This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Ramin Karimloo: Hey folks, you're listening to The Hang, hosted by the Broadway Podcast Network. In this episode, I'm hanging with one of musical theater's rising stars, Bradley Jaden. British actor Bradley is quickly making a name for himself as one of the West End's most talented leading men, and much like myself, he contributes a big part of that to his time in Les Misérables. We talk about our shared love of the show, how we're looking forward to finally working together on Camelot, and how Bradley kept his heart and soul together during the trickiest of times. Bradley Jaden, welcome to The Hang, live in Soho. How are you, brother?

[0:45] Bradley Jaden: I'm really good. Yeah, it feels bizarre that I'm even here, if I'm honest.

[0:50] Ramin Karimloo: This is, well, why is it bizarre?

[0:52] Bradley Jaden: I don't know, because I reached out to you ages ago and said I was listening to The Hang while I was on the construction site. That's kind of what got me through working when the industry wasn't a thing.

[1:01] Ramin Karimloo: Are you serious?

[1:02] Bradley Jaden: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, I know you reached out. But yeah, so I used to listen to it like most days up and just kind of got me through working. So yeah.

[1:12] Ramin Karimloo: Oh, man, I wish I didn't stop it then. We've been on quite the hiatus.

[1:17] Bradley Jaden: Oh, right. Well, I better stop the construction site work.

[1:20] Ramin Karimloo: Well, I hated doing it over FaceTime or, you know, remote platforms. It was driving me insane. But to be fair, that's what I listened to while I was on the construction site. And so many podcasts had to do that. And you can hear, you know, the audio change and the sound change and the delay. And you could also tell the, I guess the host, the naturalistic side of it kind of disappeared, you know what I mean? And it didn't feel like what they wanted to try and achieve, but they had to try and keep their shows and their programs alive. So it must have been difficult for...

[1:52] Bradley Jaden: Well, the problem is, I don't like talking on the phone.

[1:55] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah.

[1:56] Bradley Jaden: And I certainly don't like FaceTiming, because we're at the peril of internet connections, which I think they're making worse on purpose.

[2:04] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah.

[2:05] Bradley Jaden: To somehow make us pay more for better service. I think they're fucking us on that one. So it was just driving me insane. I couldn't, the whole point of things called The Hang. We weren't hanging anymore.

[2:13] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah, absolutely. So now we can hang and I'm so glad you're here. So I really appreciate you being here. And that man bun.

[2:18] Bradley Jaden: I'm trying, I'm trying to get a lot of scrunchies. Listen, a lot of scrunchies. I don't know what's gonna happen. I'm hoping to give you some sort of a good effort when it comes to Camelot by the time I get there.

[2:27] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah, I know. Well, you know, I'm still challenging my fiancée at the moment. We still have a hair off and, you know, she shows me how to probably blow dry and stuff. Just so I know how to mitigate my expectations.

[2:41] Bradley Jaden: Are you growing it more? Or is this it now? Do you cut it?

[2:47] Ramin Karimloo: No. I was told at the beginning of this contract to Les Mis it needed like its ends cut, which I learned about that a little bit. And you can kind of tell that I don't really, I just put it up and...

[2:58] Bradley Jaden: So from now to Camelot, there's going to be more growth? Is that what I'm hearing?

[3:01] Ramin Karimloo: I mean, unless they cut it, I just, yeah, I mean, I quite like, there's a difference. I mean, when I think you're growing your hair, I mean, this is how The Hang is going to go for this podcast. Growing hair. I think it goes through so many different stages, like a little bob. Oh, is that kind of long hair? And then when it gets to nipple length, you're like, now I feel like a Viking.

[3:19] Bradley Jaden: Yes. And that's where I feel like I'm at.

[3:22] Ramin Karimloo: I don't, I don't have the nipple length.

[3:24] Bradley Jaden: Yeah. And that's when, that's when you're like, oh, I'm part Viking. That's how I feel.

[3:28] Ramin Karimloo: So pre-nipple, what did you feel like?

[3:32] Bradley Jaden: Kind of like, I'm a lady.

[3:35] Ramin Karimloo: Okay, yeah, that's fine. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

[3:39] Bradley Jaden: Absolutely nothing wrong with it.

[3:41] Ramin Karimloo: I don't necessarily see a lady when I look in the mirror. I gotta be honest. There's times.

[3:47] Bradley Jaden: I was called a lady a couple of times, excuse me miss, just from behind. Do you know what I mean?

[3:51] Ramin Karimloo: Well, you are pretty. I'm not denying that.

[3:54] Bradley Jaden: You are.

[3:54] Ramin Karimloo: The delicate shoulders.

[3:55] Bradley Jaden: First time I saw you, because this is actually our second time we're actually seeing each other.

[3:58] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah.

[3:59] Bradley Jaden: First time was on the red line, the central line.

[4:00] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah.

[4:01] Bradley Jaden: And I remember looking at this guy who was across me. I'm like, that is one pretty boy. He is good looking.

[4:06] Ramin Karimloo: That was the...

[4:07] Bradley Jaden: Then you started talking to me. I was like, the pretty guy's talking to me. I was shocked. I was, you know, I think when you're in musical theater, you always aspire and you always have people that you, you know, dream of working with or would like to meet. And, you know, I had always followed your career and kind of thought, oh, I'd love to meet that guy. I'd love to sing with him. And, and obviously then when I finally made it into the ensemble of Les Mis, I was like, oh, I'm getting close. Like maybe now I could possibly meet. And then I took over from Andras and then I left. And then I met you while I was playing Fiero. And I was just like, I've got to tell you that I played Andras and I was just like, I just had to say, hello, hello. And I remember it was the most awkward conversation, probably like the beginning of this, from nerves and, and, yeah.

[5:03] Ramin Karimloo: Weren't you thinking, what's this old guy staring at me for?

[5:05] Bradley Jaden: No, I was just like, wow, that's with, yeah, I need to say hello.

[5:10] Ramin Karimloo: And I'm glad you did.

[5:11] Bradley Jaden: Yeah, I'm thrilled. Yeah. And since then, I mean, we've tried to meet and we've tried to organize having a bit of a sing song, but...

[5:19] Ramin Karimloo: We tried to organize Harley rides. You're too busy. You're too busy.

[5:22] Bradley Jaden: And then the pandemic.

[5:23] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.

[5:25] Bradley Jaden: But yeah, I'm fortunate to say, creatively I've been busy, but you know, it sucks for friendships and stuff. But you don't have a Harley anymore, right?

[5:33] Ramin Karimloo: No, I had to sell it because of the pandemic.

[5:36] Bradley Jaden: Yeah.

[5:37] Ramin Karimloo: Well, that's heartbreaking.

[5:37] Bradley Jaden: Yeah, it was. It really was. I had a couple of tears that day.

[5:41] Ramin Karimloo: How long did you have her?

[5:44] Bradley Jaden: Four years.

[5:45] Ramin Karimloo: Mate.

