From Ladies' Man To Leading Man

June 15, 2008

 The former Idol star has landed the coveted lead male role in Wicked, the show that is tipped as the year’s biggest stage musical.

He plays Fiyero, a dashing larrikin who is adored by the ladies and gradually learns about responsibility, love and grows into a man.

The character could be seen as a metaphor for Mills’ own colourful ride through life.

His casting, alongside acclaimed performers Amanda Harrison, Lucy Durack, Maggie Kirkpatrick and Rob Guest, has caused considerable debate in theatre circles.

Could Mills, rock ‘n’ roll ladies’ man who famously was a one-time paramour of Paris Hilton and who has had little musical theatre experience, be turned into a leading man of the stage?

Mills says he can.

"I feel this is my place. I feel really confident in it," he said.

"People are not going to see the guy from Idol singing on a stage. They will see not just a rock performer, but a stage performer who is just beginning another massive journey."

The role of Fiyero is Mills’ greatest challenge and his biggest opportunity.

He discovered the character about 18 months ago while backpacking in Europe and trying to figure out what he wanted to do next with his career.

"I did six months of partying overseas," Mills said. "Then you go, ‘OK, that was great, but now it’s time to focus on what’s going to make me a better person’.

"I saw Wicked overseas and thought, ‘I love this show’. I realised this was another form of entertainment, something that combined everything I loved doing.

``I wanted to be a part of it and I knew I wanted to do this character (Fiyero)."

Mills made his name through the first series of Australian Idol. He was more Millsy than Rob Mills at that stage, the scallywag frontman of a Melbourne cover band.

Despite being the crowd favourite, he came fifth on the show.

Looking back, Mills admits he probably did not take the TV talent quest seriously enough.

"I liked the performing, I liked the singing, I liked being on stage, but I probably didn’t want it enough," he said.

But his potential did not go unnoticed by record company BMG and he landed a record deal.

He auditioned for Neighbours and Channel 10 offered him the hosting role on Video Hits.

And then came the Paris incident.

Hotel heiress Paris Hilton and Mills met at the premiere of The Matrix Revolution in Sydney in November, 2003.

He was 21. She was the world’s most famous party girl.

Sparks flew between the pair. When they turned up at the Melbourne Cup together, the celebrity press went into meltdown.

Even now, five years on, rarely does an interview pass where Mills is not asked about Hilton.

While polite, he is – not surprisingly – tired of talking about a relationship that lasted all of two weeks.

"(I thought) all right, she is pretty hot. I got her a drink and we sat down and had a chat," he said.

"And it went from there.

"We talked about normal stuff. I was curious about what happens in LA and she was curious about what happens in Australia."

Mills has no regrets about his brief romance with Hilton, but admits the interlude was, in retrospect, not a great career move.

"It just happened, but the spin-off from it was, I think, a loss of credibility," he said.

"My hook-up with Paris turned me from a guy who was a good singer on Australian Idol to just a social page guy.

"The whole Australian Idol thing got lost. The performer got lost and I got turned into just a lad.

"The whole Australian Idol thing got lost. The performer got lost and I got turned into just a lad.

"I have actually had to work much harder to turn that around."

His debut album Up All Night was released in 2004.

"I think it (the Paris factor) definitely affected the singing (career) and the album," he said.

"Even the first single that BMG picked out, Miss Vanity, was a spin-off from Paris. I was not too happy about that."

The single was a Top 10 hit and the album sold well, but in the merging of the record companies Sony and BMG, Mills was dropped from the label.

Ready for a break, he headed to Europe in 2006.

"I did some labouring with some mates," he said. "I remember just singing with a shovel and thinking what am I doing? I want more than this.

"I was working in a pub in London for a week and thought, ‘I’ve got more to offer’. I just wanted to do more."

And then he saw Wicked.

His determination to get the role of Fiyero, and be taken seriously as a performer, defined his behaviour on return to Australia.

In short, he grew up.

"I’ve learned to take responsibility for my actions a bit more ... (like) not going out as much, not being the total larrikin," he said.

"I still have fun, but not all the time.

"Now I think, ‘Well why do you have to go to it? There are millions of parties’."

e had to work hard to earn the Wicked role, auditioning four times.

Mills described February 1, the day he was told he was part of the Wicked team as "the best day of my life".

"I had bought a place and was getting the keys that day.

"Then my manager rocks up with a bottle of Moet and says, ‘Congratulations on the house, it is a great day for you – and you have booked Wicked’.

"It was just tears. It was a magic day – a new place, a new job and a new life."

Rehearsals started in Melbourne last month. As well as the strict rehearsal schedule, Mills is also working with a vocal coach, a dance instructor, an acting coach and has a personal trainer.

Wicked co-producer John Frost believes the gamble on Mills has paid off.

"A lot of people are going to be very, very surprised at what they see with him," he said.

"He is not the Rob Mills that we read about in the media and we hear about in the Paris Hilton stories.

"I think he has got a big career ahead of him. He is standing up to be counted."

Opening night of Wicked is at the Regent Theatre on July 12.

From-http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23865959-5006016,00.html