THEATRE actor Jonathan Freeman has been synonymous with Jafar, the loveable villain from Aladdin, for over 30 years. He voiced the character in the 1992 movie and continued to do voiceover work for several related projects.
Then, in 2011, he took on the live-action role for the Disney Theatrical Production stage adaptation.
He began playing the role of Jafar on Broadway at the New Amsterdam Theatre, and he has been there since 2014.
On Jan 23, Freeman took his final bow as Jafar, symbolically handing over his cobra staff to fellow original Broadway cast member Dennis Stowe, who takes over his role in future productions.
Freeman described his emotions as “a mixed bag”. He explained that he just felt like it was time for him to move on. Originally supposed to retire from his role in 2020, Freeman said he did not want things to end like that, in the middle of the pandemic.
“Drawn to it” was how Freeman described his attraction to the role. He had always loved villains in Disney animated movies, and his interest simply grew as he grew up too.
“I’ve come to have a very fine appreciation for villains, they’re like the gasoline that fuels the story forward. The heroes just get to look nice and sing nice songs and then characters like the Genie just get to have a ball from the start, so you have to find a way to have a ball and be a villain. I say don’t go bigger, go deeper ... that will make the character delicious enough that an audience wants to love to hate you,” Freeman said.
Negative reactions make him chuckle, and the actor genuinely enjoys seeing the audience’s honest responses from their seats. One can tell he truly appreciates the art he has received from children over the years – the beloved actor looks at each piece and finds it fascinating that children decide on specific parts of the character to focus on.