[5:46] Bradley Jaden: Yeah, it was really, and it was, it even got me through, you know, working in the pandemic. You know, I mean, my neighbors didn't like it, 4:30 in the morning, getting to the construction site.

[5:54] Ramin Karimloo: I know the feeling. Do you ever think like, what if I just push it down the road a little bit?

[5:58] Bradley Jaden: Well, we had this like a Facebook group. I think, you know, a lot of people have Facebook groups for the area that you live in, or, you know, the village that you live in. And I kept looking every day, thinking someone was going to say, who is that inconsiderate person starting their Harley at half four in the morning? And I wanted to say, well, I've got to keep the roof over my head, you know what I mean? Like, but yeah, it was very sad to lose her.

[6:20] Ramin Karimloo: When I used to come home after Phantom or Valjean in the West End, and I'd be riding home on the Harley, it'd be a bit late. So I would get, and obviously the streets were clear at the time, I'd get enough speed to then turn it off, kill it, and then just coast into my driveway as best I could.

[6:35] Bradley Jaden: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[6:37] Ramin Karimloo: So what was that like working on a construction site when, because at that point, you had been Javert?

[6:43] Bradley Jaden: I had been, yeah, we'd opened the brand new production for, I think it was three months.

[6:48] Ramin Karimloo: And what was that special handover that you and Bal did on it?

[6:51] Bradley Jaden: That was, so we'd just done the, I guess they called it the all-star concert. I think that's what it was.

[6:59] Ramin Karimloo: Was that pre-construction?

[7:00] Bradley Jaden: Yeah, that was pre, yeah. And it was, and I was just about to go and open, so I was playing Andras while he was doing Javert in that concert. And then for the last show, Cameron obviously did his kind of the infamous, bringing all the Valjeans on to sing Bring Him Home. But I think Michael Ball then decided that he wanted to have his own infamous moment. And we sang the duet of Stars, which was, you know, very, very special for me. You know, again, Michael was a guy that I've kind of looked up to and listened to since, you know, when you start musical theatre, your career, Les Mis is always one of those albums that I think everyone picks up. And, you know, he was an incredible leading man. And I think we all kind of just were in awe of how hard he worked for the company and for the show.

[7:48] Ramin Karimloo: He works his ass off.

[7:49] Bradley Jaden: I've never met.

[7:50] Ramin Karimloo: With joy, though.

[7:51] Bradley Jaden: With joy. There was never, even at the times where he, you know, he is extremely tired, or, you know, run down. He puts it on, he turns up and he's there. And that was inspiring every day to watch, you know, just like, okay, we can do this.

[8:06] Ramin Karimloo: Super kind.

[8:07] Bradley Jaden: Yeah, really, really lovely man.

[8:09] Ramin Karimloo: So I know, and of course, for the obvious and plethora of reasons why the pandemic was devastating for everyone. But if we can just put all that aside and selfishly just zero in on you, creatively speaking, that must have been heartbreaking, knowing what Les Mis was becoming, the new version, the all-star handover. A lot of hype, a lot of excitement, as there should be for that show.

[8:33] Bradley Jaden: Yeah, I think, like you say, it was exciting. And it was a moment. And in my career, I was kind of like, wow, okay, this is, you know, I always say to my fiancée, I don't know where I've ever wanted my career, I only ever wanted to be the ensemble of Les Mis. And once I'd done that, I've kind of just ridden the wave. And I've never known where what's coming or what to audition for, or I've kind of just gone, okay, let's go for it. And which has been lovely. But I can categorically say I've never aspired to be famous. I've never aspired to be someone big, or people know me, I'm quite introverted and quite quiet as Bradley. Whereas when I get on stage, that's when I kind of, I feel like I can be a bit freer and a bit more alive, which is a weird, weird sensation.

But that's the absolute truth. And when that kind of disappeared, you almost just had to go straight into survival mode. And all my friends that I've had since I was like four or five years old, they're all builders, construction site workers, mechanics, plasterers, and I just knew that they're working. And as soon as I'd spoken to Cameron, he kind of gave wind that it was not going to be open for a year, maybe more. I just was like, okay, so this phone up my best friend, Joe, and just was like, I need to get on some work. And he was like, yeah, you can start tomorrow. And I just knew that if I didn't do that, I wasn't, you know, fortunate enough to get any support or anything from the government or anything like that.

So, you know, to go from wage to nothing was really difficult, especially when you knew that there was, there wasn't going to be anything to help look after my family as it were. So, and obviously my fiancée was in a job at the same time as well, and her show shut. So it was kind of like, right, let's just do this. And actually it was, it was wonderful. Like, you know, all my friends were there and I got to meet some really, really lovely, kind men who, you know, took me under their wing. And I did some work previous before, I guess, becoming a professional, you know, working with my friend who was a plasterer and, and working with my friend Joe previous to that, but just that camaraderie and working with all the guys.

And, you know, I never want, he, he kind of said, this is a guy who, who he actually said, cause he doesn't know what my career was like. He was like, this guy's a dancer, which I'm not, but I was like, I was taking it. I was like, you know what? He's calling me a dancer. Let's go with it. And so all these guys were like, well, what's he doing here? Picking up cables and, you know, and working the hard nights, but they soon found out that I was a really hard worker. And, you know, I didn't want to step on toes. I didn't want preferential treatment or anything like that. I just wanted just to keep the roof over my head and work hard. And, and, and actually it, I think it was good. I think it was really good for me.

I think so many times in our industry, we can, you know, seem to feel like we're bigger than other people or, and we're not, we're not. If you're a lead, you're no better than an ensemble. If you're, if you're a lead, you're no better than someone working on stage crew or anything like that. You're all completely equal. And, and I think sometimes not even saying that I was getting to that stage, but I think you just kind of go, it's just a job. It's in terms of, that's just something I've, I love with all my heart and I would love to do it. But if someone said by chance, you can't ever sing, I'd go, you know what, I've had the best, best time and, and now I've got to do something else. So, you know, I kind of just kept always hopeful that there, that there would be shows again and I'll bust my balls to, to work again.

And I kind of just thought it was like almost cleaning the slate clean and everyone would have that kind of refreshed energy for when it did come back. And so I just worked really, really hard with them and got some new friends and, and, and we kept our house. So that was the main, main things, you know what I mean?

[12:31] Ramin Karimloo: I love that, man. And it's such a great attitude to have and a great outlook because I'm with you on that. We, at the end of the day, we're playing dress-up. That's all we're doing, you know, and we love doing it. I love it with all my heart and I'll give it 160%. You know, if we can keep doing it, great.

[12:45] Bradley Jaden: Exactly. But if someone does say, you know what, you can't do it anymore, I'll go, you know what, I've played you there and that's beyond my wildest dreams. So yeah, I've done all right.

[12:54] Ramin Karimloo: You're awesome, man. So what were you doing on the site? What kind of job?

[12:59] Bradley Jaden: So I was basically a Sparkies man.

[13:00] Bradley Jaden: Electricians, um, handyman. So it was the first couple of...

[13:04] Ramin Karimloo: Were you learning on a job?

