Why Iranian-descent Darius Danesh became Darius Campbell?
Popular Scottish singer, songwriter and stage actor (drama artist) Darius Danesh made a 3-week trip with his Iranian father to Mecca last year, but a few months after he returned, decided to drop his father's last name (Danesh) and adopt his mother's maiden name instead, so now he is called Darius Campbell. What happened?
Darius was born 1980 in Glasgow Scotland to an Iranian father (a surgeon) and a Scottish mother (physician). He first gained fame in 2002 while studying English Literature at Edinburgh University, after being voted to the finals of the British hit TV talent show Pop Idol. He turned down Simon Cowell's million-pound record deal and went on to sign with grammy-winning U2 producer Steve Lillywhite. His first, self-penned single "Colourblind" (video below) entered the UK singles chart at number 1. His debut album went platinum in 2004 and he has subsequently had five UK Top Ten singles and a second gold album. He supported Shakira on her world tour, and headlined in India with Alanis Morissette.
Darius has also been successful in Opera. He recently appeared in his debut Opera Carmen with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London, in the biggest Operatic production ever in the UK. But his run as Rhett Butler (lead role) in the West End stage version of "Gone With The Wind" in 2008 (pictured below) was cut short when the high-budget musical was a flop. It is unknown whether the show's early termination and deficient popularity, despite Darius' stellar performance, had anything to do with biases in the audience and promoters against Darius' Iranian ancestry.
Darius then briefly moved to Los Angeles to live with his fiancée Natasha Henstridge, Canadian-born model and actress (shown in the picture below), known for her part in the movie Species. Darius was also to become a stepdad to Natasha's two sons. Tabloids pictured a romantic couple but also reported a beach party in Malibu where Natasha was comfortably attracting men's attention in her swimsuit, but Darius was not even comfortable undressing (pictured below).
In 2009, Darius and Natasha spoke of their elaborate and extravagant wedding plans, but less than a year later, Darius and Natasha split. Darius admitted that they were in love "but for Natasha to move forward with her life, she needed to stay in Los Angeles and I had to come home to Scotland to work in the UK." He admitted Natasha initially supported him by coming with her sons to stay at Glasgow and Edinburgh and spending time with his family. But recently it was not as easy on them: "I was doing Chicago and would fly from London at 1 AM on a Sunday morning, arriving in Los Angeles at 4 PM that afternoon then having five or six hours with Natasha before getting on the Sunday night flight to be back for my Monday-night performance.... My contract said I wasn't supposed to leave London. I'd go to great lengths so we could have our weekend time together."
Another life changing experience for Darius occurred in December 2009, when Darius took his Iranian-born father, Dr. Danesh, on an Islamic spiritual pilgrimage to Mecca. Dr. Danesh has been fighting a malignant cancer for several years. Doctors first told him that he had 3 months to live but resorting to a combination of chemotherapy and homeopathic medicine (Darius mom practices homeopathic medicine) and meditation, Dr. Danesh (himself a successful surgeon), has survived but is frail now. Darius said about the experience: "I pushed him [dad] in a wheelchair for three weeks and it was one of the most joyful experiences of my life."
But shortly after return from the spiritual pilgrimage, Darius disappointed his father by announcing that he will be dropping his (father's side) Iranian last name (Danesh) and instead adopting his mother's maiden name Campbell. So he is to be called Darius Campbell. This came as a surprise to many and even Darius's agent Oriana Elia admitted that she doesn't know why Darius has changed his surname. One source has claimed the name change was a shrewd showbiz move by Darius to become more popular with the TV audience and critics.
Unlike some celebrities of Iranian heritage like Andre Agassi, Darius is not ashamed of his Iranian roots. Last year, he was scheduled to perform along Iranian pop star Andy in a concert in London.
Interestingly, on Darius's Wikipedia page, his father is listed as Indian! Dr. Danesh has indeed been very proud of his Iranian heritage. He has two other sons named Cyrus and Aria (both pure Persian names) and in the past he has fought against employment discrimination based on his Iranian heritage.
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