We recently spoke to Daniel about his time as Sebastian Valmont in Cruel Intentions: The ‘90s Musical and his time here at OSD. Daniel graduated from the Three Year Course in 2020, and he will soon be playing Aaron Samuels in the Original West End Cast of Mean Girls by Tina Fey! His credits include Witness for the Prosecution (West End) and Suddenly Last Summer (The English Theatre Frankfurt).
By Omi Mantri
Congrats on Cruel Intentions! How’s the run been?
It’s been great! It’s been a whirlwind, but it’s been a lot of fun. I got cast quite close to the start of rehearsals and being my first proper musical it’s been a real learning curve. At many points I have felt like I didn’t know what I was doing, massive impostor syndrome. But now I feel like I’m meant to be here, and I do know what I’m doing. And people seem to be enjoying the show, so that feels nice.
What was the audition process like?
I did a self-tape in November. It was one of the longest tapes I have ever sent off, maybe 12 minutes long. A pop song of my own choice and three quite long Sebastian scenes. There was a dance call after that, and being completely transparent, I did not do well in that dance call. Fully walked out of it thinking ‘Great, I’m not going to get that job’. There was a material call a couple of days later. I thought, okay, I’ll try and impress them with that bit and make up for it. And then to my surprise, got a recall after that. I had a chemistry read with a couple of the girls auditioning for Katherine and I got an offer the next day.
What’s been your most memorable show so far? Any memorable mistakes or things of that nature?
The first one was in the first week of previews, I was still getting used to the stage and the lights. There’s a scene where I come on in blackout sunglasses, during a blackout and I have to walk along the edge of the stage. I just slightly misjudged the step and fell off the stage. I was holding a drink, which partly went over an audience member. It was quite embarrassing, but I got back on stage and carried on pretty quickly. We all had a good laugh about it afterwards. It has meant that every time I come up to that scene now, I’m like ‘eyes on the floor, where am I stepping?’.
When you’re part of a project which has such a long run how do you as an actor, keep things fresh?
Honestly, the audience do a lot of that for you. You end up shaping things differently by what you’re getting back from them. Also, we’ve had people off sick and we’ve had covers on which always brings a new energy, and you bounce off that as an actor. When things are becoming muscle memory, that’s the moment when you choose to shake things up a bit. Obviously not in a way that ever trips up another actor. You don’t just do something you’ve never done before that’s really drastic and noticeable. But just for your own process. Just make a different choice or have a different intention.
This is a musical adaptation of the 1999 film Cruel Intentions. Are there any pressures that come with playing such a well-known role and how did you deal with them?
My first viewing of the film was when I got the audition. I gave it a very quick once over, just to get the vibe of the film and see how Ryan Philippe plays it in the film. I did my best job to channel the energy of him, but I made a decision quite early on not to try and do an impression, because he has a very distinct voice in that film. Which if I try and do, just sound silly, whereas that character needs to be confident and sexy. It was important for me to find my version of that, so that it worked best for the character. I’ve taken the pressure off from trying to live up to those performances because I don’t think there is any point.
What’s it like being in rehearsals for one show (Mean Girls) while performing in another and how do you deal with that?
I’ve done it once before and it was just a week long. It was fine but it’s quite exhausting. I think having your head creatively in something, and then going and entering a completely different world is difficult. But it’s also a luxury as an actor. However hard it might be, you suck it up and you appreciate the fact that you have a job coming after the last one. Mean Girls is a four-week overlap, which I think will be a real test of my stamina and endurance, but I’m looking forward to it. I think it’s going to be an intense but fun month.
Since Oxford, you’ve been part of a lot of musicals. How’s that experience been since you graduated from the acting course?
Yeah. It wasn’t my original intention to be honest. This is why I went to Oxford as opposed to a ‘musical theatre’ school. There was a time when I was auditioning for drama schools where I considered it, but I just decided that the actor training I wanted wasn’t that kind of triple threat musical theatre training, it was something more grounded in acting technique. And I’m glad I did that. And I by no means want my career to be wholly focused on musical theatre. I’d really love to do screen work. I’m just in a phase right now where the auditions that I’m getting and the jobs I’m landing are more musicals, which is fun.
I think Oxford’s actually a very good drama school for igniting something in you as an actor or inspiring them to look outside of the areas of acting. In second year, we had some incredible acting through song lessons with David Ashley [Dash]. I learned some incredible lessons about how to be in a musical from Oxford, and even outside of his lessons, there was singing involved in some of our productions. And I just don’t think Oxford was ever a school that discouraged you from that world. Yeah, I kind of feel like it’s been a happy accident that I have fallen into musical theatre, but I’m really enjoying it.
Have you always been interested in acting?
If you asked me when I was five years old what I wanted to be, I would have said either an actor or an artist. I don’t know why I thought I could be an artist, I can’t draw or paint. I started getting involved in local amateur theatre when I was quite young, doing lots of musicals growing up. I went through a period, around Sixth Form, I think my confidence took a knock, and I discounted myself from ever being able to do it as a profession. And it wasn’t until I was 19, 20, that I kind of got the fire back in my belly to do it. So it wasn’t until my early 20s, I actually started applying for drama schools. I had a place when I was 18, to go to East Anglia to study English Literature and Drama, which I deferred and then eventually just abandoned completely. I’ve gone through ups and downs, but I think deep down I’ve always known that it was what I meant to do.
Was there a particular moment in your life when you decided to fully pursue acting?
