Michael Crawford Interview 1 (Part I) 

What an adorable and talented man. It breaks my heart that he was not in the movie!

I don’t comment much on RU-vid but So help me God - he is so adorable and delicious. This is 2019! They don’t make them like him anymore! So genuine❤️ my heart

I completely agree. Michael is amazing!

*sigh* He is just so completely charming!

It's the first day of 2020 AND I'M STILL HERE !!!! 😭 I love you so much Mr Crawford

when he said 'hopefully we're going to do a movie" i was like oooooh...

AAAH! this makes me so depressed because he wasn't in the movie!

he's so awesome! I was screaming in my head when he came on! best phantom ever!

I only know him as Frank Spencer, lol. Can´t stop seeing him like that.

He is full of grace.

He still has his smile from Some Mother's Do Have Em lol. Loved that show and hes to funny.

Agreed. Michael is an amazingly wonderful man--down to earth, amazingly deep, a beautiful, beautiful soul. And yes, ALW is an ass for not having him be in the film, especially when it appeared that Michael WOULD play the role, even when the film's production was postponed to 2004. Ah, well, nothing we can do now. At least we can enjoy the recordings and interviews that feature him!

Yes, it was a monumental mistake not to cast Michael in the movie. He owns the role, and many thousands of people only wanted him in the role. No wonder the movie was a big flop! So many people were outraged he wasn't in it. I'm so glad I got to see him play it, Just sensational!

Some say they did not cast him in the movie because of his age. However, if the movie had been made in the early 90s, he would have been in his early 50s. Prime of life for a male actor. ALSO, with the mask on, the phantom is ageless! He could have carried it off in 2004 when the movie was made. Absolutely no excuse.

@TheaterRaven you make a valid point. lol. it would have been awesome and nostalgic years later to see Crawford and Brightman on DVD!

I believe it was Jan 22 1990. I saw him there 4 times. He finally left in April under doctors orders and then came back in December 31 til the end of April 1991 which finally made it 1300 performances, if I remember correctly.

you know, he is right......one should be reconized for their work not thier looks. it really gives everyone a fair shot in the world.

How I love this interview- though it's kind of weird seeing the woman get all flustered over Michael (not very professional). He handled it so well, however -he must have been completely embarrassed. I LOVE his voice - it's so delicate and light, really a lovely speaking voice. It's heartbreaking that this man, who has a bond with this role like nothing I've ever seen from another actor, was not given the chance to put his performance on permanent record. He seems like such a kind, gentle man.

Michael is adorable! Wow...I wish I could have had the chance to see him perform as the Phantom live.. I also wish I could have been Christine too! But that's another story ! hehe :*

Beautiful interview with Michael Crawford ❤️ 1:37

@Dirschbag We need to petition Andrew W. to release it the 1986 original cast, I've heard there's a master video.

Does anyone else ever notice, in a great deal of his interviews, he slightly stutters when he speaks? Maybe it's just the way he talks, but I've always noticed that.

michael crawford beats every last phantom ever. i wish i could sing like that

What the hell, why didn't they make the movie with MC? I love the 2004 movie, but a Phantom movie with Michael Crawford would've been epic. Damn. That makes me sad to know that they were planning but didn't go ahead with it. Then again, I suppose it makes his Phantom all the more mysterious... (:

Yes, everyone who doesn't seem to know, Christine is supposed to be in a trance. Under the Phantom's spell.

psh. people would STILL be lining up this year for him....

One of the biggest mistakes in film making was to not cast him in the movie. Hollywood always gets it wrong. He would have been a sensation reprising his role on screen.

I know. It shatters my heart to hear him talk about the film and then hear the audience's enthusiastic reaction to it. They could have made it back then. I hate the petty excuse of ALW and Sarah's divorce--that was their personal life, PotO is their professional, they need to get over it and commit to their work. Heck, Lon Chaney and Rupert Julian (the director for the silent film) hated each other so much they weren't even speaking and yet THEIR version still got made.

