Over the past half a century, Alice Cooper has perfected the role of rock’s greatest heel. Every night onstage, he mimes fighting and killing his costumed stagehands while singing dark-hued hits like “I’m Eighteen” and “School’s Out” until he gets his comeuppance when he’s strapped to a life-sized guillotine. So when it comes to extracurricular activities like acting, such as his upcoming portrayal of King Herod in NBC’s live performance of Jesus Christ Superstar this weekend, he almost begs to be typecast.
“Wouldn’t you know that they would give me the part of the villain?” says the singer, who is mild-mannered and very funny offstage, a hint of amusement in his voice. “When this opportunity came across, they said, ‘Hey, why don’t you be in Jesus Christ Superstar?’ And I said, ‘I’m either Judas or Herod, right?’ And they said, ‘Herod.’ I said, ‘OK, I knew that was coming.’” He laughs.
Read the new interview here with Cooper talking about playing King Herod and the challenges of performing in a live televised broadcast.
