Jersey Boys Blog

Declan Egan plays Bob Gaudio in the Jersey Boys Australia cast

We are so excited to announce a new series of JBB Exclusive Interviews featuring the JERSEY BOYS Australian cast! Last month, of course, we had a fantastic time catching up with Jeff Madden!

Our first JBB Exclusive Interview of the new year is with Declan Egan, who is making his professional debut as Bob Gaudio in the Jersey Boys Australia cast!

Jersey Boys Blog: What attracted you to audition for Jersey Boys and tell us about your journey so far with the show?

Declan Egan: I actually got the Jersey Boys soundtrack about five years ago for Christmas one year and since then have really got to know the music of The Four Seasons. I later saw the show down in Melbourne just after I graduated high school and thought it was fantastic, but really didn’t think there was any role in there suitable enough for me or age appropriate. Two years later I had an agent and just wanted to go to the audition because I loved the show. Suddenly, I was going through the callbacks reading for Bob Gaudio and only then started to realize it was a perfect role for me. The journey I have had since then has just been extraordinary and I constantly have to pinch myself because I am working on one of the best shows in the world, with a fantastic company and I get to explore Australia at the same time. It just feels sometimes too good to be true.

JBB: Has this show been similar or different to others that you’ve done in your past?

DE: This is actually my professional debut so in that case It’s very different to what I have done in the past. I graduated high school three years ago and then went to study Music Theatre at NIDA and then after that landed the role of Bob in Jersey Boys. So it’s been a whirlwind of an experience and each day I thank my lucky stars for being given this opportunity.

JBB: Wow, Declan, that’s an amazing story that landing a role in Jersey Boys is your professional debut! Is it hard to do the Jersey dialect and had you done it before with your other roles?

DE: I had never done a Jersey accent before I auditioned for Jersey Boys. I have found certain parts and vowels difficult to pick up, but it is such an infectious and meaty accent to Australian ears that I found it easy to immerse myself into the foreign rhythms and elongated sounds.

JBB: What about your favorites in JB? Your favorite line? Scene? Musical number & why are they your favorites?

DE: My favorite scene in Jersey Boys would have to be the pizza scene. I think it’s amazing how little Mary and Frankie’s relationship is actually seen in the show, yet the way that scene is structured is so intriguing and so memorable. The sexual tension and the power play that is created is really fascinating. I have two favorite lines, one being from that scene “It says this is who I am, you don’t like it you can go fuck yourself’’ and the second I get the privilege of saying ‘Nicky was right, it is more fun with another person.’ It’s just hysterical. My favorite musical number would be ‘Oh What a Night’ just because it is just a classic feel good number.

JBB: Since joining the Jersey Boys Australian company, what have you learned about yourself that you didn’t know before?

DE: I have grown up so much since I joined the Sydney company about a year ago. I think working with such brilliant and experienced actors have made me quite mature and have made me look at acting in so many different ways and approaches. I have also learned it is hard being away from friends and family on the road and I guess that has made me understand and relate to certain parts of Jersey Boys now than how I would have initially when I first joined. That being said, this has also given me a taste of what I am certain I will want to pursue for the rest of my life.