The CultureMap Interview
Houston reality TV hunk sexes up Hairspray
Austin Miller in one of his shirtless promo shots for the Grease reality TVseries.
From TUTS' production of "Hairspray," Austin Miller as Link Larkin.Photo by Bruce Bennett
Austin Miller as Link and Katrina Rose Dideriksen as Tracy in TUTS' productionof "Hairspray."Photo by Bruce Bennett
Hometown sensation Austin Miller is back on the Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) stage playing the role of teen dreamboat Link Larkin in the Broadway smash hit Hairspray, which opens Thursday and runs through Oct. 17 at the Hobby Center.
Based on the iconic John Waters cult movie, Hairspray is a non-stop dansical filled with show-stopping musical numbers and a relevant story taking us into the heart of the civil rights movement. The piece also addresses the timeless subject of life as an outcast.
Miller — a boyishly handsome actor — is most known for coming in second in the reality TV show, Grease: You're the One That I Want. He came in first in Houston's heart. He's not only from here, but is also a TUTS alum. Miller just wrapped up Sophisticated Ladies with Maurice Hines and has several projects in the works.
Last seen in Houston tapping up a storm in the TUTS production of 42nd Street on the Miller Outdoor Theatre stage, Miller works non-stop, rarely taking a breath between shows. CultureMap slowed him down just long enough for him to bring us into the Hairspray beehive.
CM: First off, welcome home. Glad to see you back in Houston, in another made-for-you role. The first time I saw Hairspray, I swear I lost weight just watching it. No one ever stops dancing in this show. The last number is even titled, "You Can't Stop the Beat." How ever do you keep your strength up?
AM: It's fast. Even though I have done this show 1,110 times, I have not done it in a few years. Once I started rehearsal I wondered why I was hurting so badly. Yesterday, I realized it's because I actually was putting weight on my feet.
I figured out that I have to keep running, jumping and leaping the whole time and I will be fine. After rehearsal, I come home and have a couple of cocktails, a slab of meat, then I pour gravy all over everything. Once we figured out that I burn about 4,500 calories a day doing this show. To keep my strength up I have to eat like a horse. I know, it's terrible, what a problem to have.
CM: What kind of spin to you put on your Link? He's a curious character. Will he or won't he do the right thing?
AM: I was the second Link ever hired, so I had the luxury of working with the show's producer Jack O'Brian, who cut the role. He's a genius, and helped me define the character. I would describe my Link as vulnerable. Really, he doesn't have a lot going on in his life.
He has one shot to break away from his crappy life. That's why he falls in love with the chubby girl.
CM: I appreciate that there's isn't a dead second in the show. The kinetic energy drives Hairspray's engine with such finesse. Why do you think this show has such staying power?
AM: It's so relevant. Set in 1962, it's a period piece, yet we are still dealing with the issues in the show. It's not some antiquated idea to be discriminated against. Racial and body type discrimination are still very pertinent issues in our lives. It was amazing when Charlotte Crossely as Motor Mouth Mabel walked out on stage to sing "I Know Where I've Been" on the night our president was elected.
I can't imagine what it felt like to be an African-American person of her generation going out on that stage on that historic night to deliver that anthem.
CM: You are a professional heartthrob, often playing the dreamy dude who gets the girl. How long are you going to be able to get away with playing a 17-year old?
AM: I know, it's seems I have been 17 for a few decades. Actually, this is my last time at bat as Link. So my last turn is here at home. And, I have my favorite Tracy with me, Katrina Rose Dideriksen. She's simply terrific in the role. We opened in Vegas together and are so close. It such a gift to me to put Link to rest in front of my friends and family right here at Theatre under the Stars, where I got my start.
CM: What do you do when you are not acting, singing, dancing and eating like a horse?
Well, since I have been back in Houston, manual labor. I just put in my mom's fall garden. Living in New York I never have the opportunity to get my hands in dirt. I love it. I grew up in Alvin, so it's a "you can't take the country out of the boy" kind of thing.
We have been going to fabulous restaurants while we have been here too. It's been a festival of eating, a non-stop buffet. We even drove to Alvin to go to Joe's Barbecue. Truthfully, I'm a pretty structured person, a little type A. Maybe it's the Catholicism, but I'm a very ritualistic person.
Most of the time it's an eat, rehearse, sleep, life. I like to come home and make myself a Gibson. I used to hang out with Bob Saget and he introduced me to the Gibson, which is basically gin with an onion in it. It's my drink of choice. It's rough, a man's drink. Then I watch The Simpson's, Family Guy or King of the Hill until I fall asleep.
TUTS takes you behind the beehive of Hairspray:
