Debra Li

MORE than once mistaken on the street for film star George Clooney, Australian Tony Farrell is not as famous but as professional in every single movement he performs on stage.

Farrell is in town to play triple-roles of Gus the actor, Bustopher Jones and the pirate cat Growltiger in the Really Useful Company’s production of “Cats.”

Almost 26 years older than the youngest member who is 18 on the cast, Farrell admitted that the triple-roles were a kind of challenge, at least in terms of physical strength. The arthritis in his ankles hurts sometimes.

“As an actor, I have to keep myself very fit. My expertise is in singing, but this show involves a lot of dancing too. I need to change into different costumes after 20 minutes and enter into a new role. It could be stressful for someone new in the trade…but I’ve got a bunch of experience,” Farrell told the Shenzhen Daily in an interview Friday.

The actor said he would not follow previous actors in the same roles, but preferred to give his own rendition. “As an actor, you are trained to live through the part assigned to you until that role becomes part of you,” he said.

And Farrell has tried to retain a passion and freshness each night. “The secret is: If you continue to react to what’s happening around you, you’ll never perform the same because nothing happens the same all the time,” he said.

Farrell has appeared in TV shows and movies in Australia, such as “Child Star: The Shirley Temple Story” as a film director and the drama “Stingers” as a police officer.

“Being in TV plays or movies can shoot you to fame quickly, if you’re lucky enough. But I prefer musicals. In the theater you can form this intimate bond with the audience. They will reward you with applause and ‘bravos’ at the end of the show. It’s a mesmerizing experience,” he said.

He has sung the role of Jean Valjean in the musical “Les Miserables,” and would like to do it again. The role he covets most is perhaps the “phantom” in the “Phantom of the Opera.”

That musical, also by Andrew Lloyd Webber, has many beautiful songs.

Farrell said “Phantom” and “Cats” were completely different. “Like, I have my favorite band and also my favorite orchestra.” Of course, “Cats” belongs to the side of bands.

With China’s big potential market, the actor said he hopes he may one day be cast in a joint-venture production with Chinese artists.

To many people’s surprise, Farrell was a police officer before turning to the stage. He was almost killed during an encounter with gangsters while serving as a police detective in Melbourne. He became an actor nine years ago.

“I loved to show off new songs that I learned, to my parents and siblings, as a child, even when they signaled to me to hush. So I guess the dream to become an actor has always been there,” he said.

Farrell has never had any formal training in acting, dancing, or singing. He said, “Every time you’re (performing) in a production, and you do what you’re told to do (by the director and the choreographer), it’s like you’re in a master class already.”

Describing himself as a serious person who takes time to meditate, Farrell said he was very lucky to have his dream realized as an actor. “You don’t always get applauded in the police force,” he joked.