[13:05] Bradley Jaden: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, the first month was very much like, uh, or, you know, as they say, if you're in an office, like making the teas, but it wasn't. It was so, it was a six, six, six story, uh, office block that we were making, which was bizarre because obviously no one was working in offices anyway. And everyone that was building this kind of said, no one's even going to come and buy this big office. And it was next to the VAR building, actually. And so obviously I had to travel from Brighton all the way up to Stockley Park every day at four in the morning and get back at five. And yeah, it was, it was long old days.

[13:39] Ramin Karimloo: Were you taking a hug with that?

[13:41] Bradley Jaden: I drove it to a certain place and then we all got in the van, all the lads got in the van and we drove up together. And yeah, so it was a, it was a big old adventure. And, you know, for the first couple of months I was, you know, literally just pulling cables and dragging all the, the ladder and basket and stuff like that. All the stuff that the actual professional electricians have done. Do you know what I mean? They've done that. They've done their years of, of carrying all that kind of stuff. And then, um, once they could see that I was trustworthy, they started like, you know, giving me more and more actual, uh, work to do and leaving me with some of the electrics and stuff like that. And I occasionally I would do an extra little course just to bump up my qualifications.

So yeah, so it was great. And I even said, you know, to my friend, Joe, that it would be great to try and do some sort of full qualification. Um, throughout while I'm working in this industry that, you know, even if it was a night course, just to have something like, it just shows how, you know, vulnerable our business is and how delicate it is. That it could be just taken. And, and at that point, you know, it was, you know, to go back to that was, I want to make sure that I'd be at the head of the game.

[14:50] Ramin Karimloo: So is that something you can do while you're?

[14:52] Bradley Jaden: Uh, I'm looking, I'm still definitely looking into it. Yeah.

[14:55] Ramin Karimloo: But you know, at the moment, um, now you're enjoying being inspector in Chauvet.

[14:58] Bradley Jaden: Yeah, late business priority. And you know, you've got to give it 160%. You got to keep those pecs in order.

[15:04] Ramin Karimloo: I got to, are you flexing right now? Like what's happening?

[15:06] Bradley Jaden: No, I'm not. No, I'm not.

[15:09] Ramin Karimloo: What's going on? What's your, what's your training regime?

[15:11] Bradley Jaden: Uh, do you know what? I have, um, I have a trainer, uh, called Josh DeCosta. So that's a little plug for him actually. And he's been a wonderful, wonderful man. Because, uh, I will be completely honest. I have no idea about fitness. I lost eight stone a while, you know, a couple of years ago. And that kind of started my career going.

[15:30] Ramin Karimloo: Slow down. Eight stone.

[15:36] Bradley Jaden: Wow.

[15:37] Ramin Karimloo: What was the mental shift for you to want to do that?

[15:40] Bradley Jaden: I, well, it's a very easy mental shift. So basically I, when I graduated for about five years, I couldn't, couldn't get a West End audition, anything to...

[15:50] Ramin Karimloo: I don't mean to interrupt. You say it's easy, but it's not for a lot of people.

[15:53] Bradley Jaden: No, no, no. I couldn't. But you got to, it took you...

[15:56] Ramin Karimloo: So five years.

[15:57] Bradley Jaden: Five years of just doing anything I could. Like, I mean, I wasn't really working.

[16:02] Ramin Karimloo: So you're eight stone heavier than you are now.

[16:03] Bradley Jaden: Yeah. I was just under 19 stone.

[16:06] Ramin Karimloo: Holy shit. How tall were you?

[16:08] Bradley Jaden: I'm only 5'11".

[16:10] Ramin Karimloo: You're only 5'11 now?

[16:11] Bradley Jaden: Yeah. I'm getting shorter.

[16:13] Ramin Karimloo: You seem so tall.

[16:14] Bradley Jaden: It's the man bun.

[16:16] Ramin Karimloo: Um, and wait, did you, did you say you trained?

[16:19] Bradley Jaden: You're at?

[16:19] Ramin Karimloo: No, no.

[16:20] Bradley Jaden: So at that point I was, I was, you know, I was just, um.

[16:23] Ramin Karimloo: So how did you expect to get auditions? Weight aside?

[16:26] Bradley Jaden: Well, that's the thing. I just, if I'm being honest, all drama school, I didn't start singing until I was 18. So before I was doing lots. And then when I went to drama school, I found alcohol and food. And I was a lover of cheese toasties. And that's, that's kind of, you know, I just put on a lot of weight. And then, um, uh, when about five years after that, I got to, um, be understudy of Shrek in the original cast of Shrek musical at Drury Lane.

[16:57] Ramin Karimloo: Wait, how'd you get that?

[16:58] Bradley Jaden: Well, I managed to get an audition. And obviously because they didn't need a fat suit, I was a shoe-in. Do you know what I mean? So I was one step ahead of the game.

[17:07] Ramin Karimloo: Are you trying to be funny?

[17:08] Bradley Jaden: Okay. I'm telling you the truth.

[17:09] Ramin Karimloo: I'm telling you the truth.

[17:10] Bradley Jaden: So I was, you know, I was in there. Didn't have quite the fat suit that everyone else had.

[17:15] Ramin Karimloo: Now, hang on, hang on. I want to take something from this that people will be wondering, but how do you get the audition?

[17:22] Bradley Jaden: I mean, that was my agent at the time.

[17:24] Ramin Karimloo: You had an agent?

[17:24] Bradley Jaden: I did get an audition.

[17:26] Ramin Karimloo: How'd you get an agent?

[17:27] Bradley Jaden: From my drama school.

[17:28] Ramin Karimloo: You did go to drama school?

[17:29] Bradley Jaden: Yeah.

[17:29] Ramin Karimloo: Did you say this or did I miss this?

[17:31] Bradley Jaden: No, we just didn't talk about it.

[17:32] Ramin Karimloo: But I asked you, did you train? Like, nah, I didn't train.

[17:34] Bradley Jaden: I thought you meant, did you train? Because you were talking about my pecs. So I thought we were back at that. Yeah, I went to, so I went to three years at Guildford.

[17:41] Ramin Karimloo: Okay.

[17:41] Bradley Jaden: There we go. We'll get back to your pecs, by the way. And then, yeah, and then I didn't, I wasn't really successful. I just couldn't get in the door, couldn't get any auditions for anything. But then Shrek the Musical came and obviously they wanted some curvy people. And there I was waving that freak flag, as they call it, from the show. And then I was actually playing the role of Shrek. And the writer was over from America. And she said, after I performed, I think you'd be a lot more successful if you lost weight. And at first I thought, cheeky. You know what I mean? And then the next morning I woke up and I started running. And I've never, I've never missed a day of training since.

[18:27] Ramin Karimloo: It's like, four is gone.

[18:28] Bradley Jaden: Yeah, I've, I've never missed. I will, it's, it's, and it has had its bad effects. You know, I'm not going to lie. It's, you know, even when I was playing Fiero, you know, when trying to jump into those tights every day and try and feel you're holding that six pack. And, you know, when there's people coming out of drama school who are just naturally with those six packs. And it takes a lot for me to train. It takes, you know, a hard, hard graft.

