JASON DONOVAN on Dr*gs, Partying in the 90s & Why Having His Daughter Changed His Life
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How did Jason Donovan cope with fame at a young age?
This episode contains conversations around substance abuse. If you're affected by anything you hear in this episode, please check the episode's description for a list of organizations who can help and support.
coming up in this episode of Great Company. When we take substances, we're sort of putting a band-aid on pain. There's a story of you in the Viper Room. Viper Room, that's a true story. It was Kate Moss's 21st birthday party. I just wanted to crash out. My dreams came true when I was 20, 21, without a handbook how to navigate my way through what was happening to me.
Consuming, so, three grams of cocaine a day, right? Did you nearly die?
I'm Jason Donovan and we're in great company. Please welcome Mr. Jason Donovan.
The whole Jason mania thing was outrageous. You couldn't go anywhere without his face on something. You were that peak of fame. When you and Kylie got married on screen, it was watched by 22 million people. That is like a royal wedding, but a fictional one.
Your relationship is owned by the world. And then you split up.
What experiences led Jason Donovan to substance abuse?
That was a really tough, tough time. All they talk about is the wedding. Every time I get into a cab now is, how's Kylie?
Were you in love with Kylie? You're overworked, you're burnt out, you're tired, you're doing eight shows a week and then it all at some point just comes crashing down because you can't cling on anymore.
And I sort of didn't want to be that Peter Pan and blonde-haired, blue-eyed kid. I get shouted at from scaffolds. Objectified in a way. Correct. So I tried to really screw up the canvas. How do you find your true self?
Fuck, that's a tough question.
Hello, everyone. My name is Jamie Lang, and this is Great Company.
We recently got a cat. Oh, nice. Yeah, a cat in the house. We lost a cat this year, and I wasn't particularly happy about getting a new cat. Because you had killed the last one. Yeah. I killed with kindness. There's a great story about that one. Just really quickly, Pixie, we had for 18 years. And then two years ago, she just disappeared. And we realized that she'd been outside the front of the house and jumped into an Amazon truck. I'm not joking. I'm not fucking joking. And ended up, she was chipped, right? Yeah. So literally we were like, oh, my God, this cat's fucking gone. We're putting posters up, you know, the whole fucking, the sellotape, asking everybody around town. Got to the point it had gone. She'd gone.
Five months, Ange walks out the fucking house and goes, they've found her. I'm like, fuck, you are kidding, in Dagenham. And do you remember about a year ago that you had to have your animals chipped? It came into law. And this person that had been looking after Pixie in Dagenham, whoever she was, we never got to meet her. Laura's from Dagenham. Laura, was it you? Dagenham's a great part of town. Was it you, Laura? They even named a musical after the play. I love Dagenham. I had to get my satellite out and bloody pack a fucking, you know, suitcase just to go and pick the thing up. It literally took five hours return to get back from there. But you found Pexie? We found her, mate. But then Pexie died? Well, we found her.
She came back, not the same cat, lasted about a year. That's a true story. What do you mean not the same cat? Well, she'd gone through a lot of shit. I think Amazon Prime too. Fucking hell, mate. I mean, that was. So you get this. This is an absolute true story.
You grew up in Australia. your dad was kind of your hero, right? Growing up, which I find kind of amazing because typically when I talk to people, right? Normally, and this is a generalization, when parents divorce and you go one side, typically it feels like the mom is the one that sticks around and maybe dad drifts off and goes to a place. But in your case, your dad was your hero. He's there all the time.
Well, I mean, you've explained that in your book about your mum's influence, which was a great read. Thanks, man.
I really appreciate it.
Congratulations on that. Thank you.
How did becoming a father change Jason Donovan's life?
Yeah, I was one of the first probably people in Australia in 1972. My parents split up.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
How did Jason Donovan cope with fame at a young age?
0:00–1:07
2
What experiences led Jason Donovan to substance abuse?
1:07–5:03
3
How did becoming a father change Jason Donovan's life?
5:03–6:39
4
What was Jason's relationship with Kylie Minogue like?
6:39–9:51
5
What challenges does Jason face with aging in the public eye?
9:51–17:12
6
How did Jason Donovan's upbringing influence his career?
17:12–22:42
7
What lessons did Jason learn from his struggles with addiction?
22:42–24:52
8
What advice does Jason Donovan give about authenticity and self-acceptance?
24:52–1:10:46
Speakers
3 identifiedMore from Great Company with Jamie Laing
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