Longtime London The Lion King Star George Asprey Reflects on the Show's 20 Years in the West End

The Lion King this month marks 20 years on the London stage, during which time it has become the sixth longest-running West End musical ever, with no end in sight. The iconic Disney musical recognized the occasion with a London gala, and has launched a second U.K. and Ireland tour. But it’s worth celebrating, as well, the devotion to the cast of performer George Asprey, who has been playing Scar since April 2008, also with no end in sight—all of which made for plenty to discuss when Broadway.com phoned the dedicated (and genial) performer for a chat.

How long have you actually played Scar in the West End?
At this point, it’s been over 11 and a half years: a continuous run with no breaks except for holidays. It’s funny that right before this, I had just come off doing a year on tour as Billy Flynn in Chicago and after six months was having that weird feeling of not knowing exactly where I was or did I know the lines. I remember the musical director of The Lion King asking me how long I thought I’d stay [in this show], and I said, “After a year, you won’t see me for dust.” I guess I was wrong!

Are you surprised to have been proven so emphatically wrong?
I think it’s just a testament to how amazing the show is in so many respects, and to what an incredible part Scar is to play and how deep and complex it is that I am constantly finding new things even 11 years later. Maybe if I ever feel I’ve got it right, I’ll stop, but that certainly hasn’t happened yet.

How do you account for your ongoing commitment to this role?
Scar is probably the greatest baddie that Disney has ever written. He’s so complex if you think where he starts off. His first line is, “Life’s not fair,” and he really believes that. All his life he has been struggling for validation of his place within the hierarchy of the royal family, and all his life he’s been number two, it’s always been [older brother] Mufasa first.

How, then, does that affect him?
He’s physically inferior to Mufasa, so has to rely on his wit and intelligence, and if you saw Shaun [Escoffery] in that part, you’d understand how I feel in that respect, as well [laughs]. Then suddenly Simba is born, and Scar goes from number two to number three, which I think for him is just unpalatable. But it all comes from a deep-seated desire to be taken seriously—to be accepted on an equal footing with Mufasa.

Speaking of equal footing, how extraordinary is it that the other cast member with whom you have shared this decade-plus ride is, in fact, your Mufasa, Shaun Escoffery?
Shaun and I joined the show exactly the same day—April 22, 2008—and he is one of the main reasons I have been able to stay. We are brothers offstage as well as on, and we’re incredibly good friends. What we do is monitor one another, and if we feel the other person is maybe taking his eye off the ball, we can say that. Having someone here who can keep the other person in check can be difficult with a long-running show, but we have incredible resident directors to keep it fresh, and what I hope I do as an older member of the company is lead by example, and Shaun certainly does that, as well.

Does the audience play its part in reaffirming your commitment to the production?
Very much so. It’s not just me delving deep into the character, although I do, but it’s about feeling a responsibility to the show and to the other actors and very much to the audience. There are so many times kids come and see the show where you think, “This could be their first time coming to the theater,” and so you hope to engender in them a love of the theatrical experience. So, it also becomes about ensuring the next generation of theatregoers.

Might one assume that your own life has progressed significantly across these 11 years?
Well, I’ve got three daughters and they relate to the part [Scar] in a different way from most children. My youngest daughter saw the show when she was four and when Scar goes, “Long lives the king,” there was total silence and suddenly from the audience, a little voice cried, “My daddy did that!”—she was rather proud. My middle daughter was born just four days before I joined the show.

Stepping back for a minute to survey your career, are you surprised to find yourself in The Lion King at all?
Yes to the extent that when I left drama school [west London’s prestigious LAMDA], I did two or three years of solid musicals and said to my agent, “No more,” because as a young actor you can get typecast as a musical theater actor, so I instead did mainly TV and film and the odd straight play. Then Chicago came along and I found that I did enjoy the musical theater part of it, but though I do love to sing, I don’t think I’m particularly brilliant at it. I always tell people, it’s a good thing I’m not singing [show opener] “Circle of Life!”

Your surname is that of the British luxury goods brand, Asprey: any relation?
Oh yes, and when I was younger, I went to America to do a business course with an eye towards going into the family business, which was sold in 1995. While I was in the U.S., I ended up in [Shakespeare’s] The Tempest, where I was probably cast because I had an English accent, and an American lady came to see it and asked me if I had ever thought of doing this professionally.

What happened then?
She said that she had friends at LAMDA and could get me an audition if I were to go. I was 20 years old at the time and what I’d always known I was going to do was go into the army but because of an injury that had fallen through. So instead I said, “Yes, I’ll do it,” since I had wanted anyway to go back to England. I went back and auditioned and got in—there were 2500 people who applied for 19 places.

Was it a shock to your parents that you didn’t proceed into the family firm?
My father still says I’d be his favorite son if I had a proper job, but the fact that I’m also his only son is slightly worrying [laughs]. But he understands that I had to go my own way. All you can ask as a parent is that your child does what they want to do: as long as they’re passionate about something and work hard at it, that’s all you could wish for.

Are you able to do other things during holidays or perhaps during the day?
I’ve squeezed in little projects here and there. I spent two days on the new Guy Ritchie film with Matthew McConaughey, playing an English lord who grows industrial-scale marijuana as a sideline, and I played Walter Monckton, King Edward VIII’s good friend and legal adviser in the first two seasons of The Crown. I demanded that his coffin be opened and I be in the third series, but they didn’t go for it [laughs].

What are your plans when your current Lion King contract comes up for renewal?
That will be in May next year, and I have every intention of staying if I’m asked.