Born in Victoria, Australia, Jason Donovan, 55, began acting at nine and joined Neighbours in 1986. In 1988 he released Especially for You, his duet with Kylie Minogue, which topped the UK charts for three weeks. The following year he had his first solo UK No 1 with Too Many Broken Hearts. In 1991, he took the lead in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. His other musicals include the Rocky Horror Show, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and Grease. Next month, he tours the UK with his show Doin’ Fine 25. He is married with three children, and lives in London and Oxfordshire.
What is your greatest fear?
Fear itself.
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Looking down at other people. I was brought up to treat people as you treat yourself, with respect. The people you meet on the way up are the people you meet on the way down.
Describe yourself in three words
Hardworking, authentic and honest.
What would your superpower be?
To heal.
What makes you unhappy?
Overdrinking. I don’t drink all the time, but I do love a glass of wine, and it’s very difficult to just stop at one or two. If I overdrink, I don’t feel good about myself.
What do you most dislike about your appearance?
I’ve spent a lifetime looking at myself for my work and I’m quite happy with the way I look – I don’t dislike anything.
Who would play you in the film of your life?
Gene Wilder.
What scares you about getting older?
The inability to do things for myself.
Which book are you ashamed not to have read?
My own biography! Being serious, there’s an Australian novel by Gregory Roberts called Shantaram that I didn’t read through.
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
I haven’t grown up.
Would you choose fame or anonymity?
Fame, because I’ve spent the last 45 years living with it and trying to understand it – I now sort of know how to deal with it, and I’m at peace with it. So it would be a waste of 40 years if I was to become anonymous.
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What was the last lie that you told?
I don’t tell lies.
Have you ever said ‘I love you’ and not meant it?
All the time in my business.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
With respect.
What has been your biggest disappointment?
I got seduced by being a pop star, and why wouldn’t I? I think I could have made a few more career moves with films. But I was nervous. How do you move forward as an actor creatively if you are just appealing to teenage girls?
If you could edit your past, what would you change?
My relationship with drugs.
What is the closest you’ve come to death?
Maybe in the 1990s, but I was so selfish at the time, I wouldn’t really have noticed what was going on.
What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
Healthy body and a healthy mind – very simple.
What happens when we die?
I don’t know and I don’t really care – I’ll be dead.
Tell us a joke
I’m shit at jokes.
