The surprise performance on the Sir Elton John piano coincided with the unveiling of a Wicked-themed Christmas tree at the station
The hustle and bustle of London's busy St. Pancras International Station received a welcome reprise on Wednesday afternoon, when actor Jeff Goldblum delivered an impromptu performance on the Sir Elton John piano positioned on the lower ground floor of the station.
The appearance coincided with the unveiling of a Wicked-themed Christmas tree in the same location, a partnership with Universal Pictures ahead of the film's theatrical release. Goldblum, who plays the Wizard of Oz in Jon M. Chu's adaptation of the popular Broadway musical, took a seat at the piano and played a snippet of music from Wickedas well as a few holiday numbers including “Winter Wonderland.”
“I won't trouble you with anything more than a snippet of ditties,” Goldblum told the crowd, which grew with each note and curious passersby. Standing up, the actor remembered to toss in his shameless promotional plug, adding: “Wicked comes out in theaters Friday, November 22. Happy holidays, Merry Christmas.”
Goldblum, now 72 years old, has been playing piano since he was a young child. In 2014, he formed the jazz band the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra. But in the earlier years of his interest in the instrument, the actor landed most of his gigs by cold calling cocktail lounges and gaslighting them into believing they put out a call for a pianist. Some shot him down with the simple fact that they didn't even have a piano on the premises, but others welcomed him to come play. In 2018, Goldblum scored his first Number One jazz album.
“Doing acting or certainly music was kind of just a wild-hearted, romantic adventure for me where I was trying to express myself more than impress myself upon anybody,” Goldblum told Rolling Stone in 2018. “Now it's gotten more that way. If you love something, it doesn't really matter what people think as much because you're not really relying on that, but I'm gratified to see when people experience the band or come up to me after [the show]. It's very happy-making for me. They get a kick out of it and I like that.”
