I going back to the dance competition? I do not know yet. But I know that one day I want to do musical comedy again,” he says.
- The musical Le Bodyguard will be performed at the Capitole de Québec until August 13th. She then moved to Trois-Rivières and Gatineau the following month before returning to Montreal in November.