In a previous life, Luke Goss was half of the immensely popular British boy band Bros (his twin brother Matt was the other half), which sold 15 million albums and toured the world numerous times before calling it quits in 1992.

Goss went on to try the theater, got hooked on acting, and has never turned back. He has since done a number of stage plays and 21 movies, including roles in Blade 2 (as Nomak) and in Frankenstein (as The Creature), a TV miniseries.

Luke Goss as King Xerxes

Luke Goss as King Xerxes

Vampires and monsters aside, Goss is now playing a biblical character—Xerxes, king of Persia—in the new film, One Night With the King, the story of the book of Esther, the courageous young Jewish woman who risked her life to ask Xerxes to spare the lives of her people. The film, adapted from Tommy Tenney's book of the same title, opens in almost 1,000 theaters this Friday.

Newcomer Tiffany Dupont plays Esther, while veteran stars Omar Sharif, Peter O'Toole, and John Rhys-Davies are also featured in the film. We caught up with the 38-year-old Goss to talk about the movie.

I hear you have an interesting story about landing this role?

Luke Goss: Yes. I loved Xerxes' role and I read for them. They liked what I did and invited me back for a screen test about a month later. But the night before, I was very, very sick. I had flown in from London, and picked up a virus on the plane or something. I spent the night in the hospital with IVs in my arm. It was crazy. I checked myself out of the hospital at five in the morning. The doctor said, "You're not well. You're dehydrated. You should stay." And I said no, I've got something to do.

So I went to the screen test, did what I could, and went back to the hotel. Later, the phone rang. And my agent said, "You're the king!" I went, "Really?" And then I just literally flopped into the lounger, but I felt very happy.

Were you familiar with the story of Esther before?

Goss: No. But when I read the script, I just thought it was quite remarkable, a beautiful story. I also read the ramifications of it today.

What ramifications?

Goss: It's interesting that this movie is coming out at a time when things are so dire around the world. When this story took place, they didn't have the diplomatic processes or as much hindsight as we have now. But people today are all ready to say what's not achievable. If you want to look at the odds being against something, look at this story. It was truly do or die, but they made it work. To me, this story is a reminder of what can be done. And the fact that such a wonderful outcome can happen through faith and belief and passion and love.

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Goss says the film will appeal to many demographics

Goss says the film will appeal to many demographics

This story is well loved by Christians and Jews, but will it have appeal beyond that?

Goss: Yeah. It's a universal message—a story about being proud of human actions, being proud of faith and good things. There will be comfort for people who are familiar with the story, but for people who aren't, I think it gives hope.

What can you tell me about your own spiritual background?

Goss: I'm looking at a picture of Jesus in my home right now. I'm Christian in the sense of loving God and Jesus, but I don't go to church. And my love of God and Jesus doesn't limit me from seeing the beauty in other people's faith. I was raised to believe not to be too precious with my terminologies. People are so passionate about their terminologies, saying the word Jesus or Allah or whatever. But it's like, if we're all good and we treat each other well, we'll get up there and it will be cleared up, I'm sure.

It's like being on a subway. It's pretty crowded but it's a wonderful eclectic mixture of colors and faces and sizes and heights. But if you can all accommodate each other, you'll all get there. I think if that was applied today in religion, I think there would be a lot more harmony. That's the way I live.

Even making the movie, we were truly such a melting pot of beliefs and faiths, colors and sizes and sexes. It's quite beautiful, poetic, and the outcome is a lovely piece.

What was it like working with big names like Omar Sharif, Peter O'Toole, and John Rhys-Davies?

Goss: Especially Omar and Peter; it's a wonderful moment of movie history because they haven't been together since Lawrence of Arabia. When we were filming in India, I was galloping to my mark on a white stallion in the desert. I stopped, delivered my line, and I look over at Omar Sharif and I'm thinking, How did I get here? I'm thinking Ashton Kutcher [host of Punk'd who pulls practical jokes on celebrities] is going to jump out and punk me any second. It was just a surreal, wonderful experience.

Omar and I became friends. We'd often unwind with a glass of wine together. He's a wonderful guy, a lot of fun. He has a great sense of humor; he's crazy.

Any funny stories from the set?

Goss: Mostly just fun evenings together, all of us. We'd have drinks, and seeing Omar getting a little tipsy and hearing some of the stories he would tell, especially about working with Peter on Lawrence of Arabia.

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I read that Omar and John Noble got into a fight one night after they had been drinking?

Goss: Yeah they did. It was a little heated thing. It made me laugh in one sense, because it wasn't like two young bucks on the film where there's egos flying around and they could bang chests. It was the two older chaps. Boys will be boys for the rest of time.

Esther (Tiffany Dupont) and Xerxes share a kiss

Esther (Tiffany Dupont) and Xerxes share a kiss

This was Tiffany Dupont's first major role. What was it like working with her?

Goss: It was sweet. You could see she was learning on the move, and I think everybody just wanted to make sure she felt protected. I think she found it a little hard to be in India at first; she was finding her feet, I think. I'd look after her, on an acting level and also as a colleague, because making a movie can be quite a daunting project.

What are your best memories of your days with Bros?

Goss: Playing Wembley Stadium was a big deal, because we were the youngest men at that point to play it. I was 20, and there were 70,000 people in there. It was our second world tour, and the show sold out in about an hour. I think touring was probably the best thing, because you see the world and get all the life lessons you need. You see so many different colors, sizes and races, beliefs, languages and idiosyncrasies—sometimes crazy, sometimes annoying, sometimes sweet.

So why did Bros call it quits when you were so popular?

Luke and his brother in their days with Bros

Luke and his brother in their days with Bros

Goss: It was me, actually. When our third album came out, it went straight to the Top Ten, but one reviewer said the music was too progressive for our fans. I remember thinking that creativity should be fueled by the individual, and the fans can either stick around or go and do their thing. I thought, That's it. I'm primarily a slave to the rhythm—a slave to the fans. So I'm going to get on with being an individual.

I called my brother and said, "I can't do this anymore. I'm done." The next day it was on the front page of the newspapers, in the news all over the world. Fans were mad at me and crying and all that stuff.

So how'd you get into acting after that?

Goss: I got asked to do a show in theater; the director said, "I've seen you on TV, and you have a great energy and I think you'd be right for a part." It was a comedy, and I was terrified about it. Long story short, I went into the rehearsal room and from day one, I was playing the lead in the show. I fell in love with the theater, and I never did music again from that day.

And you've never looked back?

Goss: No, it's been 21 movies now, and it's moving forward, thankfully. So far it's been a fun journey. I actually feel that acting was what I was meant to do.

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