Currently, Daniel Bravo is playing Aaron Samuels in Mean Girls at the Savoy Theatre, working with writer Tina Fey and director and choreographer Casey Nicholaw as part of the original West End cast, and he attended the WhatsOnStage Awards earlier this year where Mean Girls won Best New Musical, with the show announced to close in June. Prior to Mean Girls, Daniel starred in the London premiere of Cruel Intentions: The â90s Musical as Sebastian Valmont at The Other Palace, and the previous year, he played George Holly in the Tennessee Williams play Suddenly Last Summer at The English Theatre in Frankfurt. For his West End debut, Daniel was in the cast of Witness for the Prosecution as Judgeâs Clerk, and he also covered four roles including the lead of Leonard Vole – who he went on for over 20 times. Catching up with Daniel, we found out from him about originating the role of Aaron Samuels in Mean Girls at the Savoy Theatre, starring as Sebastian Valmont in Cruel Intentions: The â90s Musical and his time in Suddenly Last Summer and Witness for the Prosecution.
You can currently be seen performing at the Savoy Theatre in Mean Girls as Aaron Samuels, what is the musical like to be part of and how has the run been going so far?
Being part of Mean Girls has honestly been the biggest joy! It’s a riot every night and to be sharing the stage with such talented and hilarious people day after day has been a real pinch me moment in my career. The year’s flown by and I’m going to be very sad to leave this show and cast behind in June.
What is Aaron like to play and was there anything that drew you to the role?
Aaron’s a sweetheart. He’s obviously an iconic character that a whole generation grew up having a crush on in their teens, so they were some daunting shoes to step into. I think something that I love about Aaron is that he’s your quintessential high school love interest but with the heart and emotional intelligence that is so often missing. I think I’d get quite bored if he was just a 2D archetype – so I’m grateful Tina’s (Fey) written him in a way that means I’ve been able to find some nuance and layers.
How is it originating the character in the West End and what was it like working with the musicalâs creative team including Tina Fey (writer) and Casey Nicholaw (director and choreographer)?
It was incredibly surreal. In our first read-through there was Casey Nicholaw, Tina Fey, Jeff Richmond, Nell Benjamin and Sonia Freidman sitting and listening, and between the five of them they’re responsible for about 50 Tonys, 70 Oliviers, and a few Emmys and Golden Globes thrown in there too. It was an intimidatingly talented room, but they also couldn’t have been more lovely. They were always open to our ideas and offers, and always released us to find these characters for ourselves rather than merely following a blueprint that had already been created. I know Mean Girls was a show that a LOT of young actors wanted to be seen for, so I feel incredibly lucky that this team placed their trust in me to originate this role in the West End.
What are you enjoying most about performing in a major West End musical and do you have any favourite scenes/songs in the show?
I love the buzz of a West End show. Before the show, if I’m popping out to grab some supplies before the show, I’ll see the audience start to file into the theatre dressed in pink, and I always think back to when I was younger and would come to London to see a show and how special those memories were. The fact that my job now is to help create those special memories for others is such a privilege and definitely one of my favourite parts about being in this show. My favourite moment in the show is probably Someone Gets Hurt – the band sound like something out of a Bond film, Georgina’s (Castle) belting her face off and then I get to come in at the end and sing some satisfying big notes and do this big dramatic kiss – every night it’s the moment that really feels like *theatre*, you know?
Have you had any stand-out highlights from your time in the original West End cast of Mean Girls that you can tell us about?
The WhatsOnStage Awards was a really special moment – getting to be there with Charlie (Burn), Georgina, Grace (Mouat), Elèna (Gyasi), Tom (Xander), Lucca (Chadwick-Patel) and Ellie (Skye) and accept the award for Best New Musical was so, so wonderful. It felt really great to have all the hard work the whole company had been putting in eight shows a week since June recognised in this way. Shaking the hands of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Arlene Phillips was very cool too!
Last year, you starred as Sebastian Valmont in the London premiere of Cruel Intentions: The â90s Musical at The Other Palace, how familiar were you with the film before auditioning and what was it like bringing the role (played by Ryan Phillippe in the 1999 film) to stage?
To my shame I had actually never seen the movie before the audition came through. My first viewing of it was surreal – I absolutely loved it and was also completely horrified by much of it too – which I think, to be honest, was always the desired effect. It’s incredibly 90s in all the best ways and obviously has a deliberately provocative storyline. The thing I most remember watching the film for the first time was thinking ‘I have to play this role’. My favourite characters to play are often the most outrageous, narcissistic, chauvinistic ones, I hope because they differ so much from my personality in real life, so Sebastian was an absolute dream. The character is obviously based on Valmont from Les Liaisons Dangereuses, but he also reminds me a lot of the male characters of many restoration comedies – one of which I got to play at drama school and was hands down my favourite production we did. That camp, posturing, self-important aura is just the most fun thing to play on stage.
How did you feel finding out youâd booked the lead role of Sebastian and how was it getting into character?
It was a huge moment for me – It was my first musical job I’d booked, and also my first full-time lead role in a production of this scale, so it really felt amazing. I’d been working full-time at a restaurant for six months prior and my colleagues had all had to hear endlessly about all my various auditions for things and things I’d come close to getting but not quite landed, so they were all absolutely over the moon for me.
Getting into character involved watching the film many times and wearing lots of polo necks.
