"I Didn't Know How to Deal With It": Jason Donovan on the Years That Almost Broke Him
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How did Jason Donovan’s early life and his actor‑father shape his career?
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Tietenkin oot meidän keittiössä. Tarviiko ydes kysymistä. Ei, sillä nyt tulee kahdeksan ruokala, ja maistelu menyy tuossa tuokkiossa pöytään. Varmaan, koska ostit nämä kaikki upeet keittiö välineet tosi edullisesti. Käytettäväksi ne on tehty. Kuka hoitaa diskit? Kiva kun kysyit, siellä itse asiassa.
Itse asiassa Bilteemosta löytyy edulliset välineet hommaa kuin hommaan. Oli kysymys sitten omasta tai kaverin projektista.
Every action has a reaction, you know, and what happened to me was extraordinary. Um and I probably didn't know how to deal with it, you know. And the Viper room was a sort of a a moment in time where excess really sort of took control of me.
Hello, I'm Kate Langbrook and my guest on No Filter today is Jason Donovan. For a lot of us, Jason will always be Scott Robinson, the boy next door on Neighbours who became half of the most famous couple in the country on screen and off, before turning into one of the biggest pop exports Australia has ever sent to Britain. What's less familiar is everything that came after. The excess that followed the fame, including one very public collapse at LA's Viper room he still doesn't love talking about. The years he then spent rebuilding through musical theatre. And more recently, the surprisingly candid role he played in Kylie Minogue's Netflix documentary, going back over their relationship and the industry that packaged it, with what he says was nothing left to hide.
This conversation also lands at a raw moment. Just weeks before we spoke, Jason lost his beloved father Terence, the actor who raised him alone from the age of four, got him his first audition, and helped build the very industry that made Jason's own career possible. Jason is carrying that straight into a homecoming, taking on Randall P. McMurphy in One Flu Over the Cuckoo's Nest, on the same Melbourne stage his father performed on for decades. This is Jason Donovan. Jason Donovan It's so delightful to see you.
It is too good to see you too.
Welcome to Nyfilter.
Yeah.
And um I actually think you're perfect for no filter because I am constantly struck when I see you Um speaking. By your frankness.
Yeah, I mean I guess I've always been pretty honest, but yeah, thank you for that compliment. I it it's not something I think too hard and fast about, but I try and be authentic, Kate is probably the word. Not not not not not always not always honest, but always authentic.
Oh, okay. So sometimes dishonest. How will I know? Well no, no. Well no, no,
and I wouldn't say dishonest, but you know, maybe maybe there's ways of tap dancing around stuff I don't want to talk about. But there's there's there's always an authenticity about what I say. You gotta keep some stuff for yourself, otherwise it's sort of you know, what's the point?
Well you I was thinking about you a lot and I thought you w have Always been kind of an early adopter of concepts that we weren't even familiar with at the time. For instance Your brilliant dad, Terry Donovan, was an actor. So you're a Nepo baby. We didn't even know what Nepo babies were.
Yeah. I I I don't know whether I quite like the term Nepo baby. I mean I'm being honest with you here is Is that just a line because we're in show business?
Well, it's I guess in business kids don't call. Is
a carpenter's son Who becomes a carpenter a Nepo baby?
Is that a biblical reference?
I I mean I'm being honest, you know, it it's a funny one. It seems to be aligned to sort of tabloid sensation rather than necessarily a professional outlook. You know, it's only natural to want to follow in your your parents' footsteps, but but I'm not um I'm not having a go at the word or the term.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
How did Jason Donovan’s early life and his actor‑father shape his career?
0:00–5:27
2
What was the impact of the Viper Room incident on Jason’s life and how did he cope with it?
5:27–10:07
3
Why does Jason describe himself as a “nepo baby” and how does he feel about that label?
10:07–15:25
4
How did the Kylie Minogue Netflix documentary change Jason’s perspective on his past?
15:25–22:09
5
What motivated Jason to turn down the film Priscilla and focus on theatre?
22:09–29:31
6
Why is playing Randle P. McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest so significant for Jason now?
29:31–35:34
7
How does Jason stay mentally and physically healthy while juggling acting, family and grief?
35:34–41:34
8
What legacy does Jason want to leave for his children and the Australian entertainment industry?
41:34–1:09:15
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from No Filter
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