‘I’ve played a lot of baddies – and I enjoy it!’ Gary Milner on his villainous role in MK panto
At a time when children are being good in readiness for Santa's arrival, Gary Milner is looking forward to tapping into his nasty side to raise the boos and hisses as the baddie in this year's sumptuous Milton Keynes Theatre pantomime, Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
With a lengthy career rich in roles on the stage (from the West End to Broadway and plenty inbetween) and screen, perhaps surprisingly this is the first time that Gary has signed up for panto.
“My agent said to me, 'Panto, are you sure?' because it is not my bag at all, and I just said to myself, 'Absolutely, I definitely want to do this,’ because it is stretching your wings and you always want to step outside of your comfort zone.
“I've got the tools for it, but I have no idea how it is going to go!”
The role of Baron Von Blackheart might be a new one for him, but taking on characters from the dark side is nothing unusual for Gary. He previously spent eight years living and working in New York which gave him a good grounding.
“In America they either think of you as intelligent or evil if you've got a British accent, so I have played a lot of baddies, and I enjoy it,” he said. “There is a lot to be taken from it and it's exactly what we're doing; it's storytelling, stepping outside of our norm and being something different, which is nice because normally you are asked to be as close to what you are usually.”
It's the first time in more than two decades that Goldilocks and the Three Bears has been staged in Milton Keynes, and it won't be quite the traditional tale – this is panto, after all!
“The show is set in the midst of two competing circuses – one is Billy Barnum's circus and the other one is evil Baron Von Blackheart's circus. He has caged animals and is an unsavoury spectacle, whereas Billy Barnum's circus is bright and shiny and not about keeping animals against their will, so there is a good message in there.
“We've got Goldilocks, we've got three bears and we've got porridge, though,” he promises.
Taking this role means he gets to spend the festive season working with his old pal, and national treasure, Brian Conley, who is swapping his current role as Doc in Back to the Future to lead this seasonal show as Billy Barnum.
Gary and Brian are longtime mates, a friendship forged when they worked together three decades ago. In fact, it was Brian who made the initial call to ask if Gary fancied taking on the role. It also means he'll be working with Brian's daughter, Lucy, who is starring as Goldilocks.
“It's really, really surreal. It just dawned on me that we are actually going to be sharing a stage together, which is a really personal thing. I've known Lucy her whole life, and held her when she was a tiny little baby.”
Pantomime is all about bringing smiles, which will be a breeze for this cast.
“I said to Lucy earlier, 'Have you ever felt sadness?' and she said, 'I don't know what that is!' and she just had this perfect Disney smile on! She is always happy.”
Gary is looking forward to getting his teeth into the role of the Baron, but working with his pal puts the perfect seal on the engagement: “Brian is hands down the best in the business at what he does, and this specifically, which he does religiously every year, is just flawless. Audiences are going to have so much fun,” Gary promised.
“I can't wait to see the Timbuktu Tumblers, either – a whole team of tumblers that are Baron Von Blackheart's crew, they are his animals and they have got this amazing tumbling act. I am looking forward to that enormously.”
Goldilocks and the Three Bears runs at Milton Keynes Theatre from Saturday December 6 until Sunday January 11.
Visit atgtickets.com/MiltonKeynes to book.