In 1992, Donovan launched a successful libel action against
The Face magazine who published allegations that he was gay. Donovan won £200,000 in damages , but the action of his lawsuit made him appear homophobic to the gay press and had the effect of alienating much of his audience. Donovan tried to make amends and claimed that he did not sue the magazine out of greed nor homophobia, but because he had been accused of lying to his fans. He also came to an agreement with the publishers of the magazine, which would have closed down should they have paid him the full amount he was awarded (though this amount could well have been reduced upon appeal anyway). Regardless, Donovan's career never recovered from his act of litigation. In a 2007 interview in the magazine "Marie Claire", Donovan admitted that suing
The Face magazine was a misguided mistake that hurt his career.
In 1996, Donovan starred in the natively produced Australian film called "
The Last Bullet" with
Koji Tamaki, directed by
Michael Pattison which was set in World War II on the pacific island of Borneo in the last days of 1945. The film was much under looked, and Donovan was criticise for the unusually serious role. However it was considered one of his best films to date.
His career later suffered from
drug problems. In 1999, he admitted that he still used
cocaine, saying 'I still have a joint and I still take coke, but not as much as I did two years ago.'
He suffers from the skin condition
psoriasis. According to recent media profiles, his two young children and a steady relationship with their mother have tamed him substantially. He has begun to get more steady work as a serious actor, notably in a role in the high-brow medical-legal drama
MDA (2003), on Australia's ABC network.
In late 2004, he was headlining in
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the
London Palladium in England. He finished his original run on
13 March 2005, but was then invited back from June onwards to play in the final two months of the show, until its closure on
4 September 2005. Following this, he has toured the UK performing a few gigs and will return to the stage in 2006 to star in a UK tour of
Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd, from January. After this, he has confirmed he will return to Melbourne to star in
David Eldrige's Australian transfer of the London drama
Festen, before continuing with his intention to make a comeback as a
folk rock singer. Recently, Donovan lent his voice to the
PlayStation 2 game
Buzz!.
He currently performs at various concerts. He performed a medley of songs from
Joseph along with other actors who have played the eponymous role (
Donny Osmond and
Lee Mead) at the
Concert for Diana in July 2007.
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