The fearsome American Idol has been blown out of proportion.
Darnell said, “Cowell is a different character underneath it all.” Darnell spoke during a career retrospective session, according to Deadline. Darnell told Deadline that Cowell was a different character underneath all the bluster.
Darnell was first struck by Cowell’s honesty during a Hollywood audition. Cowell had adopted a more honest tone when he was a judge for the British version Idol Pop Idol that ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003. Darnell was looking for something different at a time when reality shows were dominated by nicer and more supportive judges.
Darnell: “I knew that we would have to bring in Simon Cowell as the main star, but I thought we should do something else for the U.S. The frank and mean judge. All the shows that were before his, everybody was nice and polite, so I knew this was [his] style. Simon was willing to try anything. Darnell said that the former judge had “learned” to play the role. He is now President of Unscripted Television at Warner Bros Discovery.
Darnell stated that “underneath, there’s another character.” Watch Britain’s Got Talent, or America’s Got Talent and you’ll see a much more softer version of him.
The English television personality was a judge of American Idol from 2002 to 2016, and brought his biting style to reality shows such as The X Factor in subsequent years. The show ended on Fox after three seasons in 2013.