Sure, he’s hosted a music show before—The Voice—but Darren McMullen has even better credentials for his new role fronting Seven’s The Big Music Quiz, which sees celebrities battling it out over music trivia. “When I quit my corporate lifestyle, before I got into telly, I wanted to do any job that got me closer to presenting,” the former advertising exec tells WHO. “I had a job hosting a pub trivia night.”
The gig, says McMullen, 34, was “my first job public speaking, and it was terrifying. You’re dealing with drunk people for a start, so you have to be quite sharp.” He’s also an old hand playing pub trivia himself, but despite his love of music, “I was more of a music guy, so I tended to get those questions right, which was great in my local pub—there were always at least two movie questions and they were for a jug of beer, so I was guaranteed to get two jugs of beer for my table.”
For the Scotland-born, Australian-raised star who’s now based in Hollywood with his actress girlfriend Crystal Reed, 31, music is “a game changer.” Marvin Gaye and James Brown are on high rotation at home and he chooses tunes to suit his vibe. “Music can change your demeanor,” says McMullen. “If I want to have a bit of a cry, you put on Coldplay or Sinead O’Connor. For a singalong, Disney or old show tunes.”
While McMullen can play drums and saxophone and is “an okay singer”, he names his hidden talents as “being optimistic” and golf. He and Reed, who have been together three years, plan holidays around courses. “For Crystal, it was either be a golf widow or become a golfer,” he says. “We love being able to travel and play. Golf courses are rarely in crap places, so that’s been great for us to have fun at some of the most beautiful courses in the world.”
The Big Music Quiz premieres on Seven Network on Aug. 28 at 7pm
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