“Underneath, he’s a different character.”

It appearsSimon Cowellisn’t as scary asAmerican Idolmade him out to be.

Darnell first took notice of Cowell’s candor during an audition taping in Hollywood.

American Idol judge Simon Cowell at the FOX 2002 SummerTCA Tour at the Huntington Ritz Carlton Hotel in Pasadena, CA on Monday, July 22, 2002

Simon Cowell on ‘American Idol’.Kevin Winter/ImageDirect

“The mean judge, the frank judge.

Simon, to his credit, was willing to do anything.”

However, “underneath, he’s a different character,” Darnell said.

“WatchBritain’s Got TalentorAmerica’s Got Talentnow and he’s a much softer version now.”