Santa Rosa ‘singing Viking’ checks in with Ryan Seacrest

Santa Rosa singer and actor Anthony Guzman told Ryan Seacrest the support keeps rolling in for his unforgettable appearance Sunday on “American Idol,” where he appeared on stage dressed as a Norse god.

“People are going nuts. My whole town is going nuts. Everyone’s super proud of me, friends and family,” Guzman told Ryan Seacrest on his radio show “On Air with Ryan Seacrest.” Guzman mystified judges on the show when he appeared decked out in costume as the Norse god Thor, then surprised them with his smooth rendition of “Cry Me a River,” a la Michael Bublé.

“What I like about you — what I thought was so clever is that in his mind, he knows he’s coming in and they’re going to expect something totally different,” Seacrest said on the radio show. “And then he lays down the Bublé on them.”

“Yeah, the way I looked at it is I would give them something they’ve never seen before as far as the getup,” Guzman responded, speaking remotely with Seacrest. “I’d make sure they didn’t forget who I was.”

Guzman said he works in a plumbing supply warehouse as a forklift and delivery driver in Santa Rosa. “Everyone here’ been really supportive. I’m actually at work right now,” he said on “On Air with Ryan Seacrest.”

On the ABC show on Sunday, Judges Katy Perry and Lionel Ritchie advanced Guzman to the next round but urged him to drop the gimmick and take his singing more seriously, while the third judge, Luke Bryan, just said no.

Guzman is not a late arrival on the Sonoma County arts scene. He appeared in more than half a dozen local live theater productions, from a bit part in “My Fair Lady” at Santa Rosa Junior College in 2011 to the starring role of Danny Zuko in “Grease” at 6th Street Playhouse in Santa Rosa in 2014.

“Anthony was fun to have around and his voice was beautiful. I was very pleased with his work and I hope he does really well on ‘American Idol,’” said Sheri Lee Miller, artistic director at Spreckels Peforming Arts Center in Rohnert Park. Miller directed Guzman there in “Annie Get Your Gun” in 2013.

Guzman also is a member of the metal band A Hero to Fall.

See the entire interview with Seacrest here.

You can reach Staff Writer Dan Taylor at dan.taylor@pressdemocrat.com or 707-521-5243. On Twitter @danarts.