Well, this technically isn't an opera. It's a musical based on a story that takes place in an opera house. But yes, I think a lot of us would pay to see Michael as the Phantom. I know I would, considering that, when he was in the role, I was only about three at the time (was born in '88),

its too bad they never made the movie with mike and sarah. i can't say the 2004 version was terrible, but it would have been much better with those two as the leads

Michael has a rep (or had) of being a perfectionist in the workplace, so not everyone could handle that, but many were fine with that and respected that. You can't judge a celebrity by how he or she behaves one time or two or even a few - it's really not fair to them to be put on that kind of display, to have that kind of pressure to be almost perfect. He devotes a lot of time, and has for years, to charity - and that speaks more for him than anything else could. I

While I've never cared for Sarah's voice as Christine, I think they still could have made the movie back then with her in it if they really wanted to. Using her and Andrew's divorce as the excuse to halt production was pretty childish. Yes, divorce can be terrible, but that was their private life. Michael would have been great as Erik, whether the movie was done in the '90s or 2004. Actually, 2004 would have been better, I think, because he would have been closer to Erik's age in the book.

Michael Crawford is so fantastic with his singing ❤ 8:20

It indeed is a shame. Michael would have been wonderful in the role in the film (I've seen him in concert and he still sings the songs beautifully). As for the "young audience" they wanted to attract, I hate that the director automatically assumed that young people wouldn't be drawn to the story unless the Phantom was watered down (even more so than he is in the stage show--sorry, but ALW's Phantom is no Leroux Erik by any stretch of the imagination) and played by a young-ish actor.

Mr Frank Spencer Legend :)

Love his hair

@ytpoliticsnigga Actually, Michael is a very sweet man in person. I had the honor of meeting him and he was nothing but kind and gracious. He even seemed a little shy when I mentioned how much of a fan I was.

well joe the director, wanted to make the cast of the movie young...to bring out the really emotional lovee between all three of the characters...but i would really like to see MC by the phantom in the movie!

@McPerfectday LOL, if I remember correctly, Crawford ranked higher than Churchill! Now, really? It just shows how highly he is thought of in the public esteem.

I don't really like opera, but I would pay a lot of money to see Crawford play the phantom again!

Michael crawford is my new phantom delight

i just want to hug him!!!!!!!

Thanks!

It broke thousands of people's hearts that he wasn't in the movie. But that's why it was a box office flop. What an incredibly stupid decision to not cast Michael after he was already supposed to do it. Well, the powers that be really got hit in pocketbook, for their mistake. At least ALW knew it was a bad decision, as he admitted it.

I LOVED him in Condorman!

40 yr's in entertainment and american's finnally figure out whio Michael crawford is

@chriswhiting7 Large numbers of people agree whole heartedly with that sentiment. What a loss, that it wasn't Michael. He IS the Phantom.

I like the way he laughs. *-*

it's cute that they say 2012, I wish!! I'd definitely be buying a ticket :D

Why oh why didn't they make the movie back then? I love the 2004 movie version but with Michael and Christine, it would've been utterly fantastic!

Halfway thru the interview, I realized that's Steve Edwards 😂

I'd love to Meet MR MICHAEL CRAWFORD!!!

he isnt tired he's red, he signed up to legalize cannabis in this country many times

@TheaterRaven how cool:) when I first herd him sing I thought *WT*?? somebody who plays some one who is so silly has a such a beautiful voice:)

I bought that ticket for 2012!:)

It's actually 2012... and phantom's still on :)

I definitely would! :)

2012!!!!!!

@heatofhiseyes Yes, I knew that. Michael mentions it in his autobiography.

You're welcome. :)

No, he still wanted to do the movie, but by 2003, he was too old for the young movie audience they were hoping to attract. Butler was 30 something and Emmy was a teenager. A shame!

Who's the beautiful female interviewer in this video of an interview of Michael Crawford? She looks somewhat similar to Kathleen Sullivan who was on the E Entertainment Channel for a while.

Awe it's sad to hear him say he was going to do the movie...

