David St. Louis on His Transformation From Professional MMA Fighter to Big-Hearted Bodyguard in Side Show

Age: “Somewhere between 30 and 40!”

Hometown: Washington, D.C.

Current Role: Jake, the big-hearted, baritone bodyguard of conjoined twins Daisy and Violet in the revamped Broadway revival of Side Show.

Stage & Screen Cred: Although this is his first featured role, David St. Louis previously appeared on Broadway in Jesus Christ Superstar, The Scarlet Pimpernel and Rent.

“Growing up, I played lots of sports—before my singing took off, I wanted to be a professional soccer player. Then I realized there are no professional soccer teams around. [Laughs.] So I got right back into singing.”

“I was a first soprano for years. No one sang higher than me! Then the summer between junior high school and high school, my voice dropped into the basement. I’ve done the full spectrum.”

“From teaching martial arts to doing security, I did every job under the sun for a few years to get things moving. Even when I was on Broadway, between shows I’d pick up a fight. I was professional MMA, I trained in karate, fought muay thai and I’m still trained in Jiu-Jitsu.”

“I have to confess, I’ve been blessed with some pretty good genes. I try to get to the gym once a week to do some iron lifting or something, but other than that, [my physique] is mainly from martial arts. I don’t have to do or eat anything specific.”

“During a callback for Porgy and Bess [on Broadway], my voice left completely—partial vocal paralysis. I had no idea what was going on, I had to squeak through the audition. It took a year for my voice to start to come back. Sometimes you take for granted what you have, and when it gets taken away you realize how foolish you’ve been.”

“This new version of Side Show is like polishing up a rare gem that you think everyone should see. You know you’ve got something that just needs a little polish—the silver is tarnished a bit, we've buffed it up, and now it's shining. We're putting that jewelry on display.”