[19:01] Ramin Karimloo: That is hard.

[19:02] Bradley Jaden: But I always say, you know, look at the people in the films and stuff like that. They train really, really hard because they want, they want to work. They want to do those films. And at this moment, like I say, I want to, I want to work. So I want to be in the best shape of my life. I want to be, give it 160 percent. And then when it comes to that point where no one wants to hear me sing or no one wants to see the hair flicks, then maybe I can have a few more cheese toasties.

[19:18] Ramin Karimloo: Well, listen, I think I want to, I don't know if it's a word is like defend what that producer said, because I had a producer say to me is what got me into shape. Yeah, obviously. But I didn't have the, the weight discrepancy that you went to and the mental fortitude. And also we'll touch on it some more when you say this, the bad effects of that too, because I know what it's like. The more in shape I got, the less secure I got about myself.

[19:45] Bradley Jaden: Of course, I can sit there, do a fitness shoot, post on Instagram. That's all for show. But inside my head, I'm looking at that with a fine tooth comb where I never used to do that. And I don't think she was saying because of your size, you'll never work because this industry.

[19:58] Ramin Karimloo: No, no, no. Thankfully celebrates all shapes and sizes.

[20:01] Bradley Jaden: Which is great now. I think you specifically, the way you look, the way you carry yourself. Yeah. You're not a character actor. You're leading. And I think that was what they call conventional leading. Yeah. And I see that a lot in the in the social kind of world at the moment of, you know, people kind of saying, why can't I do this if I was slightly overweight? And I get and I understand that side of the industry. I really do. And I think like you say, I think you hit nail on the head that I think she saw something that, you know, and she wasn't saying you are fat, lose weight. It was just kind of thinking this is another thing. And I could have just gone there. But after five years of not working and then having this kind of, you know, you know, to stand there as Shrek on Drury Lane and I kind of go, oh, oh, maybe I need to change something for myself.

You know, it's not all just singing every day and practicing every day. Maybe unfortunately for me, it is my aesthetics. And I did that. And then things that I've always wanted to even be considered for started to happen. And then, you know, a couple of years down the line, five years down the line, then it's lame is and I'm like, wow, there's my goal. There's my dream. And I'm going to grab it with both hands.

[21:13] Ramin Karimloo: And that's amazing. And it's it's hard when we talk about weight, especially when I do post fitness stuff. And that's because it's my passion. It's not necessarily me going, this is what you should do. Yeah. You know, but I will always advocate. Have a healthy heart more than anything. Yeah. Be happy in yourself. Yeah. The aesthetics part, it's neither here or there, you know, for you and I, with what we want to do, the roles we go for, it seems to be leaning that way. Yeah. So we put in the extra effort. Me, I'm trying to stay as young as I can now.

[21:43] Bradley Jaden: Exactly.

[21:44] Ramin Karimloo: I got how many years on you? Ten?

[21:45] Bradley Jaden: How old are you?

[21:47] Ramin Karimloo: You don't want to say.

[21:47] Bradley Jaden: How young are you?

[21:48] Ramin Karimloo: I'm 34.

[21:49] Bradley Jaden: Okay. At least it's not a decade.

[21:52] Ramin Karimloo: It's almost, though.

[21:54] Bradley Jaden: Yeah.

[21:54] Ramin Karimloo: Am I 43? I think I'm 43.

[21:55] Bradley Jaden: I think I'm 43.

[21:56] Ramin Karimloo: Well, I mean, you look fantastic.

[21:58] Bradley Jaden: Thank you, darling.

[22:01] Ramin Karimloo: So let's talk about that was very important, because I think some people will relate to that. So you lost the weight, but then you're struggling with it somewhat, probably more because I bet you're probably slightly more accepting of what you are, you were if you were when I was a swagger. A lot of people said, you know, I miss fat Brad sometimes, you know, and I'm not going to lie. That's the that's the honest truth, because I did have no inhibitions. I would, you know, take my top off, run around. I was a bit more carefree and, you know, alcohol and partying and stuff. But again, it's there's that that difference as well. I think the not the more successful because I don't think that's a that's a thing from being like I say, being ensemble to being a leader.

I don't think there's any more success in that. I just think that that's just the role that someone's asked you to play, you know, but you then take a I don't know, there's your standards change. So when I was an understudy, I would look at the people playing the roles and I'd be like, I want your job. I want your job so bad and I'm going to and I'm going to get it. That wasn't to say that they were bad at their job, but I was just hungry. And so now when I'm playing a role, I want to make sure that I never let myself down so that no one can kind of go, I want your job and you don't deserve it. Do you know what I mean? Like, I feel like because I was that person and I won't I won't lie about that.

I would if there was mucking about or from the person that I was covering, I'd be like, I want that so bad. And you're you're you don't cherish it. And so now it's at that point where I'm like, I just want to make sure that I cherish it every day and I work really, really hard so that hopefully then when the understudies come up and take that role, then they just they love it just as much. And then I think that also helps shows stay alive. Do you know what I mean?

[24:02] Ramin Karimloo: You know, and I think you learn, you know, I always say that there is a guy called I don't know if you know him, Peter Lockyer.

[24:04] Bradley Jaden: Of him.

[24:05] Ramin Karimloo: I don't think.

[24:05] Bradley Jaden: Okay, so he was Jean Valjean when I first arrived and he just ingrained so much in me. And I was just kind of like, wow, you and he'd been Marius for like six years in Broadway. And then now he was Valjean. And I was just like, wow, you know, you're working your your wife is with you. You're having a lovely time. And, and that's that's kind of that's a dream, isn't it? You know, to do the thing that you love and then also your family are safe and happy. And, you know, you see so many people in their jobs and they're not happy. And why do it like that? You only get one one life. And I want to make sure that I just really have a good time doing it. And so I just focus all my energy. I'm very kind of military like that, which sometimes is bad. And, you know, I hold my hands up about it. I can be quite tunnel visioned. But there is that saying, you know, there's discipline equals freedom.

[25:00] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah.

[25:00] Bradley Jaden: You're doing what you want to do now because of that discipline.

[25:02] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah.

[25:02] Bradley Jaden: And that's for your path and your choice.

[25:05] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah. You know, absolutely. I think people can what they can take from that is. When you had a goal, what you did to get that goal. Yeah. Now everyone can relate that to themselves. And everyone has their own challenges and own demons that they have to kind of get over and it only makes you a stronger person.

[25:17] Bradley Jaden: So how do you what's your diet like now? Do you when you say you'd party the alcohol?

[25:20] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah.

[25:22] Bradley Jaden: You weren't and I don't mean to be. You can be sensitive. You weren't it's not you know, we're an alcoholic. You know, I just yeah. Right. So you can still have a drink now if you want.

[25:31] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah.

[25:31] Bradley Jaden: But I just tend not to. Again, I think it's I do if it's like a weekend or something like that. But again, I don't want to let my standards down. Because if I go on stage and I did a duff note, that's because I had a drink the night before and that would really annoy me that someone's paid 150 pounds.

