I love Christmas....it's such an incredibly curious time. I love the traditions associated with it, for example my girlfriend, Die Fraulein, makes beautiful cakes and she has shown me pictures of whole houses of gingerbread all made for the yuletide season. In her lovely German village it'll snow, there'll be spiced wine, lovely cakes, loads of food and all their presents opened and shared on Christmas Eve. For me that's a phenomenally unusual thing to do, for me it's up early on Christmas Day, tear through the pressies, sometimes you're already sweating from the heat, head to the rellies, say g'day, hand over pressies, get more back and then hit the beers, scoff the food and have a merry old time on the back verandah with the sun in the sky! Sometimes there's a swim in the pool but not this year......and as I've been typing this Die Fraulein has sent me a stunning picture of the snow on her lunch break! Oh the beauty of it, the silent majesty of winter's morn! These are the traditions that we're brought up with in Australia but as I've said, our weather is far from soft snow and still mists. So we make our own traditions, for example myself and my mates, THE BEER SOCK CHALLENGE. We place a stubby holder on a fence and then kick a football at it until we knock it off....simple but fun! THE BROOMSTICK CHALLENGE, a contender takes broom, holds it vertically above them and spins around 30 times while staring at the end and then tries to jump over it.
These are silly, and sometimes stupid fun, but for myself and my brother it's playing Resident Evil! That's right, slaying zombies is the order of the day during the yuletide season! It started about 6 years ago when we first scored out Game Cube, we hired Resident Evil and through a glitch ended up hiring it for about 12 days for the price of 4! It was over the Christmas break so there was plenty of time to bring down Umbrella Corp. Ever since then, in the days between my birthday and Chrissy the zombie hunt has been on!
Now the big segue into the next instalment of my blog about Foreign Exchange, my spiel about Christmas is actually rather appropriate because it was the day before Christmas Eve when my agent Sue rang me up and said I have bagged my Christmas present, the role of Brett Miller in Foreign Exchange.
But, before that magic moment there were 2 weeks of stress as the producers in Ireland and Germany ummmed and ahhhed about me. Sue was always straight forward, "you're 90% there, but they could still say no". It's not what I wanted to hear, I was so close how could they say no now? So I played stupid games with myself like I do when I go for auditions. I used to play golf, well if you could call it that, on Saturday's when I was 16 and one day I had a tough putt and I said to myself "Self, if you bag this you've got the gig in Foreign Exchange", so I did and I did!!!
Now it was a rather hectic Christmas that Christmas in 2004 because we had to organise school work and a life that was about to completely change! I knew that I wasn't going back to school in February and that added to the partying lifestyle over those days and given I only had 25 days before I would be gone for 6 months things weren't dull. I wrestled with my feelings around my high school girlfriend, I wanted to be with her but she wasn't sure because I would be gone for so long.....ahhhh teenagers.....but the contact with my teachers was most interesting.
My school principal, Brother Hubert, was incredibly supportive. It was rather striking given he's a brother for fucks sakes but he was far more supportive than the bloody drama department. I loved doing drama at high school but this was bullshit, the single department I could not wait to tell and there was some interest but more interest in telling me to divert my studies for a year. Bollocks to that! I wanted to finish school with my mates, not prolong it! That was a small mishap in an otherwise amazing build up to my departure on January 16th.
Dad told me there's nothing sadder or lonelier than an empty schoolyard and the day I went to get my books out of my locker I realised how true this was. I went to a school with 500 kids in my year, walking across the playground I could hear all those voices in this void of tarmac and bricks. For a moment I didn't want to leave, miss out on all these parties and final year celebrations, birthdays, a footy season and the shared stress of exams.....there may have been some tears as I walked out of the gates for the final time for 6 months!
January 16th came around quick, I was up early to fly out of Sydney at 1pm. My Aunty Julie would accompany me the way over and for a few weeks there but that didn't diminish the sadness of leaving Newcastle. Saying goodbye to all my mates, especially my close ones like Dan and Tomski, was arduous but they gave me a "Go and get stuck in" kick up the arse.
Suddenly i was hugging my Mum, Dad and brother goodbye and I was on the plane to Perth.....the home of Brett Miller and then there was no chance to look back........
Tuesday 20 December 2011
Sunday 4 December 2011
It sounds like it could be alright?
Ok, so I've no excuses not to write tonight. The weather is pants, there's bugger all on the box so I'm going to put on the replay of the Jets v Victory match and start writing this. For the record, the Jets had a top win against the Victory 3 -1!! Harry who???
I've been getting, and love getting, some tweets and posts asking me about 'Foreign Exchange', not just about a second season but about how I came to be involved in the show. Being such an important aspect of my life I have committed a lot of it to memory and have many videos and photos of the shoot, I even kept a diary. For me, 'Foreign Exchange' not only began my acting career it taught me everything you need to know practically about working on a set. Still, beyond those lessons it also taught me tenacity, commitment, work ethic, fatigue and further to that what Irish hospitals are like ha! Not often do 17 year olds spend 6 months in a situation like that so I enjoyed it for every bit that it was worth.
It was just another screentest, I had just joined a very powerful agent in Australia a few months prior. Sue offered me a place in her stables after seeing a tape I had done as part of a competition. Sometimes I believe in fate, generally I like to think I'm in control but I believe we are presented with situations and it's up to us to decide what to do. Joining Sue was very fortuitous! One of her junior agents Michael, who is now my agent and manager, a lovely bloke and a dogged agent, rang and told me about this show that was to be shot in Perth and Ireland in 2004. He said "It sounds like it could be alright.....". I received the breakdowns, scripts and times but I was also going for a role in a very funny short film at the same time. When auditions like 'Foreign Exchange' come through they're great but they look so far and wide you try not to get too excited. Basically, I thought I was a chance, just not as big a chance as I was for this short film!
