The Scottish platinum-selling, award winning singer and stage performer Darius Campbell lands his biggest gig yet as a lead. The role is for the part of Shiro, a mysterious “beastly” bodyguard in ABC’s upcoming adaptation of Beauty and the Beast. Shiro will join forces with the war ready Princess Grace and her fiance Gorrick. While the leading lady role has not yet been casted, Gorrick however will be played by Australian actor Christopher Egan reports Deadline.
ABC’s version of Beauty and the Beast promises “a fantastical reimagining of the classic fairy tale set in a mythical, dangerous world wherein a beautiful and tough Princess discovers an unlikely connection with a mysterious beast.” Yves Simoneau is directing the show, from a script by Jonathan Steinberg; Jericho.
Yay! Another retelling of the classic fairy tale. In additional to the many literary remixes and reboots, I’m surprised that we haven’t felt the toxic effects of this over saturation yet. Since the hit comic book series Fables debuted and made waves, the entire market has been flooded with novels, television shows and movies. All clamoring to get their piece of the public domain money making venture.
The CW is also making a version of Beauty and the Beast as well. This one will be the remake of Linda Hamilton and Ron Perlman’s cat faced beast; he really did look more impressive with the makeup; a series that was on the air from 1987 to 1990. Back when Fox made more compelling fiction than they air now. It’s weird looking at Sarah Conner and Hellboy beside each other like that. They don’t seem to be the loving type.
While this pilot for the show is the biggest gig that Campbell has landed in the states, he’s basically an unknown. While on the other side of the pond in the U.K. Campbell already has a reputation that has grown with him over the years. Campbell started out in entertainment notably as a finalist on the English version of Popstars and Pop Idol over ten years ago; he’s a karaoke star! This may have been the low point of his career as there are still some chuckles online about his debut. Over the years he’s transitioned more into theater, starring in a number of West End musicals, such as Chicago, Gone with the Wind, and Guys And Dolls. Campbell’s most recent stint was on a TV drama series in the U.K. This has marked his rise to this new role based on his merit and not the product of karaoke super-stardom. Hopefully this will be the mark of bigger and better things to come for him. Wait… Actually getting married to Natasha Henstridge was the moment things got good for Campbell. It seems his life is just a giant growing snowball of success. Bah!
To feel better about my lot in life, I’m going to watch Campbell in a clip from U.K.’s Popstars. This should at least give me some kind of relief to my jealousy.