I was kind of meandering in my late teens, and then I met a girl who’s now my best friend of 10 years, Beth. She was applying for drama schools, and I think seeing her do it with such confidence, she, similarly to me, had to try for years in a row and deal with the kind of, I don’t know, developing a slightly thick skin that comes with that. Seeing her go through that process and her just challenging me to be like, If you think you’re good at acting and you know you’d love doing it, why are you not giving it a go? So essentially, she gave me the kick-up the ass that I needed to just try it. What have you got to lose? So it’s all thanks to Beth!
Looking back, was there a time at the school that was of particular significance?
I think for me, where I really come into my own is when you get to practice stuff. In second year, when you have back-to-back productions, we did a Russian, we did restoration, we did a Greek play, we did a self-devised piece, we had a Shakespearean play. You have all these opportunities to try things out and I think that’s where I thrived. I remember particularly the restoration piece we did. Someone in my class became ill and had to take some time off. I got tasked with taking on his role, which meant I had a leading role for the first half and then a different leading role for the second half. That was a significant production for me, of just embracing it and trying to take it head on. And it was just so much fun. I loved it.
How did you find transitioning from drama school to the industry?
It’s difficult for me to talk about this without talking about COVID. We had our showcase on the 12th of March, and then we were in lockdown on the 20th. I was lucky enough to have an agent from showcase. I felt incredibly lucky to have an agent that was willing to stick by me even during that period, because I know for a lot of people everything just came to a standstill. It was a very difficult time for everyone in the industry.
It was a tough slog; the first year I had a few auditions come through, but it was mainly me applying for fringe shows, doing workshops, just trying to at least be seen by some people. My first big job was Witness of the Prosecution in the West End. I suppose once you’ve had a job like that, casting directors just begin to trust you. You get brought in for kind of bigger things. And maybe before where you were being considered for ensemble bits, you’re now being seen for more lead roles. It’s been a real kind of snowball effect. And I think there were many points where it felt futile. I didn’t feel like I was getting anywhere. I felt like a very small fish in a massive pond. And it’s started to feel a bit easier in the last couple of years, which is nice.
Are there any aspects of the training that you particularly value now that you are in the profession?
Oxford instilled a sense of professionalism in me. They teach you to value being on time, putting in the work, and valuing each other as creatives. Also, Oxford never teaches you to take yourself too seriously. I think there’s been lots of moments since graduating where I have had to abandon inhibitions and look a bit like a fool. I walked out of the dance call for this being able to laugh at myself, as opposed to saying, ‘I never want to do that again’. Because of those things at drama school you do, such as clowning and Bouffon, you get very used to making a fool of yourself in front of other people and making mistakes. I think that’s a real strength of Oxford. It teaches you to laugh at yourself, make mistakes regularly, learn from them, and not beat yourself up.
We have a new Foundation Course in Acting with Musical Theatre. Any tips for singing auditions for potential auditionees?
I always hate watching myself back on tape when I’m singing because I feel like my face is doing weird things. As hard as it is, you have to focus on the storytelling and not the sound. I think it was a real thing that Dash helped me with a lot at Oxford. His biggest note was always ‘you need to stop singing’ which sounds very confusing and counterproductive. As soon as you’re focusing on how you’re sounding, you’re not going to be doing anything interesting with your acting. You must do the work so that you sound okay. There’s no point if you sound horrible, but you need to let that go and be like, ‘Cool. I’ve done that work. I can trust that I’m hitting the notes. Now I need to break everything down beat by beat like you would a monologue.’ Focus on telling the story of the song and make interesting choices. That’s something again, Dash told me was, ‘your initial acting choices when you first approach a song often won’t be the most interesting journey that you might be able to find.’ Even in a serious ballad, you can find lightness or humour. It’s not just, ‘right, I’m singing an emotional song’. There are always more layers than just ‘I’m going to belt out the song make it sound nice and look a bit sad.’ He’s taught me well.
How important is it for actors nowadays to create their own work?
I think it’s very important. In an industry that is getting more and more saturated, it feels like the people that succeed are the people who aren’t waiting around for the right opportunity to come. They’re the ones that say, I’m going to make something that showcases my ability and tell a story that I want to tell. It’s not just about getting yourself out there. It’s about the importance of creating new stories. It’s also incredibly important to establish what your strength is. Some people aren’t necessarily the most amazing writers or aren’t the most amazing directors, but you find what part you are good at and then find other people that are good at the other stuff. That’s where the success lies – where you can appreciate your own strengths and surround yourself with people who can fill in the gaps.
Anything you want to say to the readers?
I think the industry is in an exciting time and more than ever Oxford grads are people that the industry wants to work with, as I’m being increasingly told in auditions by directors that I have worked with. All the Oxford grads that I have worked with, have always been the loveliest people and very talented. Just have the confidence that it’s a school that people know that does very good quality training. It’s an exciting school to come from and to say that I’m an Oxford grad is something I’m proud of.
Interview edited for length and clarity.
Quick fire Questions
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Film or TV?
Film -
Film or Theatre?
Theatre -
Classical or Contemporary work?
Contemporary -
Bodycon or Voicecon?
Voicecon -
Favourite subject at OSD?
Acting through Song -
Favourite project at OSD?
Our Restoration play (‘The Wonder: A Woman Keeps a Secret’ by Susanna Centlivre) -
Self-tape or In person auditions?
In-person -
What’s your favourite accent to do?
General American -
What accent do you want to learn?
South African
