He’s got the high-arched eyebrows, trademark mullet, accent, vest, and violin bass—but he isn’t Paul McCartney. Jed Duvall of Randallstown has been performing as the famous former Beatle for fans near and far (catch him at the Dundalk Heritage Fair on June 30) since 2012. His traveling musical show, “The McCartney Experience,” covers everything from early Beatlemania material to new McCartney solo works.
In honor of Sir Paul’s 81st birthday on June 18 (and the one-year anniversary of his epic stadium show at Camden Yards) we caught up with the trained actor about his onstage life.
Tell us about yourself.
I was born in 1962 and grew up in a small farming community in Southern Maryland called Croom. I work in the photography industry part-time, but most of my energy goes toward performing.
How were you first introduced to The Beatles?
I had an aunt who was 10 or 11 years older than I was, and very much a Beatles fan. She was one of the 13-year-olds who was sitting in front of the TV and watching them on The Ed Sullivan Show. When I got to be about seven or eight years old, she moved away and went off to college, so I inherited all of her Beatles albums. That’s all I ever played. I used to pick up a ball and a tennis racket and play along with the records.
What led to impersonating Paul McCartney?
In fifth grade, I played Jacob Marley in A Christmas Carol and I always really loved being on stage. I impersonated Elvis on and off until I got married, graduated from college, and got a “real job” in the early 1990s. Around the mid 2000s, I told my wife “I really miss performing. I think I’d like to go and do some more Elvis.” So I started doing that, but people were saying, “You know, you don’t really look as much like Elvis as you do like Paul McCartney.” I really didn’t see it, especially because he was such a hero of mine.
Can you see the resemblance a bit now?
I can. Especially in pictures. I have friends who will post a picture of Paul McCartney on their Facebook pages. And Facebook will suggest, “Do you want to tag Jed Duvall in this picture?” It’s that kind of thing. It’s still a little surreal.
Aside from your uncanny looks, what goes into embodying McCartney?
I was in the army when I got out of high school, and once that was over, I was accepted to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. I use a lot of that training in becoming Paul. I draw from the things I know about him to make the act more Paul-like. I’ve read so many biographies, and I’ve talked to people who’ve talked to him. Paul is down to earth. He’s very much a family man. But then again, he sort of built his persona around being a ladies man. You have this person who just seems like a fairly normal guy, who also has written hundreds of the most popular songs in American culture. I try to take into account how he’s sort of funny on stage, and how he treats the audience. I think that goes a long way.
I’m assuming this takes a lot of hair and makeup help, too.
Hair and makeup are my best friends. My wife likes telling people that my makeup bill is 10 times what hers is.
How did you nail down the accent?
A lot of that is from growing up in an almost English household. My parents lived in England in the 1950s. My mother came home, and she just was totally into the English culture—had tea, spoke with a British accent, the whole nine. And, of course, when I went away to acting school we studied dialects. I was really drawn to the British dialect. When I started performing as Paul I would put on headphones and speak along with his interviews. It’s still something I do before I go to a show.
Which songs make you feel most like Paul?
The songs I sang in front of a mirror when I was six years old are the songs that really resonate with me. “And I Love Her.” “All My Loving.” “I Saw Her Standing There.” Those are the ones where I can really feel him in my bones.
Your show has taken you all over the country, but what do you enjoy about performing for Baltimoreans in particular?
Baltimore embraces the different thing. I used to like to go to the Night of 100 Elvises, and everybody’s doing their own take on Elvis Presley. You have a bluegrass band doing “Hound Dog.” And you have hip-hop dancers dancing to “Don’t Be Cruel.” I’ve always liked that and I think it’s a very Baltimore thing to say, “You guys have your way of doing it, but this is our way of doing it.”