Perth actor talks Aussie ‘fly epidemic' with Kelly Clarkson
Perth actor Jamie Ward has struck up an unusual bond with singer Kelly Clarkson over the pair's shared experiences in Western Australia.
WAAPA graduate Ward stars in a new Romeo and Juliet musical movie set for release this year, where he plays Romeo, alongside Clara Rugaard as Juliet and Rebel Wilson as Lady Capulet.
The Yokine-raised actor appeared as a guest on the Kelly Clarkson Show to talk about the upcoming romance film sold as 'the greatest love story of all time', where Clarkson asked: 'Where in Australia are you from?'
'I'm from the west coast, Perth,' Ward said.
'Oh, I've been there,' Clarkson replied.
Ward appeared surprised upon hearing the American singer had even heard of Perth, let alone visited.
'You've been to Perth?' he said.
Clarkson replied: 'Yes, I've toured Perth.'
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The pair then shared their experiences, with Clarkson saying how 'the flies there are insane'.
'I'm not kidding, man, I've gone there several times and every time I feel like I'm there during some kind of fly epidemic,' she said.
Ward then claimed the sticky flies were 'why I got out of there'.
He mentioned Aussies had the iconic 'wide-brim hats with the cork', which Clarkson fully embraced when she was down under.
'I wore them. I was like, I'm jumping in, Crocodile Dundee it is,' she said.
Apart from the nuisance fly situation, Clarkson said she loved Perth and Australia and that it was the first place she visited outside of the US.
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The pair also discussed Ward's life before acting, including his previous life in a pop band called Balcony.
The four-piece band supported Lewis Capaldi on tour in 2020, as well as Tones and I, and played over 20 festivals to critical acclaim.
Ward admitted that being the frontman in the band, which was active up until 2020, said it was an amazing experience, but not where he saw his future career.
'I was bleaching my hair blonde, wearing different clothes, it made me realise what I actually wanted to do,' he said.
However, Ward said that without his music career, he wouldn't have had the opportunity for the lead role in Romeo and Juliet.
The film, directed by Timothy Scott Bogart, is an original pop musical based on the real story that inspired William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
Ward graduated from WAAPA and moved to London in 2012 where he got his first big break in West End theatre as Marius in Les Miserables a year later.
He has also starred in the final season of the TV adaptation of His Dark Materials and Stan series Invisible Boys.
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