Kevin Costner in the film "The Bodyguard" (photo credit: Warner Bros.)
This post just lists the other actors who have played Frank Farmer in 'The Bodyguard' musical outside of London. There are other future productions besides that are on the boards but the role originated by Kevin Costner has not been cast in those versions yet.
There is no short of press of the actresses playing the Whitney Houston role of Rachel Marron in all of these productions. At present for the US Tour actress/singer Deborah Cox is already making the talk shows and news and media featuring her easy to find.
UK & Ireland Tour: Stuart Reid as Frank Farmer (opened Feb 2015-closed Jun 2016):
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Stuart Reid (photo credit: BWH)
Stuart Reid as Frank Farmer (photo image: Paul Coltas)
Netherlands: Dave Mantel & Mark van Eeuwen shared the role of Frank Farmer (opened Sep 2015)
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Dave Mantel and Mark van Eeuwen (photo credit: Roy Beusker)
Dave Mantel as Frank Farmer (photo credit: Roy Beusker)
Germany: Jurgen Fischer portrays Frank Farmer (opened Nov 2015)
'The Bodyguard' productions in Australia (2017) has not announced the actor cast for the role. The Toronto (2017) production has announced that the London revival cast with Ben Richards as Frank Farmer will transfer for the Canadian premiere run.
Tristan Gemmill took over the role of Frank Farmer in 'The Bodyguard' musical which at the time was playing London's Adelphi Theatre. Gemmill is incidentally the actor I saw in the role when I finally saw the musical in April 2014.
Gemmill definitely looked and played the part quite well on stage. When I saw the show I knew very little of what the stage production was like. So when Gemmill appears on stage I was wondering which Whitney Houston song he'll be singing as the song titles were plastered all over the theater in advertising. At intermission I finally looked at the song credits and find that Farmer's character has no songs to sing.
Gemmill was born in 1967 in England and is well known to British television audiences. Looking at his IMDB.com page, the actor has many television and movie credits but none would appear to be titles known to American audiences.
His latest television role is a 2016 run on the long-running UK soap series "Coronation Street." Gemmill's run in 'The Bodyguard' was from September 2013 to August 2014.
Lloyd Owen as Frank Farmer in 'The Bodyguard' (image: Paul Coltas)
After posting about Ben Richards starring in the London return of the 'The Bodyguard' stage musical, I thought it might be fun to take a look at the other actors who have the played the role. There haven't been too many of them despite the various worldwide productions and a run in the West End of almost two years. You'll notice the actors are cut from a similar stone look-wise and that is probably an intention by those involved in casting. Owen stayed with the musical from its previews in November 2012 to September 2013 when Tristan Gemmill took over the role.
(photo credit: CBS Television)
The first actor to play Frank Farmer (the Kevin Costner role) on stage was British television actor Lloyd Owen. Now before anyone thinks this musical cannot be taken seriously, it was surprisingly supported by the West End community as 'The Bodyguard' was nominated for four Laurence Oliver Awards (the equivalent of the Tony Awards in the US) including Best Musical, Best Actress (Heather Headley), Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical (Debbie Kurup) and Best Set Design.
Owen did not receive a nomination but the actor got zero songs to sing in a musical. The two actresses who got nominated really sings all of the songs in the show. I'm guessing since they were oringally done by Whitney Houston all of them had to be sung by a woman.
Now before anyone brings it up, the actor playing Frank Farmer does sing a snippet of one of the songs in the show but it's in fun and lasts only a few seconds. At least the actor is also given a few dance moves too.
Lloyd Owen (born Apr 15, 1966) has had three fairly interesting roles on television that some American audience members may recognize. In the "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles" (1992-1993), Owen played Professor Henry Jones, Sr. to Sean Patrick Flannery's Indiana Jones.
From 2007 is probably a role he'd like to forget on the infamous television musical series "Viva Laughlin" that aired only two episodes before it was cancelled. At least the series had two other higher profile actors which probably mitigated Owen's exposure in the media. Those two actors: Hugh Jackman and Melanie Griffith.
Just last year, Owen had a regular supporting role in "You, Me and the Apocalypse" about an array of characters dealing with the last days of earth. Owen played the president of the United States.
His latest stage role was starring in 'The End of Longing' which also stars Matthew Perry (TV's "Friends") and is Perry's playwriting debut. The limited run ended in May 2016 and is expected to be presented in New York in 2017. It is unknown if the London cast will transfer with the show.
Below is a video with the actor and actress Headley promoting 'The Bodyguard' musical in London.
Lloyd's Credits
Television credits include:
Silent Witness Series 19 (BBC), Death In Paradise Series 5 (Red Planet/BBC), You, Me And The Apocalypse (Working Title/NBC Universal/Sky 1),The Originals Series 2 (The CW), Midsomer Murders Series 17: ‘A Vintage Murder’ (ITV), Fairly Legal Series 2 (USA Network), Taking The Flak (BBC),Inside The Box (ABC Pilot), Inseparable (ABC Pilot), Viva Laughlin (BBC for CBS), Calais Rules (BBC Pilot), The Innocence Project (BBC), Ghost Squad(Company Pictures/C4), The Monarch Of The Glen Series 4, 5, 6 & 7(Ecosse/BBC Scotland), The Vice (Carlton), Coupling (BBC), Dead Gorgeous(Carlton Productions), Wire In The Blood (Coastal Productions), Hearts & Bones(United Broadcasting), Gypsy Girl (Film and General Prods), Get Real(ITV), The Cinder Path (ITV), The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles(LucasFilm/Paramount), The Story Of Frankenstein (YTV), Stay Lucky (YTV), The Chief (Anglia TV), Forever Green(ITV), Boon (Central TV).
Theatre credits include:
Good People(Hampstead Theatre/Noël Coward Theatre), Stuff Happens National Theatre Live: 50 Years On Stage(National Theatre), The BodyguardNominated for the Best Actor In A Musical Award, Whatsonstage.com Awards, 2013 (Adelphi Theatre), Loyalty (Hampstead Theatre), Blood And Gifts(National Theatre), Paul (National Theatre), Clouds (Cambridge Arts Theatre/No 1Tour), Iphigenia (Crucible Theatre), The York Realist (Royal Court/West End/ETT), Edward Ii (Crucible Theatre), Julius Caesar (Young Vic), The Way Of The World(Manchester Royal Exchange), Morphic Resonance (Donmar Warehouse), Closer (Lyric Theatre), Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf(Almeida/Aldwych), East Lynne (Greenwich Theatre), Grab The Dog (NT Studio), Our Boys (Donmar Warehouse), Henry Vi: Part Iii (RSC), Hamlet (Haymarket Theatre, Leicester), Twelfth Night (Cheek by Jowl), Macbeth, The Tempest, Philoctetes, The Parquet Floor (Young Vic), The Passport (Young Vic).
Film credits include:
Free Ride (Aberration Films), Apollo 18 (Dimension Films), Miss Potter (The Weinstein Company), The Republic Of Love(Dan Films), Get The Picture(Picture Farm), Between Dreams (Irish Film Board/RTE).
Radio credits include:
Michael Frayn’s Matchbox Theatre, The School for Scandal, ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Goldfinger, The Crooked Hat, The Rivals and Keep Your Pantheon by David Mamet.
Lloyd was a member of the National Youth Theatre and trained at RADA.