[25:49] Ramin Karimloo: Do you ever hit a duff note then?

[25:50] Bradley Jaden: Oh, I do.

[25:50] Ramin Karimloo: Okay.

[25:51] Bradley Jaden: But I don't want it to be out of.

[25:54] Ramin Karimloo: Yes.

[25:54] Bradley Jaden: Because of the choices that I've made.

[25:56] Ramin Karimloo: Out of being human.

[25:57] Bradley Jaden: Yeah.

[26:00] Bradley Jaden: It's because I was out till four o'clock the night before getting drunk. Then I'm like, well, I've got myself to blame and the understudy should have been on. And no wonder he's... Well, we have a sense of responsibility, you know, and it's part of the gig when you sign up for HLG Week and I think it's amazing. It's exactly of all shapes and sizes. But it's an athletic task and ask, you know. But I think that's amazing. Your morals, your standards, your ethics, where did that get ingrained from?

[26:31] Ramin Karimloo: As a kid, I don't know. Where'd you grow up?

[26:34] Bradley Jaden: Brighton.

[26:35] Ramin Karimloo: Nice, man.

[26:37] Bradley Jaden: Yeah, it was really, really good. I mean, all my family is still there. All my best mates are still there. And we've only just recently moved from there, actually. Literally like six months ago.

[26:46] Ramin Karimloo: I heard, yeah. So you're nearer to my neck of the woods.

[26:48] Bradley Jaden: Yeah, well, Cambridge here now.

[26:49] Ramin Karimloo: So that's so close to me.

[26:51] Bradley Jaden: Yeah, it's lovely. Get another Harley.

[26:54] Ramin Karimloo: I'm about to sell mine, though.

[26:56] Bradley Jaden: I'll buy yours.

[26:58] Ramin Karimloo: Do you want a Harley?

[26:59] Bradley Jaden: OK. But yeah, so it had to go from being in the sea, you know, around that areas. But it's been quite crazy to move to the country. But again, there's different goals. You know, hopefully in a few years, me and my fiancée might have children and we've got two dogs now. So the country life is a lot better for all of us. And we're a lot closer to her family because she's from St. Helen's. So, you know, it's kind of equidistant from Brighton and Liverpool. So it's really lovely. And it's our home rather than my home. And, you know, so it's really, really nice.

[27:35] Ramin Karimloo: You gone punting yet?

[27:36] Bradley Jaden: No, we haven't. No, not yet.

[27:38] Ramin Karimloo: Not yet. It's hard.

[27:39] Bradley Jaden: I can imagine. I can imagine. I did that before I went character research. Yeah. When I took Phantom, I thought, let's go see what punting's like. It's not like you see it. That's why I try to do it. But, you know, the punting on stage is so thin. But yeah, I was like, this is hard ass work. Yeah. And the amount of times my punt got stuck in the book, it was like shit. So we got to go back and get it. Yeah.

[28:04] Ramin Karimloo: So how is it going now with the run? You guys are fully open. You're doing shows again.

[28:07] Bradley Jaden: We're doing seven shows at the moment. Yeah, I think because they were just I think Cameron and his team were just kind of testing the waters to see if the audience were there, you know, to see if they are there.

[28:20] Ramin Karimloo: I mean, how much do you love doing seven, though?

[28:22] Bradley Jaden: I do know what I really do, but it does feel slightly kind of... You're on tenderhooks because you're like, where's I feel like I should be in doing another show, but it is. Let me ask the Belgian. How is it nice doing seven?

[28:35] Ramin Karimloo: He's loving it. Yeah.

[28:37] Bradley Jaden: He's loving it. You know, John is superb. He's an incredible leading man. And he's just another easy-going guy. He's just wonderful to work with.

[28:46] Ramin Karimloo: Well, from what I remember, you know, like he's just laid back.

[28:49] Bradley Jaden: He really, really is. No drama.

[28:51] Ramin Karimloo: No, there's not.

[28:52] Bradley Jaden: And he's just all about good morale for the company. And, you know, he's a good person. He really he is a wonderful person. And every and what's really nice, I didn't know him prior to this. And my fiancée is in Hamilton now. And, you know, obviously he was in that and and other shows since that of if you ever mentioned his name, everyone says he's a really nice man. And that truly is what he is. He's he's a lovely leading man. He's, you know, great for Valjean. He's perfect for Valjean.

[29:23] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah. And, you know, it's just wonderful to to be with someone that's that passionate as well. You know, I think it's always difficult. You know, you can say as well, if you're honest, you know, when you're working with someone, it's probably not as passionate maybe as what you are. That's that's difficult. And because, you know, you can sometimes collide a little bit. But John's equally as, you know, passionate about the show as I am. And yeah, and that's incredible and rare.

[29:52] Bradley Jaden: And things are out of you. It's not about me, Bradley, it's about you. So everything is great. You know, I'm very, you know, I'm still finding it hard to get excited about things. That's why I like on paper. Yeah. Yes. Everything's incredible. The next, I don't know, 20 months is so diverse and so many things going on. I'm so lucky to have a schedule that's so booked up. But now I'm like, it could all change in a blink of an eye. So every time, like people say, are you excited about Funny Girl? I said, I'll tell you after I take my first bow. Yeah, because, you know, that was all for two years ago. Wow. I mean, that thing has been going on and on. That's why it got to the point. I'm like, well, I hope it happens.

It'll be a lot of fun. Yeah, you know. So it's just a matter of. But like you say, there is more to life and I'm trying to diversify my efforts as well, because at the end, they like yourself. The only thing that's important to me is putting a roof over their heads.

[31:00] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah. Making sure my little squatters that are my boys.

[31:04] Bradley Jaden: Yeah, absolutely. Food on the table, you know, and just keep at any moment or something to do. Even just doing this now with this podcast with you. I'm I was so excited about doing this.

[31:08] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah, me too.

[31:09] Bradley Jaden: Where before, like I remember when I was set a podcast and be over Zoom or, you know, remotely, I felt like a chore because I wanted to hang with those people. I wanted to see them in person. And I'm glad they were still received well, but it's all about community. It's all about connection, and I missed that.

[31:28] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah, absolutely. So let's talk about your training program. What's going on?

[31:32] Bradley Jaden: Oh, well, I mean, it's you said, Josh.

[31:34] Ramin Karimloo: Josh Acosta.

[31:36] Bradley Jaden: Yeah. And another drop for Josh Acosta. Yeah. Another drop for him. He's actually he's in Tina Turner, the musical. So he's an actor.

[31:43] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah, he's a performer.

[31:44] Bradley Jaden: He's actually a new dad. So congratulations.

[31:47] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah, he's a new dad.

[31:48] Bradley Jaden: And his partner was actually in the show with me in Les Mis, the concert and the older production. And yeah, I just kind of reached out to him because.

[31:59] Ramin Karimloo: So he's a PT.

[32:01] Bradley Jaden: Yeah, he's a PT. He's got his own company that he's kind of built from literally ground up. And now he has a plethora of performers and stage people.

