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Theatre, cricket
and free thinking Music: Singing
and listening to all types of music too, seems to be in his blood.
His father is said to have an amazing voice and his mother is a
classical pianist. He's grown up on a wide range of musical influences.
From jazz to the blues to classics and pop, he seems to just love
it all. "My taste in music is eclectic," he says. From
a production point of view, Justin Timberlake's Cry me a river is
"just brilliant" he says and Nat King Cole and Bryan McKnight
are his mentors in the singing department. Tracy Chapman is one
of the most talented song writers he can think of. He claims to
be a bit of a songwriter himself and sings in the shower so as to
save those poor souls who have to hear him, he says. Together with
a few friends he's formed a group named Legacy and released a single
of the same name which went on air on some of the local radio stations.
"Some people even liked it," he remarks. The song 'Legacy',
which he wrote was inspired by the prophetic words of Nelson Mandela
which was something like "our biggest fear is not that we're
inadequate but that we're powerful beyond measure." Job: His job
as a management associate is interesting although he never thought
he'd get into finance. "I need to be kept interested and involved
in the whole process 'cos I get bored easily, which would lead to
my productivity levels dropping and that wouldn't be good for anybody,"
he says quite honestly. Cricket: He
loves cricket, (Otherwise I can't be Sri Lankan, right?) says Marsh
jokingly but he only plays on the beach with friends on and off.
His real passions though, which he also practised, (both at school
and university) are basketball and tennis. Michael Jordan:
"Have you ever seen any other player who could fly?" he
asks. Travelling:
He also loves to travel both in and out of the country. He would
love to visit Brazil, mainly because he enjoys the salsa and the
marenge. He'd also love to learn Portuguese and the art of Capoeira,
an old form of self defence adopted by the slaves, that they disguised
as a dance, so that their masters wouldn't suspect anything. "It's
a mix of martial arts and dance," said Marsh. Karate: Definitely
another passion. "I used to get bullied a lot in school so
this was my way of getting back," he says with a smile. He
learnt the art of Shotokan and went on to get his black belt by
the time he was just 19. He also took up Aikido and Capoeira and
even conducted a women's self defence class for a short time. Movies: Watching
foreign films like Life is Beautiful is another of his favourite
pastimes. Once upon a time in China starring Jet Li is his all time
favourite. He says there's no beating ancient Japanese animation
(termed as anime, in Japan) which has been doing brilliant stuff
way before even Hollywood, but on a much lower scale. The old Chinese
and Hong-Kong martial arts films have some intense story lines and
amazing art work which is very hard to beat. His personal idol though,
is Bruce Lee who was the first Asian movie star to make it big in
Hollywood. "He practically created his own martial art,"
says Marsh enthusiastically. Dogs: Beagles
and Jack Russells are his favourite dog breeds and he is definitely
not a cat person, he says. "I don't mind them when they're
kittens but, not as cats. I'd really like to have some dogs someday
when I settle down 'cos it's good for children to grow around pets." Independent
minds: "I really like people who have opinions and minds of
their own and aren't just 'yes people' who simply go along with
the band-wagon," he says. Also, people
who can rationally discuss matters and accept that other viewpoints
do exist and therefore, should be respected, appeal to him. "People
who challenge me when I'm wrong, are confident and can hold on their
own are definitely my kind of people," he adds. |
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for
assembly before moving on to university plays. One particular play
he auditioned for, Confusions, organised by the New Theatre drama
group at Nottingham University, U.K. where he studied), had just
eight roles. Around 500 people auditioned and he got a part. He
was then told by a mutual friend about Feroze Kamardeen's latest
play and that's how his connection with Big Brother began. He's
also tried his hand at directing for his old school and even helped
co-direct Confusions back at University. 
