The decision also comes as Crawford accepts a main role in the stage musical Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat, which will open in Melbourne in November.The Hawks legend’s TV credits include The Footy Show, Getaway, Postcards, Kids WB, The Celebrity Apprentice and Australian Ninja Warrior.“I loved all that, and I’ve done it for a long time, but I just didn’t want to commit,” Crawford said of his TV career.This is probably the biggest commitment because we’re performing every day, and sometimes twice a day.“I’m getting older now, and I just want to do things that make me feel a bit nervous, on edge, and feel alive,” Crawford said. “I wouldn’t discount doing anything down the track, but just at the moment, I don’t want to.”After being cast as Pharaoh in the hit Broadway and West End musical, which opens at the Regent Theatre in November, the Hawthorn legend hopes the unexpected career path helps him heal and smile againBut the announcement comes as Crawford struggles to process the loss of his brother, Justin, who died suddenly last month.“If I’m honest, I don’t feel like doing a great deal at the moment because when you lose someone you love – he was my younger brother and someone that I shared a room with for 13 or 14 years – it’s very difficult,” Crawford told the Herald Sun.He added: “When you lose someone to suicide, you’re an emotional rollercoaster. You cry every day, you ask questions, you ask ‘why’ every day. You get angry, you get frustrated. It’s a tough time, not only for me, but for my mum, for our family, and for everyone who had a connection with Justin. We all loved him.”Crawford successfully auditioned for, and committed to, the Pharaoh role a few weeks before Justin died.Justin, a former Sydney and Hawthorn AFL footballer, was 45.But Crawford said the role and new challenge would help him step slowly back into life again.“That’s been a real driving force,” he said. “It’s been a difficult month, and moving forward will help me get refocused on getting on with things. I’ve got to live life, and get on with it, even though we’re hurting every day. “I think throwing myself into something that I’d already committed to, before Justin’s passing, is important. I’ve got to try and get my head back into a space where I can get out, and be a part of things, and make the most out of life, because it’s precious, and time flies, and you’ve got to make the most of things.” Crawford racked up 305 games at the Hawks, and played in Hawthorn’s premiership-winning team in 2008. He is a TV presenter and author and has raised $2m for breast cancer causes.Crawford was asked to audition for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat by the show’s producers. Pharaoh performs three songs in the show.He tried out for the role, via Skype, for a panel based in London and New York. “I thought about it and decided, just go for it. It’s not as though they’re going to give me the job anyway, and it will be a good excuse to do something different, which will make me feel up and about and alive,” Crawford said.He performed Song Of The King with the show’s musical director, then humbly told the producers: “Thank you very much. That’s me. That’s all I’ve got. You can work with me and train me, and I’ll put everything into it, but I don’t have any more than that”.“From what I’m told, they don’t mess around with auditions. They have a look at you, and say, ‘thank you very much for coming, but you’re not the right fit’. You know where you stand, which is not a bad thing,” Crawford said.“(Theatre producers) in America and England have no idea who I am, and they’re looking at people as performers, so it was a very different space to be in. In the past, I probably got the gig because I was able to kick a football.”But the producers told Crawford: “You’ve given us something to think about. You also sound like you’re in tune”.A week later they offered him the job.“I was debating back and forth whether I’m all in, or not,” Crawford said. “A month and a half ago, I had my head around it, like, yep, I’m all in. Then, unfortunately, Justin passing away made me rethink everything about life. You put a real pause on everything, and you just get through that period.”Shane and Justin were as close as brothers could be, playing footy, cricket, tennis, hockey, golf, and they also enjoyed BMX biking.They grew up, with their older brother Andrew, in Finley, NSW, raised by their loving mother Dianne.“Mum would go off to work – single mother – so I was the one to look after Justin,” Crawford told the Herald Sun. “Our older brother went off to Melbourne to be a butcher, so Justin and I were pretty independent. I was the big brother, telling him what to do, and what not to do, and we had a great relationship. “I got to play footy with him at Hawthorn, which I really loved. But everyone loved that Justin was a free spirit, and he did things differently. We really loved that. “When someone passes away, all you try to think about is the good times and the fun times. In reflection, there were so many.“He always made us laugh, and always put a smile on our face, mainly from the outfits he was wearing, because he loved going to op shops. “It’s just sad that, unfortunately, you end your life in a way where you feel like you’ve hit a roadblock, and there’s no way out,” Crawford said. “That’s the hardest thing all of us are trying to get out heads around.”Asked for a favourite memory of Justin, Crawford replied: “He would make so much noise when he ate. Oh my goodness. We would always tell him, ‘Mate, stop making so much noise!’ “He’d get food all over his face, all over his clothes, all over the table. He would say he couldn’t breathe while he was eating and that’s why he had to make all those noises. It carried on until his 40s,” Crawford said, laughing. “Anyone who had dinner with him, or spent some time with him, would say the same thing. It was very annoying.”Crawford added: “We really miss him”.Crawford will star in Joseph alongside seasoned singers and theatre performers, Paulini Curuenavuli and Euan Fistrovic Doidge.“I’m very coachable and I’ll be doing exactly what I’m told,” Crawford said. “Being part of a team that goes out there to perform, and just making people happy, I want to be a part of that. “As for the other members in the cast, I will definitely make them shine. If they compare themselves to me, they’ll come out looking like winners.“This is probably going to be the most nerve-racking thing I’ve ever done, and it will really test me, but that’s life,” Crawford said. “You’ve got to go for it, you’ve got to have a crack.“And when I get out there, on stage, it will be nice to see an audience and everyone having a good time. That’s what it’s all about. Hopefully,” Crawford said, “that will make me smile again.” Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat opens at the Regent Theatre on November 13. 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