[32:11] Ramin Karimloo: What's the company called? Let's give him a plug.

[32:12] Bradley Jaden: I think it's literally called Josh Acosta Fitness, but he also has like a side one, Daddy Fitness.

[32:19] Ramin Karimloo: We'll get back to it so I can.

[32:20] Bradley Jaden: He only gets one plug. Yeah, that's it. That's it, Josh. Sorry. But yeah, and he's just been really great for me mentally because, you know, I won't lie. I think when sometimes when you are ignorant about your training and ignorant about fitness, I mean, I was always into nutrition and I could did lots of courses on it and I even did, you know, what is it called, a diploma on my nutrition. And yeah, just because I wanted to know as much about it as I possibly could. But sometimes it's not easy to practice what you preach, you know. And I was training so, so hard every single day, but yet starving myself. You know, that's the if you've been blunt as you can be honest about it. You know, I was not eating what I should be and and I was tired, but I was just kind of like, nope, I've got this this six pack and this is not going.

Let's keep busting my balls, you know. And it got to a point where it was having effects on me and having effects on my partner. And that's when you kind of go, right, I need to take this out of my hands and I need to seek advice. And he has a wealth of knowledge that was able to kind of say, this is your maintenance calories. This is your gaining calories. This is if you want to get a bit more, you know, a bit more muscle on yourself. This is if you want to get shredded. So we've done lots of different things. I've been with him for two years. The originally the reason I went with him, actually, is because I wanted to look as best I could when I proposed to my fiancée. So I had like a kind of end goal that you shirtless for this. No, I wasn't. I just wanted to feel like really strong and handsome and feel really good about asking her to be my wife. Do you know? Ultimately, you want to feel your best self.

[34:07] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah, I just I just really wanted to feel strong and not weak. And, you know, and he was.

[34:12] Bradley Jaden: Are you going to lift her?

[34:13] Ramin Karimloo: No, I had nothing to do with it.

[34:15] Bradley Jaden: Yeah, it was nothing about that at all. It's just I just wanted to feel lovely in a suit and and feel smart about it.

[34:20] Ramin Karimloo: You're a beautiful guy. Come on.

[34:22] Bradley Jaden: And so, yeah, that was selfless. You got like the best of your life for someone else for a moment.

[34:27] Ramin Karimloo: It's the truth. Yeah, the absolute truth. And and so I did that. And then and then we worked on like a maintenance way. And then obviously while I was playing Andras, I was trying to be just a little bit smaller and a bit leaner. And now obviously playing Javert, I'm trying to, which I find extremely difficult, I find extremely difficult to put myself in like a surplus because I. It's a mental thing. Mentally, that's really difficult for me. And which I struggle with. And Josh is absolutely incredible with. Because for me, if someone said you have to eat a lot more calories, but still train, if you then start to lose what you've had for so long, you then feel like you're going to lose your jobs, lose your partner, lose your, you know, all these kind of.

[35:15] Ramin Karimloo: Well, this is something specific to your narrative.

[35:18] Bradley Jaden: Yeah, this is me. And this shows my insecurities. This is heavy. Like this feels sad for you when you.

[35:23] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah, yeah, yeah. This is going through your mind.

[35:25] Bradley Jaden: But that's why that's why I reached out to Josh. And he's been really great to be able to kind of like do this, do that. This is what you've got to eat today. And I'm like, OK, cool. And I feel like it's almost out of my hands. And then I can then I have that energy to put into the show.

[35:39] Ramin Karimloo: See, that's crazy, because most people like when they go into surplus, like for me, I guess my only thing would be like, I'm going to lose abs to gain. Then you shred again.

[35:44] Bradley Jaden: Yeah. But I don't start going, I'm going to lose my job. I'm going to lose my job.

[35:49] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah, yeah. That's that's.

[35:52] Bradley Jaden: But that's but I think that's where it's come from where I've and that's where I've said, you know, when you go from Shrek, where you've not had any kind of career to losing weight, to then having this career, to then finding this absolute rocket of a fiancée, you're like, wow, you know, what is my life? You know, you know, and it feels like did that come from having six pack? No. How ignorant came from my heart. But of course, of course. But there's that you always comes from some sort of route, doesn't it? And so, like I say, Josh, I kind of reached out to Josh. I don't go to the gym. I don't pay any fees to go to a gym. So the fees that I would pay to go to a gym, I'd pay for a guy to.

[36:32] Ramin Karimloo: You have a home gym set up.

[36:34] Bradley Jaden: Yeah. What do you call your shed?

[36:35] Ramin Karimloo: I call it the shred shed.

[36:37] Bradley Jaden: The shred shed. It's literally it's literally a garden shed. But if you go inside, it's like Jenga, you know, Tetris, you know, Tetris like stuff around, open it up and then it's got full squat, you know, pull up bars.

[36:49] Ramin Karimloo: How big is your shed?

[36:50] Bradley Jaden: It's honestly no bigger than this table.

[36:53] Ramin Karimloo: Get the fuck out of here. How do you get a squat rack in there?

[36:56] Bradley Jaden: It's like folded up and folded. Yeah. And I put it all take it all out, put it all together. And, you know, it's I've got what else I've got. And my favorite thing is Echobike.

[37:06] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah. Got one of those easy, man.

[37:08] Bradley Jaden: Never gets easy, but I love it. I just want to and because I'm not a therapist, but I care about you. Are you are you is only Josh? He's helping you mitigate the connection between, you know, I'm going to lose your life if you lose.

[37:21] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah.

[37:22] Bradley Jaden: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Now he's been he's he's been fantastic.

[37:24] Ramin Karimloo: That's important because he's been wonderful. And that's and that's it. Sometimes I think, you know, nowadays you can go to therapy, you can go to other people, but you sometimes are never able to kind of understand, especially in our industry, put so much pressure on ourselves to be.

[37:40] Ramin Karimloo: That is true. That's it.

[37:41] Bradley Jaden: And sometimes you actually just need to kind of go. I just need a bit of advice. And he's been incredible. And he's been so, so wonderful for me for the last few years. So I have utmost respect for him. And to be a dad and to be doing his self training and as well as also being in the theater, it kind of it's inspiring to to be with a trainer like that, because, you know, you see, especially on social media, all these fad diets, all these quick.

[38:06] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah. 90, 90 second diets.

[38:08] Bradley Jaden: And then you've got a six pack, you know. Oh, wow. OK. You know, so it's a you know, he's do it. He teaches you the right way so that you can live a really good lifestyle, especially in times like this. You know, so many people. Do you eat after the show? Do you eat before the show? In between shows, when it's matinee. So, you know, he puts that all easy plans. You're ready. And do you have do you do you count calories?

[38:32] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah. So, you know, surplus now. I mean, a very small surplus at the moment.

[38:36] Bradley Jaden: Yeah. Well, we've just gone through a different phase. You know, I'm not going to leave you. I'm going to be your mate. I'm there. Surplus or not, mate.

[38:45] Ramin Karimloo: OK. Yeah. Everyone's probably thinking, what is going on here? What's with this surplus and this like intake?

