HomeTVRaza Jaffrey interview

Raza Jaffrey interview

British actor Raza Jaffrey has enjoyed a successful career on both the big and the small screen with roles inĀ Spooks,Ā Mistresses,Ā Sex and the City 2Ā andĀ Eastern Promises.

More recently heā€™s found success across the world as part of the hit musical showĀ SmashĀ where he plays politician Dev Sundaram, the boyfriend to the showā€™s central character Karen Cartwright (formerĀ American IdolĀ star Katharine McPhee).

Smash ā€“ Season OneĀ is being released on DVD in the UK on Monday so we caught up with Raza to find out more about the show, talk about showing off his singing talent and discover what itā€™s like to work with such a star-studded cast.

ā€˜Smashā€™ is being released on DVD in the UK next week. Whatā€™s the show all about?

SmashĀ is aboutĀ Bombshell,Ā a Marilyn Monroe musical. Itā€™s about all the people coming together to put on this Broadway show. Itā€™s about the lives of all those characters involved in it. Weā€™ve got great music from Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman who wroteĀ HairsprayĀ andĀ Catch Me If You Can. The pedigree of the people involved is fantastic; weā€™ve had episodes produced by Neil Meron and Craig Zadan who produced Chicago. Itā€™s made by authentic people who have worked in musical theatre on Broadway and in musical cinema as well. Theyā€™ve all come together to make this happen.

You play the character of Dev. What do we need to know about him?

Dev is a Brit. He works in the Mayorā€™s office in New York and heā€™s a very ambitious politician. His girlfriend in the show, played by Katharine McPhee, is hopefully going to become the star ofĀ BombshellĀ which is the show within our show. Of course be careful what you wish for because Iā€™m not sure either of them know what theyā€™re getting into on this path theyā€™ve both set themselves on.

Whatā€™s Katharine like to work with?

Sheā€™s wonderful. Sheā€™s brilliant and so fun to be around. Sheā€™s a really talented performer. American audiences knew her fromĀ American IdolĀ first of all and now theyā€™ve welcomed her with open arms asĀ SmashĀ has gone on. Sheā€™s a brilliant actress as sheā€™s proven to everyone and itā€™s a real pleasure to work with someone like that. Sheā€™s wonderful to be around.

The cast has some fantastic actors in it ā€“ Debra Messing, Anjelica Huston, Jack Davenport ā€“ whatā€™s it like being in such a fantastic ensemble?

Itā€™s lovely actually. Itā€™s such a mixed cast. Youā€™ve got Hollywood royalty in Anjelica. Then youā€™ve got the younger talent like Megan Hilty involved in the show whoā€™s a big Broadway star and this is her first major TV gig. Youā€™ve got people on all ends of the spectrum and I think thatā€™s why the cast gets along with each other so well. For me personally I adore having Jack on the cast as well because itā€™s nice to have a fellow Brit there and have someone to laugh at your jokes which is kind of nice.Ā  We have great fun shooting it actually. Itā€™s a great set to be on.

What first attracted you to ā€˜Smashā€™?

I think it was the calibre of the people involved, knowing that Steven Spielberg himself was involved in the show and that it was his original idea. Heā€™s very hands on as a producer and a lot of icons put their names to something without being there day-to-day but Stevenā€™s so hands with his projects. Knowing that he was involved was a major draw of course. The writing on the pilot episode, which is all we had early on. It was so great to read a script that featured 8 or 9 main characters yet all of them you kind of knew by the end of the episode, just 40 minutes of television, without feeling there was a load of exposition in the show. Itā€™s a real credit to how that pilot episode was written. That was my first experience ofĀ SmashĀ and why I knew I wanted to be involved with it really.

The show gets compared a lot to ā€˜Gleeā€™. How would you say the two shows differ?

Our show is different in that most of the music that happens in the show happens in the course ofĀ Bombshell, the musical weā€™re putting on. People generally donā€™t burst into song itā€™s more about seeing people in the rehearsal room than it is people singing in competitions. By the same tokenĀ GleeĀ is so adored in the States and I know it is in the UK, that if we even have a bit of the adorationĀ Gleeā€™sĀ had weā€™d be over the moon. One of the truths of theĀ GleeĀ story is that showā€™s likeĀ SmashĀ wouldnā€™t exist withoutĀ Glee. Iā€™m not sure we would have been given a voice on network television in America and the UK unless a musical drama likeĀ GleeĀ had done as well as itā€™s done. Itā€™s great to be compared alongside.

You mentioned earlier that your character Dev is the boyfriend of lead character Karen. What hurdles can we expect those two to experience over the course of the season?

The American writers are very good at ensuring thereā€™s lots of rockiness along the road. The nice thing about doing a series in America is that its 15 episodes so thereā€™s a proper arc to the story and a proper chance to go to some places with the characters. One of the other things that drew me to this project was how good they are at writing the stuff youā€™d never expect and the stuff that goes on in later episodes, particularly between Dev and Karen; when I turned the page my jaw dropped because I had literally no idea what was coming. I think people will be in for a shock when they see whatā€™s going to happen later on in the series.

You are a singer and a dancer yourself. Are you going to get the opportunity to show that off in the show?

Yes. I was really lucky. I donā€™t think they knew that I could sing and dance before I first met them on this project. When we were up and running in the show Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, our song writers who know me, came up with this great idea for a number and they wrote this original number for me. It was in episode 12 and it ended up being the biggest production number that weā€™d done. It was Katharine and I together and the whole cast join us for the number. Itā€™s one of the fun highlights of this year for me. It was a great thing to do.

Is there any kind of competitiveness amongst the cast as thereā€™s so many talented singers?

Whatā€™s been so lovely, and itā€™s probably why theyā€™ve cast the way they have, is that the voices on the show are so different. We have the luxury of having original songwriters involved in the show so the songs are engineered for different voices. Everyone has their own unique style and I think it makes for a better show. Megan has an extraordinary Broadway voice and Katharine has a more poppy voice so they just do different things on the show. Itā€™s great to have those different styles all mashed together really.

What kind of feedback have you had from fans about you and the show overall?

Theyā€™ve been really lovely actually. I think theyā€™re in for a few shocks as they think Dev is the perfect boyfriend and thereā€™s some stuff throughout the season that will make them question that. It might be a bit of a shock. The response has been really terrific. Whatā€™s interesting aboutĀ SmashĀ is that people come up to you and really want to talk to you about the specifics of the show like who will get the part (inĀ Bombshell),Ā whatā€™s happening in the show-within-a-show, whoā€™s coming to join the cast. Weā€™ve had some amazing guests with Uma Thurman and some big Broadway stars. People are really interested in the life of the show which is nice and it means people care about the show.

If you had to pick one highlight from season one for viewers to look forward to what would it be?

Thereā€™s a moment in episode 9 when Megan and Katharine end up in Times Square a little bit worse for wear which is one of my favourite scenes in the show. It was directed by British director Paul McGuigan who directedĀ SherlockĀ and itā€™s one of my favourite moments. Also the season finale as there are some moments in that that are real show-stoppers.

ā€˜Smash ā€“ Season Oneā€™ is released on DVD through Universal Pictures (UK) on Monday 29thĀ October 2012.

Pip Ellwood-Hughes
Pip Ellwood-Hughes
Pip is the owner and Editor of Entertainment Focus, and the Managing Director of PiƱata Media. With over 19 years of journalism experience, Pip has interviewed some of the biggest stars in the entertainment world. He is also a qualified digital marketing expert with over 20 years of experience.

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