I know that a taped performance of the stage show exists, but the only people allowed to view it are actors who are going to play the Phantom or college students getting a degree in musical theater. As for a movie, no, there is no movie with the original cast. The movie was SUPPOSED to be done back in the '90s with Crawford and Brightman, but had to be put on hold because of Lloyd Webber and Brightman's divorce and it wasn't made until 2004 with Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum.

this guy is so hot damn love him

Why didn't they make the movie with him and Sarah? It would have been PERFECT!

Comes across as a good fella..

@LOVxxE I think she's supposed to be in a trance or something. Idk; I was wondering that too!!!

It was important for them to have an image. Look at the Phantom, Eric should be a distortet and diformed man, and how does he look in the movie? He looks actually very good and hot on one half of the face. Dude how much I love PTO... :D

Being a die hard phan for so many years! It breaks my heart when Michael says that after the show he was gonna do the movie :[ And look what happened! At first i was in love with movie and a lot of people instantly flew to NY to see Phantom on Broadway and it introduced the musical to a much younger generation but I have seen the show 4 times and I will keep on seeing it many more times and it's my judgement that the movie adaptation is TERRIBLE AND BROKEN! The show is perfect in every sense and the movie in some way sugar coats the entire story with lavish costumes and visuals, it doesn't have that goth quality that the show has so perfectly. I will never like the movie again.

I wonder if Michael, in 2004, turned the thought of doing the movie away? You can see even now, in 2012, "the phantom" tries to come out but maybe because it was too much for him he has completely resigned from being "the phantom". I don't want to ruin anything but for the 25th anniv he doesn't sing or even say anything, just an appearance, and at the very last celebratory group note being sung before the last bow you can see him shake like he wants to jump out as the phantom but can't or won't.

Screw the movie! Just get the video performance of him and Sarah Brightman available to public viewing!!! That's all I want :(

@BAG1016 I agree, the movie was VERY disappointing, saw it once, will never see it again and I am HUGE Phantom fan.

@TheLightningmikester That's why ALW decided not to cast Steve Harley as the Phantom. He had a rock voice which is not right for the Phantom. MC got the rave reviews and the audience acclaim and Prince, ALW , MacIntosh were glad of their decision. To paraphrase the quote, Harley's type voice wasn't right for the role. This is all documented fact. Not just my opinion.

Michael Crawford had no problem making us laugh when he was Frank Spencer...LOL...

MICHAEL IS AMAZINGGGGGG, BEST PHANTOM EVER!!!!! what the hell is that christine doing?

@mijessegirl It was Jan of 1990.

Awesome trainers, Michael. xD

I hear that tho OLC was taped for Phantom, but it hasn't been released. I think that's a real crime. Thousands of people would snap that up in a second. Myself included.

@IamTheDeviInDisguise yeah :) how true is that:)

My personal pick for the Phantom in the film, if it wasn't Michael, would be Howard McGillin.

In 1990 the would make a movie but sarah brightman has been divorce from Andrew so the made the movie in 2004.

Actually I think he was in his mid 40's (Erik)

What year did this interview take place?

Not casting him for the movie...

Condorman!

@TheLightningmikester Why would he have a rock'n'roll if he lives within an opera house? It just makes no sense to me...

Because they waited to long and they were to old.... :(

@thephantom1946 I agree with the Steve Harley part. He was just plain annoying and put a little too much soul into his singing. I just think Gerard Butler and Ramin Karimloo portrayed the Phantom the way he should be- just my opinion

hugh jackman wouldn't have been too bad... ooh wouldn't it be cool if JoJ did it?

the christine in this clip looks really bored

They couldn't have done the movie with Michael and Sarah though. Christine is supposed to be young, and Sarah would have been too old. I personally think ALW did the right choice with Emmy and Gerard. But i do think that Michael is just legendary and amazing :)

The first...good.... but not the best (as of my opinion)

Why is everyone dissing Gerard Butler. The Phantom is a character who SHOULD have a soulful rock and roll voice, not a choir boy voice like MC.

MC the only Phantom

the christine in this clip looks really bored