Adam Garcia stars in the title role in 'The Bodyguard' at the Birmingham Alex

This modern day love story of an ex-US Secret Services agent, who is hired as a bodyguard to protect a famous singer from an unknown stalker, transferred to the stage in 2012, with several successful tours to follow.

The current UK tour lands at the Birmingham Alexandra Theatre from September 20-27. I had the absolute pleasure of speaking to international star, Adam Garcia who plays the title role.

This isn’t the fist time Adam has appeared in the city, having starred in a very different type of show the last time he was here.

“I am looking forward to returning and getting to know Birmingham a little better,” he said.

Touring can be hard, but Adam is very positive. “I have done a lot of West End shows where it is a case of now I go into work, and commute for six or 12 months gets a little draining, whereas when you are tour, it more a case of I’m in a new city, I get to explore, I get to meet new people, there are all these fabulous places to eat and see, new art, so it is really exciting in that respect. 

"But, moving every week means I miss my wife and children, so there are some pro parts, but it isn’t nice being away from family.”

Adam trained at one of Australia’s premier dance studios, Capital Performance in Sydney, but started off at a small dance class in the local village hall. He told me “At Capital they got the cream of the crop to come and teach. That is where I met Dean Perry, the creator of “Tap Dogs”, when I was just 14 or 15. I was very, very lucky to have that experience.”

Surprisingly Adam has never trained formally in drama and didn’t learn sing until he came to Great Britain. “I suddenly thought I’d better learn how sing, I’m in musicals!” he laughed. 

Adam continued: “I never went to drama school, but like a lot of young actors, I attended the Actors Centre to learn technique. I sometimes which I did train at a drama school, but you get jobs and you don’t want to take three years out. I like to test myself, so I would audition for plays and more than likely you have wonderful people around, so you talk to them, watch them and you learn on the job.”

Moving onto “The Bodyguard”, Adam described his character. “Rachel Marion is a megastar and Frank Farmer, who I play, is hired to protect her, but her life is chaotic and she is at the centre of this maelstrom. The one person who is her pillar is Frank and the story is really about their relationship, and his relationship with her son and her sister and how their worlds collide and the confusion that arises in that situation of intense pressure.”

This is a very different role for Adam, because the character of Frankie doesn’t sing or dance. I wondered if he had found that difficult to handle?”

“It is quite strange and I am jealous that I don’t get to sing a dance because the music, I mean who doesn’t love it?”

He continued: “There are some huge production numbers which also have the story interwoven. There is a scene where Rachel is doing a gig and then all hell breaks loose and as a theatrical spectacle, it has got everything.”

There are four young boys aged nine and ten playing the role of Fletcher on the tour. Adam told me: “I got to meet this just this week. There are two a week and they are so charming. Everyone had a moment when they were doing their first scenes because they are are so cute.”American musical theatre star, Sidonie Smith takes the role of Rachel Marron and it is obvious that Adam is enjoying working with her.

“Sid as we call her, is so humble and sweet and yet she can step into this Diva role; she is a fine actor. She has played the role before, in Germany, and so it is good to have someone who is familiar with it and to guide me,” said Adam.

Adam has, by his own admission been very lucky in his career and there have been many standout moments for him. He recently opened a short run of a show called “Emerald Storm” in London, which he co-created and co-choreographed. It is a blend of Irish dance and modern day tap dancing and with vocals courtesy of the “Britain’s Got Talent” finalist, Tom Ball. “There are posters for the show on the London Underground, and it is very special to see those for your own show,” he said.

One of Adam’s most iconic roles was Tony in the stage production of “Saturday Night Fever.” 

“It is almost retrospective really because walking out on stage at the London Palladium, I was still quite new and I didn’t realise just how important a theatre the Palladium is. It is more than a theatre,” he said. “When the giant buildings opened at the start of “Saturday Night Fever” and doing the iconic John Travolta pose and walking out, I was like wow! I have a photograph of that moment in my mind.”

Adam continued, “It is a very simple story of a guy just trying to figure himself out, but set against a backdrop of New York and Brooklyn and the sounds of the BeeGees. It was a hard dance though,”he laughed!

I wondered what Adam’s dream role would be and I have to admit I was very surprised by his answer. “I’d like to have a crack at The Fool in “King Lear” he said, and I really wasn’t expecting that. 

“I remember reading it in my teenage years and thinking it was a fascinating character,” said Adam. 

“A musical theatre dream role would have been Joe Gillis in “Sunset Boulevard”, but I think I am too old now,” he said whimsically. I don’t think he is for what it is worth and I think it would be a perfect role for Adam. 

He is very forward thinking. The new genre of theatre created by director Jamie Lloyd has clearly impressed Adam. 

“Jamie Lloyd is not only prolific but he has his own style incorporating multi-media and camera work because I guess he understands intuitively that audiences today are glued to their screens,” he said. “Theatre is a sacred place and it can’t stand still,” he concluded.

As a fan of Adam for many years, I was delighted he was everything I hoped. Knowledgeable, interesting, friendly and open and with that Aussie charm we Brits love. A true professional and an all round nice guy.

Catch Adam in “The Bodyguard” at the Birmingham Alexandra Theatre from September 20-27. For tickets visit atgtickets.com