He is without a doubt one of the most famous Calgarians, if not Canadians in the entire world. For over twenty years Bret Hart went out in front of thousands of fans worldwide as one of the best professional wrestlers on the planet.
Dubbed “The Excellence of Execution” Bret’s history begins in his father’s legendary “Dungeon” basement in Patterson. After breaking in with Stampede Wrestling, Bret went on to Vince McMahon’s WWF, where he held 9 championships, including being World Champion five times. After a bitter falling out with McMahon in 1997, Hart went to rival WCW and won their World Title, before an errant kick by Bill Goldberg in December of 1999 gave him a career-ending concussion.
In June 2002, Hart suffered a stroke. Anyone with a family member who has been through a stroke knows that it is a long, weary road to recovery. Four years later, Bret Hart is a happy man, living in Italy with his wife Cinzia. He has buried the hatchet with McMahon and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in March of 2006. In 2004, Hart was chosen as number 39 in the television special The Greatest Canadians and ranked number #32 in Time Magazine’s “Greatest Canadians of All Time” article.
Most remarkably, Hart is healthy enough to perform again. While his wrestling career may be over, he will be coming home again as The Genie in Aladdin The Magical Family Musical! running in Edmonton from November 14th to 19th, and Calgary from November 28th to December 3rd.
“When they first came to me with the idea I was still in the throes of my stroke,” Hart told GayCalgary.com in an exclusive interview. “I appreciated the fact that they thought of me but I initially declined it because I didn’t think I was capable of doing it. We left it open. The more I thought about it the more I realized I owed it to myself to at least try this challenge to myself. I have been so fortunate to have a pretty good recovery. So it was a chance to step up and try something different and in a lot of ways it’s turned out so much better than I could have anticipated. The whole thing is so much fun for me. The script is really well written and drafted around my wrestling persona, it’s written around the Hitman character. I really feel like I get to be Bret ’The Hitman’ Hart one last time. Over the past six years I have moved on from my wrestling persona but, walking out on the stage and doing this role as the Genie it all comes back to life for me. This isn’t a hard role for me to play, I get to be ’The Hitman’ for two hours. The show is very funny, well adapted with a lot of tongue-in-cheek jokes about wrestling. Anyone who is even a remote wrestling fan will enjoy the humor of the whole play itself. If you miss my wrestling character this is a way to see him one last time.”
For Hart it also brings a sense of closure. While he bade his farewells to wrestling fans in his speech at the WWE Hall of Fame, this is Hart’s chance to perform for his loyal Canadian fan base one more time. WCW didn’t tour western Canada, so the last time Hart wrestled in Edmonton and Calgary was July of 1997.
“It means something to me because I never got the exit I was looking for in pro wrestling. I just got hurt and swept out and never really got the big goodbye. This isn’t necessarily my farewell but it’s pretty close. It is so much fun and the fact that it relates to so many age levels in the audience, and such a great cast and crew - it really is a fun experience. This is the farewell I never got.”
Acting isn’t new to Hart. In many ways professional wrestling requires a person to stretch their acting chops. Hart has many credits to his resume outside of the ring. In the 1995 – 1996 season of the locally filmed Lonesome Dove, Hart had a reoccurring role as Luther Root. He played an animated version of himself on The Simpsons and played The Hooded Fang in Jacob Two-Two. Hart compared these different experiences.
“The Genie role, I relate to it more as a wrestler than I did Lonesome Dove. It is everything I used to get from the wrestling except I don’t have the aches and pains the next morning, and the long travel schedule. The camaraderie and focus of the team, and pulling it off on a nightly basis is very much like it was with wrestling. Really wrestling is just acting with your body. With this you have to have your lines down and know your stuff. As far as Lonesome Dove went, I have nothing but great memories from that. I thought I did some pretty good stuff and was very happy with it. With the TV, when you flubbed up they would give you another take. This is a little different, if you mess up probably no one will really notice except yourself. Wrestling for all of those years for my father and the WWF, there was no editing and you couldn’t make a mistake out there because it was all live TV. This is all live and no room to make a lot of mistakes.”
