This morning it was announced that Jake Speer will play the title role in the Australian premiere tour of Mrs. Doubtfire, the hit musical based on the beloved Robin Williams film.
Jake is known for his role as Oscar Macguire in Home and Away, and has appeared in recent plays and musicals such as Sweet Charity with Prospero Arts and A Mirror with Belvoir St Theatre.
The Scoop had the chance to chat with Jake shortly after the announcement. Jake talks all things Doubtfire, including preparing for the role, the enduring legacy of Robin Williams, and why this will be a year to remember. Read the full interview below.
Firstly, congrats on the role! What does it mean to be the first Australian actor to play the role of Mrs. Doubtfire?
Yeah, man. I mean, it’s been an absolute whirlwind of a year. I’m just incredibly excited. You really had to pick me up off the floor when I got the call. I’m a pretty proud millennial, so Doubtfire and Robin Williams are a part of my cultural canon. They’re my Mount Rushmore of comedy family movies. So as soon as I heard that this was coming to Australia, I’m not going to lie, I was pretty keen to throw my hat in the ring.
And it was the most gruelling process that I’d ever been through in terms of auditions. Three full days working with the team here on scenes and songs and voices and impressions and dancing. I’m just incredibly grateful that it ended up going my way. Now the real work starts. I’ve been rehearsing for this role since 1994, it seems, so I get a chance to finally flex my Mrs. Doubtfire impression.
How did you go about preparing for an audition like that?
It was a good excuse to rewatch the film, that’s for sure. But the team were amazing. I was fortunate enough to put down a self-tape early on in the year. And then being in the room for three full days involved going through a lot of the scenes from the production, some of which were quite familiar to me, and learning these new fantastic original songs that appear in the show.
And it meant putting the tap shoes back on, because I mean, in the world of musical theatre, it’s not a good musical unless there’s a big tap number in the middle of it. So it was a fair workout with no stone left unturned.
Do you think your acting training at NIDA has given you a different perspective into musical comedy than performers who came through a more traditional musical theatre pathway?
I’m not too familiar with the training of the MT courses, so I can really only speak to my own experience. I think the training that I had at NIDA set me up for almost anything. One of the great things about those courses is that they throw absolutely everything at you.
With a show like Doubtfire, not only do you have the most extreme version of comedy, this amazing broad farce and the spirit of Robin Williams and his fast-paced energy and humour, but you also have the deeply human, deeply personal story of a father who’s incredibly in love with his children and will do absolutely everything to be with them as well. So there’s real heart as well as comedy aspects too.
You’re about to play leading roles in two musicals in the same year, with How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying at the Hayes being announced last week. What does this moment represent for you in your career?
It’s definitely a year to remember, I think for a number of reasons. It’s been a big week for sure. Amongst these two shows, I’ve also become a dad for the first time.
Oh wow!
Life and career. Look, be careful what you wish for, I guess. When it rains, it pours. It really feels like it’s a climactic moment where a lot of years of hard work and training and preparation and working with some amazing people and mentors has really prepared me for this particular moment.
And with a show like Doubtfire, it’s really a kind of Herculean role. It’s like you’re going into an Olympic event with comedy, singing, voices, performance, emotions and energy eight times a week. It’s been years in the making.
You’ve worked with Cameron Mitchell on several projects now. How influential has he been in your musical theatre journey?
I would credit Cameron with a great deal of my success, to be honest. He is someone who has taken a risk on me, has really been a huge advocate for me, and a great mentor and dear friend. How to Succeed will be be our third production together. It’s been a beautiful working relationship. I think his sense of comedy, his sense of energy, his craftsmanship has not just influenced me for the productions that we’ve worked on together but has certainly prepared me for a production at the scale of Mrs. Doubtfire as well.
How do you think fatherhood will influence your approach to the role?
I think it gives me a whole new perspective. I’ve got a whole other level of empathy and understanding for what Daniel is going through. I’m falling in love with my own child at the same time as Daniel is really fighting for his.
There’s no doubt there’s another layer to the preparation as I’m getting to know my own daughter, which is just an incredible gift. And look, Mrs. Doubtfire raised me as a kid. I spent enough time rewatching that film, so she’s passing on a lot of her parenting tips to me, which has been very useful.
When acting work slows down, you’ve been proactive about creating your own opportunities, whether that’s writing and producing films or staging theatre. Has that entrepreneurial side of your career changed the way you approach a role like Mrs Doubtfire?
I think one of the main things that comes to mind when you step into a producing role or that entrepreneurial role is that you have a broader understanding of the wider industry, the wider mechanisms and people at play. Whereas as an actor, you have the privilege to just zero in and be hyper focused on one particular element.
But having some experience and exposure to the world of producing gives me a whole other level of appreciation and understanding of all of the other people that are involved in a production and what’s at stake and what’s important to focus on, and what’s important for audiences as well.
So it certainly informs how I prepare for a role and how I work as a collaborator across not just the cast but all of the production teams and the back-of-house staff and the crew as well.
What do you hope audiences who know the film inside out will discover in the stage musical?
The biggest reassuring thing for me, getting to know the production, is how loyal it is to the film and the spirit of Mrs. Doubtfire. I think true fans of the piece will be really satisfied. You get to enjoy all of those favourite moments, scenes, and favourite quotes that we all fell in love with.
But the musical is an enhanced version because we get all of these incredible new songs, we get amazing dance numbers, and it’s brought into the world of 2026. We get to fall in love with it all over again.
So we get all of our favourite bits plus these amazing new elements. It’s a top tier show. It was crafted so beautifully by Jerry Zaks, the Tony Award-winning director. Wayne and Karey Kirkpatrick are behind the songs and book. It’s a top-level international show, and it’s one for the family, but it’s one for musical lovers of all ages as well.
Finally, I’ve got a fun question. If Robin Williams could give you one piece of advice before opening night, what would you hope it would be?
Oh my God, to put words in the mouth of one of my heroes! How dare you, Seb! Look, what would be reassuring to me, if I was to get a knock on my dressing room door and open it, and it was Robin Williams standing there, to have him turn around and say, “You’ve got this kid.” That would give me the fuel I need. I think I’d be on cloud nine. Nothing would stop me. I think having his blessing or approval would mean the world.
And unfortunately, he’s no longer with us. But I think his spirit carries on through not just this character, but all the characters he’s portrayed, and his influence is all over my work. I’m incredibly grateful for his contribution to the world.
So much of his work has made it into that final script too. His spirit really does live on in the show. I think everyone will feel it in the auditorium.
Jake Speer will star in Mrs. Doubtfire, opening in Melbourne at the Princess Theatre from 25 November. It then runs in Sydney at the Capitol Theatre from March 2027.
Tickets for Melbourne are available here. Tickets for Sydney are available via the waitlist here.
Website: https://mrsdoubtfiremusical.com.au/
Socials: https://www.instagram.com/mrsdoubtfiremusicalau/
Photo credits: John Tsiavis
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