Jonathan Freeman, Jafar in ‘Aladdin’ Closes the Cobra Wand


He is “the omnipotent demon,” as Iago put it in the classic Disney movie.

“A vile traitor!” says the sultan.

And for a short time, as he himself put it, “the strongest wizard In the world!”

(MUAHHAHA!)

Jonathan Freeman first voiced Disney’s villain Jafar in the 1992 animated film “Aladdin”, continued to be teased in subsequent films, and went on to appear in the Broadway production released in 2014. He used the Cobra squad. Since then, she has been acting in hundreds of performances for nearly eight years.

Until Sunday evening, with the show he decided would be his last.

Backstage that evening, Freeman’s locker room was mostly empty. The walls were bare, there was no cedar. Certificates of appreciation included flowers, alcohol gifts and a thank you note from the contractors.

An insert on Playbill warned viewers that Freeman would get his “final salute” in “Aladdin.” The show is said to be the only person in the Disney universe to have voiced an animated character – the cornerstone of a career that includes credits in 11 Broadway shows.

After the performance ended, the cast and crew took a moment to honor Freeman during the curtain call.

“I had to come in tonight to appreciate this great guy,” said the show’s director, Casey Nicholaw. “We will really miss you here.”

“No one wants to see a villain cry,” replied Freeman, 71. He added that no one did this on their own.

Freeman then officially handed over the cobra wand “by Mickey Mouse’s mandate to me” to Dennis Stowe, Jafar’s backup, who will take over the role this week.

After a few short talks backstage, where most crew members wore T-shirts depicting Jafar’s silhouette and many hugs, Freeman sat down for an exit interview at the nearby Disney Theater offices.

These are edited excerpts from that speech.

You’ve been a version of Jafar for 30 years. How do you intend to give up Jafar and let go of a part of yourself?

After it became clear that the show was going to be a success and that Disney wanted to do multiple productions, it looked like this little island of Jafar where I lived alone for a while, it just kept breaking and falling apart. And to be honest, I was happy and excited to know that I had come to a certain place where it became a kind of template that could be reproduced by other people. So that’s good – good to know it’s still going on.

Why are you leaving now?

In fact, when we started the 2020 season year – our year really starts in February – I was thinking maybe this will be my last year.

And then the pandemic happened and then nothing happened. Nobody knew – would it be two months or six months? So I thought, “Well, if they start over, I can’t go back and try to pick up the pieces” because then I would be vaporizing in the middle of this pandemic. It would just be so weird. And I didn’t want to leave right before the holidays because that means putting the company in rehearsals. And so I thought to wait until the first day of the year, and February is already the end of the contract. It just seemed like the right time.

Do you think you were able to get Jafar on stage and maybe not voice him for the movie?

When we first started in Seattle [a pilot production of the show in the summer of 2011], there was only me and one other person in the room connected to the original project. [the composer] Alan Menken. So when we got the first reading, it was like a glass of cold water in my face because I was hearing new voices while making these characters I’ve heard for years.

New ideas came with new voices and people were physically different. So I had to figure out how to fit in. And I had to recreate a bit.

How has your view of Jafar and “Aladdin” evolved over the years?

As for Jafar, I honestly thought of him as nothing more than a Disney villain. I never thought of him as a North African, Middle Eastern, Asian, South Asian person. I’ve never thought of any of these. I always thought of him as a villain. The makeup I did was never meant for racing. It was always the bad guy’s make-up. It was about the arch of the eyebrow, it was about contempt.

This is not something that anyone has thought of. I think everyone has thought about it and everyone has thought about it carefully.

Let’s do a quick speed lap. How often and in what context are you asked to make the sound of Cafer?

I’m on this platform called Cameo. I get requests almost every week.

How much are you charging?

Very low, like $35 — or 50 Dollars. I get it, you know, if people want it, I’ll give it to them and the volume makes the difference.

Can you confirm that Jafar is a Slytherin??

Absolutely. Unquestioned.

Five words to describe Jafar?

Mercury; malicious; jealous (not to be confused with jealousy); in vain; and it is self-important.

You must have had millions of interactions with kids, Disney fans, “Aladdin” fans. Do you have a favorite?

One night in Seattle we came out of the stage door and I went down the stairs and I was walking down the alley and a young woman came after me and said, “Excuse me? Were you the gentleman playing Jafar tonight?” I said yes. And he said, “You sound just like the guy in the movie!” And I said, “Thank you very much. That’s a great compliment.”

What’s next for Jafar? Maybe I read something for Cirque du Soleil?

Cirque du Soleil contracted Jafar for one thing. I’m not even sure what it is.

I guess it will be a fresh install. It has to do with the drawing. It’s not Vegas. It will be in a theme park. So, it won’t be me myself. It could even just be an elevator from the movie or something.

What’s next for Jonathan?

I’m looking at a few projects. I want to make a simple game again. Jafar is very greedy. It takes a lot of time.

I rediscovered time during the pandemic process. And what I discovered about rediscovering time was that it was so beautiful to have it.



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