From Kabbalah to Christ: no wonder he hit a bit of hair turbulence

Jamie Dean Francis says people often mistake him for Jude Law, which would be a fair comparison except for the eyes - Law's are not as bright blue and eager as his.

But recently Francis, an English-born actor who has lived in Hong Kong since the handover, has looked less like the Hollywood heart-throb people mistake him for. Sporting shoulder-length brown locks and a sprouting beard, Francis is preparing for what he says is his most challenging role to date: playing Jesus in the musical Godspell.

The musical's whimsical portrayal of Jesus, based on the gospel according to St Matthew, suits the irrepressibly playful Francis.

'I thought he'd be fab for Jesus,' says Lindsey McAlister, the show's producer and director of Youth Arts Foundation (YAF). McAlister worked with Francis in YAF's production of Blood Brothers, and thought of him immediately when casting for Godspell. 'It's a mixed-genre show, like a patchwork quilt of music and dance and drama,' she says. 'Jamie is an all-around performer - a singer, dancer, and actor. He's stunning.'

Leading a cast of 11, Francis is leaping back onto centre stage after three years out of the limelight. Born into a family of performing artists, he began acting at the age of nine, followed by drama school and a short stint with a boy band that brought him to China in 1996. He came to Hong Kong 'just to be a part of history', one year later, and started a production company in 2000 called 2XL Productions.

The company was taking off, planning events with celebrities such as Olivia Newton John and Tom Cruise - 'but then Sars happened. I lost all my work in 24 hours. Entertainment is the first thing to go when a catastrophe like Sars happens.'

Francis ended up in hospital with a kidney stone. He knew then that he was done with performing for a while - he needed to relax and 'take time for my soul'. He began studying the Kabbalah in an attempt to harness positive energy in an environment racked with chaos.