He first turned heads singing up a storm on The Voice and now Mat Verevis has landed a role in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. He tells Matt Myers how the LGBTI community helped him find his voice.
Congratulations on scoring the role of Barry Mann in Beautiful. Tell us about your character
Mat Verevis: It’s an interesting one, because Barry is a real person, so it’s unlike reading a script about a specifically written character. But Barry is a singer/songwriter who teamed up with his eventual wife Cynthia Weil. He’s a self-diagnosed hypochondriac and somewhat the funny guy who likes to crack jokes. He’s part of the show’s sub-story and his journey is pivotal to Carole’s life, but he and Cynthia also provide the light-hearted comic relief.
What kind of character research did you undertake?
I’ve watched many interviews with him, to get an idea of his persona and what makes him tick. I’ve looked at different references including his catalogue of songs, to get an idea of what he wrote about when he was my age. That in it self has a bit of an arc to the story, because they begin writing generic pop songs targeted to tweens but then began to write differently.
Before this, did you know much about Carole King?
Oh god yeah. I can’t stress enough what kind of a role she played in my upbringing. I grew up studying her songwriting. In fact, in my first-ever singing lesson, my teacher introduced me to So Far Away. I was about seven years old and I guess that’s when my obsession with her started. My dad’s a musician and one day he put Tapestry in front of me and said ‘listen to this!’ Her presence in my life is very substantial.
You came to prominence on Season 3 of The Voice, singing New York State of Mind. Who are you biggest musical influences?
Carole is obviously up there, and I grew up with a lot of Stevie Wonder as well. Then there are the straight-up jazz artists, like Oscar Peterson and Donny Hathaway in the old school style, which was my main influence. John Mayer was a big influence too.
Do you still keep in contact with your mentor/judge from The Voice will.i.am?
Occasionally. In fact I sent him a message the other day to say how impressed I was with his performance at the Manchester One Love concert. I learnt a lot from him indirectly, in the sense of just watching him work. I got the chance to go to LA and work in his studio, and from that I learnt so much. He’s really a superstar. I’ve also gotten to know his network of people and they are lovely.
The other judges that season were Joel Madden, Kylie Minogue and Ricky Martin. Did you get to know them well? Especially Ricky?
Oh yes, in fact Ricky approached me to meet up the following year when he was in Australia. So I went to his concert and hung out with him afterwards and met his kids. I actually speak to him more than will.i.am. He came across as very giving on The Voice and he’s legitimately like that. I was taken aback that he reached out to me when I wasn’t even on his team! That was really nice.
You’ve had roles in Torch Song Trilogy and Boys In The Band. You’re obviously comfortable playing gay. When did you first discover an affinity with the LGBTI community?
Well my grade four teacher was my favourite teacher and a very extravagant man, and I thought he was the best human ever. I didn’t realise he was gay until I was a teenager. I had just thought he was kind of flamboyant. But, affinity is the perfect word, because when I left WAAPA, I was often up for young gay male and drag roles, which I liked because I’ve always been attracted to character roles that took a lot of research and were a challenge. Especially when they have a lot of cultural significance and a good story. I learnt a lot doing them.
Did you ever get feedback from your gay mates?
A little bit, but I never really tried to play gay, especially in Torch Song Trilogy, because I was more interested in the character’s story and where they came from. Obviously being gay was a massive part of Torch Song Trilogy, but I never tried to be one part of the character. I did reach out to some gay friends and they said there was so much more to that character than being gay, and I thought that was so true. I didn’t want to play a one-dimensional character. That show is really such a positive experience.
Do you ever get mistaken as gay?
Actually, when I first met my girlfriend, she had a few question marks over her head, but I think that was because I have some effeminate qualities. But when my gay friends get to know me, they say I’m definitely straight! I probably have more gay friends than straight friends. I don’t know why, but I guess it’s a part of the affinity we were talking about before.
If you were gay, who would be your ideal man?
Well I’m a straight man, but I think we can all agree that Ricky is a good-looking bloke! He’s also got the personality to match it. I think every gay male, but also every straight male, would point at him and say ‘now there’s a good-looking man!’
Did you ever witness homophobia while growing up?
For sure, and a fair bit of it, particularly in high school. I’m from Cairns, so I guess the gay lifestyle is not as showcased there. I always thought that the guys who were homophobic were just scared of…something different. I could see that homophobia was based on fear rather than anything else. It’s just the lack of understanding of someone who’s not even so much different, but just slightly different!
When growing up in Cairns, did you feel supported in your career ambitions?
I was really lucky because I grew up in the theatre community, and I guess that was the main reason I took this path. It was always a great experience doing amateur theatre and also having a musician dad. So it’s kind of in the blood. I’m sure for others it may not have been so good.
Who’s your diva?
It’s hard to go past Whitney Houston, but I also love Aretha Franklin. I’ve studied Whitney’s Run To You in terms of how it’s written and the way she sings it, and it’s honestly a gorgeous song. I love a good ballad, probably more so than an up-tempo song. Aretha does a version of Amazing Grace that brings me to tears, but she could sing the telephone book and I’d love it!
You also made a film last year called Down Under.
Yes it’s a black comedy about the Cronulla riots, which is really interesting, and won a couple of awards. Abe Forsythe who I always remember from being in the show Always Greener directed it. I had a small role, but I was also lucky enough to do the voiceover in the final shot. It was an awesome experience and a movie about something that really impacted me when I was younger. I remember those racial riots dominating the headlines for a long time.
Apart from Will I Am being your mentor on The Voice, who has been the biggest influence or support toward your career?
With my dad being a muso, he’s always supported my music and songwriting, and mum has always supported me in the theatre world. When I took the leap of faith to drop out of classical music to do musical theatre, they were so supportive and I’ll never forget that. That was just one moment amongst many
Have you ever had a wardrobe malfunction on stage?
When I was at WAAPA I was doing a production of Xanadu with Rob Mallett (Les Miserables) in a random corporate event where we had to skate into the room in a figure eight. We were pretty fresh on the skates and I slipped and grabbed Rob’s silver spandex tights, pulling him to his knees. So there we were in this final pose, and Rob’s jocks are half way down. I dacked him in front of eight hundred people!
So for you is it fitted boxers, tight briefs or commando?
I wear the fitted boxers with leg. Comfort always comes first and you never know when you’ll be dacked!
Beautiful: The Carole King Musical opens at the Sydney Lyric Theatre in September. For more visit: beautifulmusical.com.au