What was it like performing the 1990s soundtrack, and how was it seeing the fan response to the musical?
The soundtrack is just jam-packed with absolute bangers, I’d argue it’s one of the best soundtracks of any jukebox musical. Most of the songs I was already familiar with and a few were new to me, but even the ones I knew already felt like completely new songs when we learnt them in the context of the show. Obviously our audiences went wild for the music – sometimes as soon as the first chord of something played they’d erupt, already knowing what was about to come. That reaction can’t be beaten really.
Can you tell us about your experience performing in Tennessee Williamsâ play Suddenly Last Summer at The English Theatre in Frankfurt in 2023?
That job was such a wonderful experience – I’d never worked abroad before so getting to live in Frankfurt for a couple of months (during a bizarrely hot spring?) was gorgeous. A text by Tennessee Williams has always been up there in the dream job category so this was such a treat to do – especially with the calibre of people I was working with – on stage and off. The play itself is a pretty bleak one and so I was relieved to have such a cheery and fun cast to do it with. There were only six of us in it and we all became incredibly close. Performing in English to a German audience was a real learning curve! Many differences in how the material was received – things that we thought were funny that wouldn’t get laughs and then parts we viewed as incredibly serious and profound that a German audience would for some reason find amusing. I have very fond memories of my time at the English Theatre Frankfurt!
How was it making your West End debut in Witness for the Prosecution in 2022 as Judgeâs Clerk?
This was such a unique job and taught me so much. The production itself is such an exciting one – Lucy Bailey really did something special when she created it back in 2017. It was an ingenious idea to stage it in London County Hall – you really do feel like part of the drama. My role itself was a non-speaking one but I got to sit in a very large seat, wearing a fancy court wig and got to swish about in robes and write lots of notes. As we’ve established, I love playing self-important characters so this was another one I enjoyed. I also covered four other roles – the lead role Leonard Vole, the Clerk of the court and then also the two court officers. So I like to say this job was the closest I’ve got to being a swing – I probably only spent about half of the contract playing my regular role of Judge’s Clerk and the rest I was jumping about covering other bits.
What was it like working on an Agatha Christie play and how was it covering the lead role of Leonard Vole?
There’s a reason Agatha Christie is the queen of the Whodunit genre – she really knows how to write a story that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Being part of a production every night that really had the audience guessing till the very last minute, was so thrilling. Leonard Vole was a FEAST of a role. I won’t spoil anything for people that haven’t seen it, but let’s just say he gets to go on a real journey. I didn’t have any guaranteed dates during my contract, but was lucky enough to go on over 20 times, which meant I got a real shot to grow in the role and figure out who my version of the character was. It was also a useful lesson in the realities of covering – one day being the lead, completely holding the narrative on stage, the next day being in a role that doesn’t have a single line. That was tough at times, but overall it was a completely invaluable experience.
Was there anything that encouraged you to train at The Oxford School of Drama and how was your time there before graduating from the Acting course in 2020?
I always think there’s often a correlation between the schools that like you and the schools that you’ll like – I applied for three years in a row and some schools I never got past the first round, Oxford was one of a few schools that I got far with and I think that makes sense to me now. I think I was well-suited to their approach to training and also the unique environment of the school. It’s literally in the middle of fields – we’d have horses walking past the windows during our voice lessons. It’s not for everyone but I think the isolated idyll of Oxfordshire countryside was actually perfect for me and dealing with the intensity of actor training. They really taught me to get comfortable with failing, to not take myself too seriously, and really instilled a sense of professionalism in me. I still use the tools I learnt at OSD regularly in my work.
Where does your love of acting come from and how did you get into it?
Honestly, I think as a kid I just loved showing off and being the centre of attention – I have a very early memory of sitting my family down in the dining room when I was about seven and sharing a prepared ‘tap’ number to Learn Your Lessons Well from Godspell that my dad had on vinyl. I’m sure they were incredibly impressed. As I got older, this transitioned into a genuine love of the art of theatre – taking part in a production that told a story and made people feel something – I was involved in lots of local amateur productions and anything I could at school and sixth form college. In my late teens, I got a lot more into cinema and TV, and this became a new part of my acting ambition too.
What are some of your favourite theatre shows to watch, and which would you like to see that you havenât done so as yet?
I try to see a real variety of stuff – you’re as likely to find me watching a new play at the Royal Court as you are at the Palladium seeing a big glitzy musical. A couple of things I’m looking forward to seeing – Just For One Day once it opens at the Shaftesbury (my gorgeous Cruel Intentions co-star Rhianne-Louise McCaulsky is in it so will be screaming from my seat for her), and also desperate to see James Graham’s new play Punch when it transfers to the West End later in the year.
How do you like to spend your time away from performing?
Food is a real passion – cooking it and eating it. So I like trying new restaurants with friends, and also baking for any birthday or celebration that warrants it. This is boring but I’m also into weight training and so spend a lot of time at the gym. I’m also learning French at the moment – so if you see me whispering ‘j’ai un frère et une soeur’ into my phone on the bus – this is why.
You will be finishing your run as Aaron Samuels in Mean Girls in June, what are you hoping the rest of the year brings for you?
I’m currently back into the throws of auditioning for stuff – and currently it’s a real variety of stuff coming in – screen, theatre, workshops. I’m open to what the next thing might be, but I have a personal goal of wanting to have booked my first screen job by the end of the year. Wish me luck!
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