[38:50] Bradley Jaden: Yeah. So how long? What's going on with Javert? What's the contract?

[38:54] Bradley Jaden: So I'm in it till September next year.

[40:02] Ramin Karimloo: For someone who didn't have, or someone who's achieved their aspirations, you were on Samba Les Mis, which is super fun. Amazing. Do you see things for yourself post-Javert? Do you know what, it's really difficult. And I don't want you to think 12 months ahead, you've still got this beautiful thing ahead of you.

[40:20] Bradley Jaden: Yeah, of course, I'm really enjoying this, and this is my priority, and this is what I'm thinking about. But equally, we've actually got the same agent, Alex, great. She's amazing. And, you know, I often speak to her and say, what do I do? Where am I going? And obviously, you know, but because I have acquired that goal of being in Les Mis, I need to create a new goal. Of course, you know, it's always great to have new goals and new aspirations, but I don't know what that is. And that's, I'm in equal measures excited and nervous about the journey ahead. But I haven't had that for a long time. So, you know, and, you know, after this year, then I'm really excited to kind of just get out there and see what I can do, you know? Yeah, maybe they might bring Vikings back and I can be up for it. But wouldn't that be fun?

[41:14] Ramin Karimloo: But I got to get nipple length.

[41:19] Bradley Jaden: Yeah, get it down to the nipple. Maybe we could just create our own musical about it, about Vikings.

[41:26] Ramin Karimloo: I don't think it can be just a two-hander.

[41:29] Bradley Jaden: We should start. Let's start. Let's get, let's work on Camelot first.

[41:32] Ramin Karimloo: Okay. How are you feeling about that?

[41:34] Bradley Jaden: I'm buzzed.

[41:36] Ramin Karimloo: You're singing probably my favourite theatre song. It's the most beautiful song.

[41:40] Bradley Jaden: Oh, there's no pressure then. If ever I would leave you, it's stunning.

[41:45] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah. As soon as, again, Alex kind of gave me that call and said, do you want to do this? I said, okay, me? You sure? You know, when I heard about yourself and Lucy St. Louis, I was kind of like, are you sure? Okay, yeah, absolutely. It wasn't even their only hesitation was like, more of them. Are they sure about asking me? But yeah, I just couldn't wait. Couldn't wait. It's just an old classic. And I love classic musical theatre. I love it. And I feel like there's a nice window for that, that we don't have much right now.

[42:20] Ramin Karimloo: You're right. But I don't know, I haven't done a deep dive into the show.

[42:24] Bradley Jaden: Not yet. No. I've listened to the album a lot, just to kind of, and also it's, you know, like you said, like we touched on earlier, because we are, you know, athletes, as it were, your voice, where's my voice at the moment, I've had to go from Andras being, you know, the high baritone, to then shove it in its boots. So I'm having to just gently already, already, just to make sure that my voice is kind of up there for that, just starting to make sure that it's kind of prepared for it, you know, so it's, it's exciting. I'm looking forward to that.

[42:57] Ramin Karimloo: Are you one of those who wakes up and you do a voice check right away?

[43:01] Bradley Jaden: My partner would say yes.

[43:03] Ramin Karimloo: Does it go with the part? Like every time, as I was trying to wake up, I go, I open my eyes and just go, okay, we're fine. As Phantom, you're like, so Anastasia wasn't so much because it wasn't as taxing. I mean, the people, especially in the show would definitely say that I walk around the theatre kind of like, ah, just making sure that it's really, you know, down there. Do you know what I mean? I don't think there's necessarily a note. It's just more of like a, just to get that.

[43:37] Bradley Jaden: Get it in there. Yeah. Because that, that I would tell you is such a funny note because it's there, but you, it's like, it's one of those ones that people know. They listen to it. They're waiting for that.

[43:49] Ramin Karimloo: Or for chain.

[43:50] Bradley Jaden: Yeah. I don't know how to. How low is it?

[43:55] Ramin Karimloo: I don't really know.

[43:56] Bradley Jaden: Go for it. Come on, do it.

[43:57] Ramin Karimloo: Oh, I know. I was actually good. I was like, I'm ready.

[43:59] Bradley Jaden: Oh, I do it.

[44:01] Ramin Karimloo: I don't know. I'll figure it out.

[44:03] Ramin Karimloo: Chain. Before you say another word.

[44:10] Bradley Jaden: Yeah. I would love that. We're doing chem up rehearsals on lunch break.

[44:14] Ramin Karimloo: Okay. Fun. We're up for it. It's a lot more vicious to fight now. So it's with the chains.

[44:19] Bradley Jaden: I did that version.

[44:21] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah. But your version was a little bit.

[44:25] Bradley Jaden: So we changed it again. This wasn't as.

[44:28] Ramin Karimloo: I don't think you saw my version.

[44:29] Bradley Jaden: Oh yeah, we did. I got the video.

[44:30] Ramin Karimloo: We watched the videos many a time and we were like, right, let's amp this up a bit.

[44:35] Bradley Jaden: Hey, you're like, really?

[44:36] Ramin Karimloo: Oh no, I need to see it.

[44:38] Bradley Jaden: You wait, I'm going to be there. I'm gonna be like, that's not how we did it.

[44:43] Ramin Karimloo: But that chain, I remember when we first started doing, I'm like, that's a real chain.

[44:47] Bradley Jaden: Yeah, it's a real chain. It hurts.

[44:49] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah. At least three out of the seven that I did, I'd be getting knuckled or something.

[44:55] Bradley Jaden: Yeah. Yeah, it was, I think, you know, they're definitely, I mean, we're very lucky now. I'm not sure if they had this. I think it's like a new thing, but we've now got a fight captain.

[45:05] Ramin Karimloo: And yeah, we have. So, you know, we do go through the, all the fights with, um, you know, kind of a fine tooth comb just to make sure that everything is, cause you know, when it is a heavy, heavy chain and if that, and I'm not, and you know, we, you want it to be as realistic as it possibly can be. So you are swinging quite hard. And if that did hit your head, you would definitely, so it's, it's quite daunting, but at the same time, you kind of come off me and John always have like a hug just after like, Oh, phew, phew.

[45:37] Ramin Karimloo: You got all your eyes.

[45:38] Bradley Jaden: Yeah. Got all your fingers. You okay?

[45:39] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah. We're okay. Fine.

[45:40] Bradley Jaden: It's like, sorry.

[45:41] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah. You're sorry about that.

[45:42] Bradley Jaden: Sorry about that. I feel like, yeah, it's okay.

[45:44] Ramin Karimloo: It's okay. But at the time, yeah, big time. Cause you know what? It's like, you get on there and you're like, I, I detest this man. And he looks back at you and you're like, I hate you. And you're like, I'm so up for this fight. And then at the end, you're like giving each other a little cuddle. And, you know, we walk up like best friends up the stairs. So, uh, yeah, it's, it's, it's brilliant. It's great to have that relationship with you.

