The Latest Goss,2002

May 12, 2002

TEN YEARS AFTER BROS CRASHED, LUKE IS BACK AND SERIOUS ABOUT HIS ACTING. HE TALKS TO LESTER MIDDLEHURST; THE LATEST GOSS May 12,2002

IF REVENGE is a dish best served cold, then Luke Goss must be binge-eating right now.

Ten years ago he and his twin brother Matt were the objects of ridicule after the demise of their band Bros. They had notched up a dozen hits in just four years and spawned a new breed of fans known as Brosettes, but their success seemed to count for nothing when their spectacular fall from grace finally came.

The press had a field day, revelling in what they saw as the timely comeuppance of two offensively rich and successful young men. It was alleged that the pair had made and squandered GBP 12million during their stint as pop idols.

Matt went off to lick his wounds in America, where he still lives, in pursuit of an elusive music career, leaving his brother to pick up the pieces. There was no sympathy for Luke, who had a girlfriend and her daughter to support. As far as the public was concerned, he had got what he deserved.

Five years later he had paid off his debts, written a best-selling autobiography at just 23, and was working as a jobbing actor for GBP 250 a week. Today he lives in the late Jim Morrison’s home in the Hollywood Hills and owns a sumptuous flat in London, and his former girlfriend Shirley Lewis, now his wife, is once again driving a Porsche.

But, more importantly, he has a starring role in the vampire thriller Blade II, which has been a No 1 box office hit in America and Britain, and he is up for leading roles in five more Hollywood films.

Luke could be forgiven for being bitter about the way he was treated and smug about his new-found success, but he is neither. At 33 he displays a wisdom beyond his years and although he has a tendency to take himself far too seriously, his humility is in stark contrast to the arrogance of his youth.

“Flirting with failure as much as I did gives you the best perspective on life, ” he says. “What happened before feels like it happened to a different guy. When you are a kid and haven’t had fame before, you think you have to live up to it. But now I realise that fame without success isn’t worth having. Fame has a very long sell-by date that is pumped full of preservatives, whereas success is like fresh fruit in that it perishes daily so you have to sustain it.”

SUCH CLICHES riddle Luke’s conversation, and to hear him describe his role in Blade II you would think he was playing Chekhov rather than a villainous vampire called Nomak. But he turns in a firstrate performance and has just been nominated for an American Saturn film award for best new actor in a genre movie.

His next film, Zig Zag, which also stars Blade II protagonist Wesley Snipes, sees him playing a sleazy loan shark and strip-club owner.

Meanwhile, he has a team of eight people working for him, including an American publicist whose clients include Nicole Kidman and Sigourney Weaver. He proudly tells you that he is only the second person in two years that she has taken on.

Luke is back with a vengeance, but at a cost. Last year he spent only six weeks with his wife and although they have been together for 15 years you cannot help but wonder whether their relationship has become a casualty of Luke’s new-found success.

The couple met when Luke was 18 and Shirley, nine years his senior, was singing backing vocals on a Bros album. She had a three-year-old daughter, Carli, from a previous relationship but, despite his youth, Luke took on the responsibility of a ready-made family. The couple married seven years ago and their marriage has so far weathered the highs and lows of Luke’s career.

“Shirley is based in London and runs the British side of my management company with my manager David Wood. It does mean that we don’t see as much of each other as we used to do, ” Luke admits.

“At this stage in my career it would be distracting to have my partner with me all the time. I’m a very attentive man when it comes to Shirley and I would find it hard to ignore her.

“She came to Los Angeles for the premiere of Blade II but I couldn’t have her with me when I was filming it because lovemaking and candelit dinners are hardly conducive to the life of a vampire who lurks in the sewers.

“I didn’t even socialise with the rest of the cast for the first six weeks of filming because I didn’t want to befriend the people who would be playing my enemies in the movie.

“Shirley and I speak to each other on the phone three times a day when I’m in LA, and I do miss her. But, in a way, the separation keeps our relationship fresh. I don’t feel particularly married – it feels more like dating to me, ” explains Luke.

HE IS singleminded about his new career: “I think I’ve been a good father and a good husband, so I don’t feel too bad about being selfish now. If Shirley was to suddenly say to me that she needed me with her, I’m afraid I would have to make the decision to embrace my own life. But she would never do that.

“She is so gracious and selfless and empowering for me. She is truly stimulated by the business. She loves turning up at premieres, not only as my wife but as my manager as well.

She knows that I still think she is a very sexy woman but she also knows that it is my business that turns me on right now.”

They are hardly the words of a romantic husband but Luke has more than proved his love for Shirley in the past. Not only was he prepared to settle down to a monogamous relationship at a time when most young men are sowing their wild oats, but he also risked his career for the woman he loved.

When he was in Bros he clashed constantly with record company executives who wanted him to split with Shirley so as not to damage his sex appeal. One executive even threatened Shirley with physical harm if she got in the way of Luke’s career. His response was to pin the guy up against a wall. “I told him that if that was what my career was all about, then they could stuff it.”

The couple have never had children together, although when I interviewed Luke five years ago he said he would love Shirley to be the mother of his child. Now it apppears that his priorities have changed.

“I just don’t need any more responsibilities at this stage in my life. If Shirley hadn’t already had a child when I met her, then we would probably have had one together when I was really successful the first time round.

“I would love to have a child of my own and I can’t say that I won’t one day, but right now I’m 33 and I deserve some time to myself. I’m enjoying finding out what makes me happy and what turns me on spiritually and professionally.

“People have to realise that when I was 18, instead of being down the pub having a drink like most young men of my age, I was bringing up a family, growing up in public and travelling round the world with a band.

“I was getting all this adulation and then experiencing total animosity and scathing hatred.

I had a very confusing time at an age when I should have been letting my hair down.

“There were times when having a kid made me feel really claustrophobic but now I look at Carli, who is 19 this year, and I don’t feel that way any more. I’m really proud of the fact that, because of the way we’ve brought her up, she is now a young woman who truly believes she can achieve anything she wants. Now it’s my turn to achieve what I want.”

AS PART of his voyage of self-discovery, Luke is reluctant to dwell on the past. Before our interview his manager makes it quite clear that Luke does not want to talk at length about Matt or his days in Bros. He does not even want the article to include a picture of the two brothers together in the band.

“I am a twin but it’s also nice to be seen as an individual. I don’t want to talk about me and my brother all the time. I respect him a great deal as a talent and, if I had a wish for him, it would be that he was the most successful music artist in the world. But we are very different animals. He is much more flamboyant than me.

“He lives the kind of lifestyle in Los Angeles that you need to have with success. Unlike him, I only want that lifestyle if I’ve got the success to go with it.

“As for Bros, it will always be a part of my history. I’m proud of what I achieved but I’m glad I did it as a kid because I’d have no excuse otherwise. It was something that was fun to do at the age of 18, but if I was singing that cheesy stuff now I would have every right to have my head beaten with a blunt object.”

It is reassuring that Luke has not totally lost his sense of humour, and if anybody deserves to find success again, he does. But if he would only lighten up a little he might just enjoy it as well.