We had a phone call with Peter Hargrave, who plays Scar in Disney’s The Lion King, in preparation for the show playing at the Grand Sierra this weekend.
Peter Hargrave has been seen in many TV shows such as Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Madam Secretary, and Dynasty, as well as writing and editing.
Here is the audio from that conversation.
Take a listen and enjoy.
Here is a small sample from our conversation with Peter Hargrave.
Q: When did you start the role of Scar?
P.H: I actually just passed a year with the role. I joined the tour in August of 2022, and then we rehearsed for about five weeks before we took the stage, so I have been playing it on the road for a year now.
Q: How many groups are doing the show now?
P.H: We are the only production that tours North America, but there are nine productions of The Lion King in the world. We are the North America tour, there is the Broadway production, and then there are productions in London, Paris, Hamburg, Tokyo, Madrid, Sao Paulo Brazil, and there is a UK Tour as well. So we are definitely the only opportunity to see the show in North America.
Q: How was learning the dancing for the role?
P.H: There are several aspects of our production that make it unique. The puppetry is probably the most unique thing for both our production and my character in general. My character uses mechanics hidden next to my leg under my costume that control my mask, which comes off and down in front of my face and then goes back on my head, and that is all remotely controlled with my hand. That is the hardest part of learning Scar.
Q: What are the challenges of playing Scar?
P.H: There are a lot of fun things about Scar. I think Playing an iconic Disney villain is something that you always want to live up to, and finding the empathy to get inside his head is always the challenge. When you are playing the villain, I think you want to level with your character and understand the reasoning behind their actions, and that’s always a challenging process whether you are the hero or the villain.
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