[46:04] Bradley Jaden: It really is. It's just, it makes, and I've been blessed as well. You know, I had Hadley, Earl, Will. Legends. It's just so much fun. And they all had their own personalities and charisma in the part. And I can totally see that with you as well. And I'm slightly envious of John, but he's in the right place and he deserves to be there. And I think you guys, I can't wait to see you guys square off.

[46:28] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah. You're gonna have a great 12 months. I'm really excited about it.

[46:30] Bradley Jaden: Really excited about it. I think we all, I think not only as actors do we deserve it, but I think the, all the audience and everyone involved, they want it so badly. It's part of the culture. It's part of who they are as well. They love, that's part of their, what they want to do. They want to go to theater. They want to forget about things for three hours.

[46:49] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah. And it's, and it's, it is nice just to see that even, you know, before there was that kind of moment, you saw lots of phones in the audience. Do you know what I mean? Like you could see that light where people were like, no, they're taking it for a bit more granted. Now it's, it's very, it's actually quite rare to see a phone and you're like, thank God.

[47:05] Bradley Jaden: Yeah. Like people are really invested and actually watching what we're doing because they can just put down their phones for once and just immerse themselves. And it makes a world of a difference.

[47:14] Ramin Karimloo: And I've got obviously very fortunate experience over in the Far East where nobody takes their phone out.

[47:19] Bradley Jaden: Yeah.

[47:19] Ramin Karimloo: And it makes for a better show. It makes for a more communal feel because now we're all in this together.

[47:24] Bradley Jaden: Yeah.

[47:25] Ramin Karimloo: There's not one person like cutting the circuit, you know what I mean? And every time someone takes out a phone, the circuit's cut.

[47:30] Bradley Jaden: Of course it is. Cause then it's not, it doesn't involve just the people on stage. It involves the 10, 20 people around that person who are like, oh God, they're on their phone and you know, and then they've missed what's going on. And, you know, like you said, it's such a, it has such a chain reaction. Then other people think, oh, I can do it as well. Do you know what I mean? On the slide. And so it's, it's nice that people are having to just, just not even respect. It's just a bit more kind of like, let's just put that away and let's just have fun and watch the theatre again. And it's, and it's lovely.

[47:57] Bradley Jaden: I actually went to see my fiancée in Hamilton and I was just, I was, you know, behind the tears and stuff. I was just in awe of just the company and the whole, I'd never seen that show. So I was just like, wow, this is amazing. And I've just had those three hours just flew by. It's just lovely just to put your phone away and just watch this talent just hit you in the face. It was great.

[48:24] Ramin Karimloo: I love how you speak about her. I love your heart, your soul. And I hope, brother, I want to encourage you that your spirit, your heart, you're just who you are. No amount of abs will equate to that. You are more than all that. So, you know, all that's just what you want to do and keep you, whatever you need to do to stay happy. But I just hope you know that you, the person, Bradley, are a great dude.

[48:48] Bradley Jaden: Thank you.

[48:48] Ramin Karimloo: And for someone who's introverted, I could see, I can't believe the hours have gone.

[48:51] Bradley Jaden: I know, it's absolutely flowed, yeah. We'll do this again. And I want to hang more. You're around the corner. Let's go punting together.

[48:56] Ramin Karimloo: Let's do it.

[48:56] Bradley Jaden: Shall we do that?

[48:57] Ramin Karimloo: Let's do it. Real quick. What made you smile today?

[49:02] Bradley Jaden: I took my two dogs for a walk with my fiancée and we held hands and kind of, yeah, in the countryside, it was really lovely.

[49:09] Ramin Karimloo: You're a beautiful girl. And can you give me a childhood memory that makes you smile that comes to your head right away?

[49:14] Bradley Jaden: Oh, oh my goodness. Do you know what? I actually say this to my fiancée. I have a real bad memory of, no, not childhood, of like looking back at when I was young, kind of going, oh, that's a really good memory. Or I don't really remember when I was younger. Is that weird?

[49:32] Ramin Karimloo: No, I have terrible memories.

[49:33] Bradley Jaden: Yeah, so sometimes I don't always, um, I can't even think of anything else.

[49:38] Ramin Karimloo: How young are we talking?

[49:39] Bradley Jaden: I mean, whatever came to your head.

[49:40] Ramin Karimloo: When I was 18.

[49:44] Bradley Jaden: Nothing even came to my head then. That's terrible, isn't it?

[49:47] Ramin Karimloo: Um, I'm, now I'm on the spot, I'm panicking, I'm sweating.

[49:51] Ramin Karimloo: Well, tell me this then. Let's not dive into childhood memory because it might be.

[49:56] Bradley Jaden: No, it's not, it's not. I was just actually thinking, what have I done when I was a child?

[50:00] Ramin Karimloo: Do you never remember going to Brighton Beach?

[50:02] Bradley Jaden: Yeah, I mean, I did.

[50:03] Ramin Karimloo: The pier?

[50:04] Bradley Jaden: Yeah. Having one of those sugary donuts?

[50:06] Bradley Jaden: I actually just, literally, just as soon as you said that, I was thinking about when all me and my friends were about, god, 15 or something, every Friday night after school, we used to go down to play football in the Bowling Greens, even though we knew it was illegal.

[50:20] Ramin Karimloo: Why the fuck did you say that?

[50:21] Bradley Jaden: Well, I just, because I just thought it's illegal. But it was fun. But we were, we were courteous. We took our shoes off. We used to play in socks and it was so much fun.

[50:31] Ramin Karimloo: And very quick, what's with the knuckle ink?

[50:34] Bradley Jaden: Oh, um, well, it's because, if I'm being really honest, I'm obsessed with tattoos. And, um, I know that in our industry, sometimes people go, oh, you can't, you won't work if you've got tattoos. And even though I'm looking at yourself, and I also, I never know exactly what to have. Whereas on my hand.

[50:55] Ramin Karimloo: You might as well put it on your hands.

[50:56] Bradley Jaden: Yeah, it's really weird. But I always feel like as well, when your body changes, things, shapes, tattoos change, and change their shape. The ink changes, moves. And it's, and I'm.

[51:08] Ramin Karimloo: Does it?

[51:09] Bradley Jaden: Of course, if you lose weight.

[51:12] Ramin Karimloo: I'm joking.

[51:14] Bradley Jaden: And I'm worried about me as the years get older.

[51:16] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah.

[51:16] Bradley Jaden: So I've just, I like it on my, on my hands because I wear, you know, like I wear lots, lots of rings and stuff. And, and then I haven't got to ever kind of go, do, do, do, shove it shoulder to shoulder.

[51:26] Ramin Karimloo: Which is exactly what I have to do.

[51:29] Ramin Karimloo: Brother, love you, man. I'm glad we did this.

[51:30] Bradley Jaden: Me too.

[51:32] Ramin Karimloo: Thank you very much for having me. You've been listening to The Hang. I am Ramin Karimloo. The Hang is produced by Mercy Productions and Desert Highway and recorded at Soho Live Studios. Check out my new app. Go to ramin.fan.direct where you can find brand new content, giveaways, and exclusive news. Thanks for listening.