Adam Garcia talks about his role as Damien in the Exorcist at Birmingham's Reperatory Theatre

Back home, in his native Australia, he's so popular that he features as a judge on the hit Strictly-type show Dancing With The Stars.

But actor-cum-dancer-cum-singer Adam Garcia will swap the lightness of those roles when he stars as the dark and possessed Damien in the British premiere of The Exorcist. It will open at The REP, in Birmingham, tonight and run until November 5. The play, by John Pielmeier, is based on the novel by William Peter Blatty and will also feature experienced stars Jenny Seagrove in the role of Chris and Peter Bowles as Father Merrin.

When the medical profession fails to provide answers to Regan's strange symptoms, her desperate mother Chris turns to a local priest for help. But before Father Damien can tackle what's before him, he must overcome his own shaken beliefs.

The play was inspired by true events and follows in the footsteps of the two-time Oscar-winning film version that has terrified generations the world over since its release in 1973.

Garcia didn't have to think twice when he was asked to play the lead. "It's directed by Sean Mathias, which was a huge attraction for me. I asked to see the script and I read it the night it arrived. It was just a page-turner. It was one of those things. I read it at a flat sprint. It is actually thrilling. You want to know what happens on the next page. I thought: 'If that's exciting as a read, it was going to be a good play'.

"Damien's an interesting one. I'm still getting into his skin. He's a very damaged person from the outset with grief and guilt and he is questioning everything about his own life when he gets sucked into the vortex of possession. From the first scene, it's at an emotional height – or, rather low, – and it keeps on getting worse. It's pretty gruelling for everyone."

Garcia enjoys the challenge of playing such a dark piece, having played so many light and carefree roles during his career.

"Horrific things do happen and I was talking about this with my wife and she was saying 'why is it so horrible'?

"But when you are talking about a demon or the devil, he really doesn't pull any punches. He, it, is repulsively evil. That's the challenge. It's not just making it about gore, it's making it horrifying enough to make people believe it's the devil.

"As an actor, you are always seeking to find different vehicles that bring new challenges. It's not first play, but plays are enjoyable, particularly creating plays from scratch, that's really something. It's great to be involved. I was just in Australia before this happened, doing Singing In The Rain, so this is the polar opposite."

Garcia made his name as a film actor in 1997 when he played Jones in Wilde, the Oscar Wilde biopic. He moved onto star as Tony Manero in a staged version of Saturday Night Fever, which ran in London from 1988-1989. But he'd built up to those highpoints by featuring in a show called Hot Shoe Shuffle, which toured Australia before being brought to London. It was 1994 - the year of Britpop.

"We were all plucked up and deposited in London in 1994 and I was 24. I didn't really know what London was. It was amazing. I never really thought about being an actor, I thought I'd go back to university. The first night my friend and I, Chris, who was also in the show, we rocked up to the Astoria and it was the Brand New Heavies and Jamiroquai. It was £20 and it was great. It couldn't have been more exciting."

Garcia decided to stay and in the intervening 20 years he's starred in film, TV and stage, working with the likes of Trevor Nunn, Kenneth Branagh and Dame Judy Dench.

Garcia still gets back to Australia, though he's happily married and settled in London.

"I just did Singing in the Rain in Australia so it's been nice. But London's been my home for a long time now and I love it."

By Andy Richardson