Jason Derulo thought Cats movie ‘would change the world’

Jason Derulo has spoken out about his role in last year’s movie adaption of Cats.

A film version of the stage musical directed by Tom Hooper made its way to cinemas last December but was met with negative reviews and flopped at the box office.

The movie featured an all star cast including Taylor Swift as Bombalurina, Ian McKellen as Gus the Theatre Cat, James Jordan as Bustopher Jones, Jennifer Hudson as Grizabella, Rebel Wilson as Jennyanydots, Idris Elba as Macavity, Judi Dench as Old Deuteronomy and Jason Derulo as Rum Tum Tugger.

For Derulo it was his screen debut and he saw the film as the “perfect first role”.

He told the Daily Telegraph in an interview: “For the longest time, I was trying to figure out what’s the perfect first role? Cats checked all the boxes.

“You can’t get a more star-studded cast, you don’t get a more respected director than an Oscar winner, and Rum Tum Tugger is a legacy role, a standout character in a classic musical. Even when I saw the trailer, I thought it looked unbelievable. Like, I know some people saw it and they were terrified, but I got chills down my spine! I thought it was gonna change the world.”

He added: “It taught me a lesson… You can’t wait for the perfect moment, cause that might not be your moment. So you’ve just got to go for gold. That’s how I’ll move forward.”

With a score composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Cats first premiered on stage in 1981 and went on to become a worldwide hit with productions in over 30 countries seen by more than 70 million people.

In a recent interview with the Sunday Times, Lloyd Webber said of the movie adaption: “The problem with the film was that Tom Hooper decided that he didn’t want anybody involved in it who was involved in the original show.”

“The whole thing was ridiculous,” he added.