While Hart will never forget what wrestling gave him, it came with a price. In addition to his medical issues, Bret’s younger brother Owen was killed in an accident at a WWF event in 1999 – a tragedy that tore apart the once close Hart Family. In addition, the wrestling lifestyle has, in some ways, lead to the death of Hart’s brother in law “The British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith and friend Brian Pillman, among others. Now, Smith’s son Harry has signed a WWE contract, and many other third generation Hart family members are pursuing wrestling careers. Despite his history, Bret wants the best for them.
”Harry has dreamed about being a wrestler since he was small. He never stopped and has had a passion for it. Despite everything that happened with Owen and Davey, it’s not fair to pour water on this kid’s dream just because of all the things that happened. Wrestling is a strange business; there are a lot of good things to be said for being a pro wrestler. There are opportunities to see the world, stay in shape, make some money and meet girls. If Harry can find peace and happiness in the wrestling business I don’t know why anyone in my family would begrudge him his dream. Despite everything that happened he has the right to pursue that dream. I hope that the WWE will give Harry the chance to be the star he can be. He is a great kid with a huge future and I hope it works out for both of them.”
Hart also spoke of his relationship now with Vince McMahon. Once compared to that of a father and son, it was destroyed by Owen’s death and a very public “screwjob” that saw McMahon conspire to take the WWF title away from Hart without his knowledge. In the past year Hart has worked with the WWE to release a DVD about his career. Hart is also planning to release his autobiography next year.
“I hope that by doing the Hall of Fame and the DVD, it put some peace between Vince McMahon and myself. We have a live and let live relationship now. Everything has been extended olive branches, trying to find a road because [the bridge] was burnt so badly.”
The character of Bret “Hitman” Hart influenced many young people both in Canada and around the world. Especially in Calgary, we beamed with pride every time his origin was announced. Hart has never taken the label of ‘hero’ lightly, but his recovery from the stroke adds a new dimension to it. His comeback can be inspirational to others.
”I am aware of the fact that when I described myself as a hero, it was a little awkward when the world is full of real heroes like firemen and the soldiers in Afghanistan. …I get people who come up to me every day that say I was a positive impact on their life. Most of them are very humble and sincere in their kind words. I don’t take the hero thing lightly or parade myself around tooting my horn. I have come to respect the fact that people do see me as a hero. When I had my stroke….I remember those dark moments where I couldn’t lift my hand and was half-paralyzed in the hospital. I really feared that I would be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life. I found myself remembering Make-A-Wish kids that I shook hands with, that were going to die, and how much courage they had. I found myself always bolstering myself and pushing myself a little harder, and becoming the hero I always pretended to be. I am very proud of my recovery. I’ve had thousands of fans that have come up to me over the years and said ‘When you had your stroke we were praying for you.’ I think about that, they must have prayed pretty hard because it worked and I am so grateful for everything I got.”
Being in Aladdin is one of those opportunities that Hart is cherishing. The production invariably has special meaning for fans of Hart, but Aladdin is a family show that people of all ages can enjoy regardless.
“This play is just one example of the opportunities for me to walk out and be the star of a show. For me to walk out in Calgary at the Jubilee Auditorium, I think it’s fair to say that is something I never pictured myself doing. It’s a big step and it took something for me to get to it. It’s good for me and it’s good for fans of mine and it’s my way of giving back for the good fortune I have had since my recovery. Come for a good time. This is a really good show that is a lot of fun - I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t love the play. It’s a great cast and everybody works so hard. I am the centerpiece to the whole thing but I am not the dancer or the singer that these other great performers are. They carry the work of the show and I am lucky to ride on their coattails for this whole thing. I have so much fun being the Genie and I wish everybody in Canada could see this play. It is one of the most fun things I have ever done; I have a hard time saying this is work. …Anyone that wants to go out and have a good time will really enjoy this play, whether they are a fan of mine or not.”
Aladdin The Family Musical!
Edmonton November 14th – 19th. Jubilee Auditorium
Calgary November 28th – December 3rd. Jubilee Auditorium
Other dates across Canada:
http://www.rosspetty.com