I had to play a real dag for it....a dork to use a more global term. I had greased hair, braces on, bad clothes and it was very comical. I'm a bit of a dag anyway so I figured I'm in!!!!! That audition came and went as did 'Foreign Exchange' then Michael rang me one day after school. I was convinced it was for the short film.....no....they wanted me to come back again for 'Foreign Exchange'. Shit! Ok?
The call back was in early-December, I remember it was very early school holidays because my Mum and I stayed in Sydney the night before due to the audition being very early the next day. We were practicing the audition scene in the hotel room and had some dickhead banging on the wall telling me to shut-up! He was a gobshite and interrupting his tax deductible slumber was worth it. For the record the audition scene was the one where Wayne pushed Brett over all the cakes that had been prepared....I can't remember which ep? There also another one, it was the one where Hannah comes through the portal in the second episode and Jackie springs her in the basement with Brett. One of several ahhh 'interesting' situations Brett and Hannah found themselves in with MINIMAL questions asked.....we had a very funny theory for this when we started shooting. I will tell you later....
The call back was at one of my favourite casting agents, it's in a great spot in Sydney and has a great history with film and television. Adorning the walls are pictures of my favourite actors and some very famous TV shows, it's like being in a hall of fame. Still I was there to do a job! There was a young bloke from Canberra and one from the Gold Coast and then me from Newcastle! I was nervous, but not too nervous, you always get amped before auditions....I can't help it! It reminds me of playing a game of footy. I met a bloke called Noel, a lovely man, and ran the scenes. It was just like any other but I always remember a moment where he turned and smiled to the casting director. At the time I tried to not read into it.....
So we came home later that morning and Mum went to work. My good friend Helen was minding this utterly spectacular house in the hills up the road from my joint in suburban Newcastle. It was a dead set mansion! I popped up to say g'day and she showed me around, I remember we were looking at one of the gigantic rooms upstairs that looked straight out to the ocean. It was like somewhere Batman would live.....and should! That's when her phone rang.....it was my brother saying I should come home quickly because Sue needed to speak to me. Sue? It was usually a big deal if Sue wanted to speak to me.
Helen and I wandered back to my joint and that's when Blondie said to me "I think they want you for that role this morning?"..............
I've been getting, and love getting, some tweets and posts asking me about 'Foreign Exchange', not just about a second season but about how I came to be involved in the show. Being such an important aspect of my life I have committed a lot of it to memory and have many videos and photos of the shoot, I even kept a diary. For me, 'Foreign Exchange' not only began my acting career it taught me everything you need to know practically about working on a set. Still, beyond those lessons it also taught me tenacity, commitment, work ethic, fatigue and further to that what Irish hospitals are like ha! Not often do 17 year olds spend 6 months in a situation like that so I enjoyed it for every bit that it was worth.
It was just another screentest, I had just joined a very powerful agent in Australia a few months prior. Sue offered me a place in her stables after seeing a tape I had done as part of a competition. Sometimes I believe in fate, generally I like to think I'm in control but I believe we are presented with situations and it's up to us to decide what to do. Joining Sue was very fortuitous! One of her junior agents Michael, who is now my agent and manager, a lovely bloke and a dogged agent, rang and told me about this show that was to be shot in Perth and Ireland in 2004. He said "It sounds like it could be alright.....". I received the breakdowns, scripts and times but I was also going for a role in a very funny short film at the same time. When auditions like 'Foreign Exchange' come through they're great but they look so far and wide you try not to get too excited. Basically, I thought I was a chance, just not as big a chance as I was for this short film!
I had to play a real dag for it....a dork to use a more global term. I had greased hair, braces on, bad clothes and it was very comical. I'm a bit of a dag anyway so I figured I'm in!!!!! That audition came and went as did 'Foreign Exchange' then Michael rang me one day after school. I was convinced it was for the short film.....no....they wanted me to come back again for 'Foreign Exchange'. Shit! Ok?
The call back was in early-December, I remember it was very early school holidays because my Mum and I stayed in Sydney the night before due to the audition being very early the next day. We were practicing the audition scene in the hotel room and had some dickhead banging on the wall telling me to shut-up! He was a gobshite and interrupting his tax deductible slumber was worth it. For the record the audition scene was the one where Wayne pushed Brett over all the cakes that had been prepared....I can't remember which ep? There also another one, it was the one where Hannah comes through the portal in the second episode and Jackie springs her in the basement with Brett. One of several ahhh 'interesting' situations Brett and Hannah found themselves in with MINIMAL questions asked.....we had a very funny theory for this when we started shooting. I will tell you later....
The call back was at one of my favourite casting agents, it's in a great spot in Sydney and has a great history with film and television. Adorning the walls are pictures of my favourite actors and some very famous TV shows, it's like being in a hall of fame. Still I was there to do a job! There was a young bloke from Canberra and one from the Gold Coast and then me from Newcastle! I was nervous, but not too nervous, you always get amped before auditions....I can't help it! It reminds me of playing a game of footy. I met a bloke called Noel, a lovely man, and ran the scenes. It was just like any other but I always remember a moment where he turned and smiled to the casting director. At the time I tried to not read into it.....
So we came home later that morning and Mum went to work. My good friend Helen was minding this utterly spectacular house in the hills up the road from my joint in suburban Newcastle. It was a dead set mansion! I popped up to say g'day and she showed me around, I remember we were looking at one of the gigantic rooms upstairs that looked straight out to the ocean. It was like somewhere Batman would live.....and should! That's when her phone rang.....it was my brother saying I should come home quickly because Sue needed to speak to me. Sue? It was usually a big deal if Sue wanted to speak to me.
Helen and I wandered back to my joint and that's when Blondie said to me "I think they want you for that role this morning?"..............
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