Don’t stop pushing, scraping and clawing for your passion. If you don’t fight for yourself and your perceived calling then no one else will.

Those are the wise words from Trevor Nicholas, a 33-year-old actor with strong family links to Bermuda, who was recently cast as Genie in the London premiere of Disney musical Aladdin.

Mr Nicholas’s mother is Bermudian Doris Tucker Nicholas. He’s also the grandson of longtime Happy Valley residents, the late Phillip and Phyllis Tucker and nephew to Janet Tucker and Cheryl-Ann Griffin.

He grew up in Morgantown, West Virginia, but spent many summers here on Island with family.

Mr Nicholas will star in the West End production when its curtains open at the Prince Edward Theatre next June 9.

The role is a dream come true for the father-of-two.

“[This] is by far the biggest step my career has taken,” he said. “To be able to put my own stamp on such an incredible character is more than I could have hoped for.”

It puts him in good stead for any future projects that come his way and is also highly validating in such a competitive industry, he said.

Mr Nicholas first started dabbling with acting at around eight or nine-years-old.

He was always an energetic kid and his parents were relieved to find creative outlets for him to channel that into.

In addition to regularly attending theatrical productions, his father enrolled him into a children’s improv class at Monongalia Arts Centre.

“From then on, everything shifted,” he said. “Performing was no longer something I would witness or present for relatives in the basement. It was my outlet for expression and energy.”

Years later while watching a musical production of Ragtime, Mr Nicholas had another “aha” moment.

It was his first time seeing such a strong black leading role and “spoke directly to [his] heart”.

“I knew that what I was seeing was exactly what I wanted to do for the rest of my life,” he explained.

But making a way for himself in the entertainment business wasn’t always rosy.

Mr Nicholas has had to come to grips with a lot of rejection. The only way to survive and keep going was to stay confident in his craft, he said.

At 19, he booked his first professional show in the US tour of Big River, a musical based on Mark Twain’s classic novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Three years later he joined Actor’s Equity, a labour union for actors, and helped create theatrical works like Super Fly: The Musical and Marley.

“My wife and I have had a deal for a while now,” he explained. “She has always been massively supportive of me chasing dreams as a performer, but I agreed once we had our first child that if this all ever became too much for her I would stop.

“There have been slow times where I, as I imagine most performers do, have considered stopping and looking into a more stable career choice.

“My wife has been the one to always push me and motivate me to never stop striving for what’s in my heart.”

His big break came when his agent arranged for him to audition for the Broadway production of Aladdin last December.

He was overjoyed when he learnt he got the gig.

“When my agent called to inform me that I had booked the show, I was standing in the airport trying to manage my way around bad weather, cancelled flights and delays,” the actor said.

“He told me ‘You got it!’ and I immediately burst into tears.

“The airline attendant helping me to change my flight tried to console me saying: ‘It’s OK, we’ll get you on a flight tonight!’ and I had to explain that my crying was not from the hectic flight statuses, but from happiness.”

Genie has proved to be a physically demanding role. Mr Nicholas had to take individual dance and movement classes before even starting rehearsals.

He’s also been working with a nutritionist to make sure his health and energy levels are at its peak.

One thing that has made it all worthwhile is getting to share in this success with his family.

“The biggest reward so far came with my first weekend of Genie performances with the Broadway production in April of this year,” he said.

“I finished the song Friend Like Me and I could see both of my children, ages five and seven, standing in the audience applauding. That was the single most fulfilling moment in my career — to be doing what I love on such a grand scale and to have my children there sharing in the same joy that I was feeling.”

Tickets for the production are currently on sale at www.aladdinthemusical.co.uk.