Aussie actors are making it big in US TV shows, as well as Hollywood blockbusters. Source: Supplied
THERE was a time, not so long ago, when a lucky few like Cate, Nicole and Russell proved an exception to the rule that TV and film was ruled by Americans.
Now, with a new TV season looming in the US, the new-look “Gumleaf Mafia” is sweeping through box-office blockbusters and high-quality TV series like never before.
So chronic is Hollywood’s taste for Australian talent, a recent article in the esteemed US publication The Atlantic — titled The Decline of The American Actor — asked why so many good roles have been going to actors from Australia, England and Canada.
And it’s a valid question.
Of the top five TV series set to air on NBC this year, three are headlined by Aussie actors, while no fewer than 15 different series — across both commercial and cable networks — also star actors from Down Under.
Top of that list is Sullivan Stapleton, star of the hugely anticipated NBC action series Blind Spot, which has been slotted into the network’s prime scheduling position, right behind The Voice, starting September 21.
Sullivan Stapleton, who is the star of NBC series Blind Spot, has appeared in 300: Rise of an Empire. Source: Supplied
The network’s second-most hyped show, Heartbreaker, sees Australia’s Melissa George return to the small screen as ‘‘a heart surgeon with a racy personal life’’.
And finally there’s the gripping crime drama Game Of Silence, starring Aussies David Lyons and Claire van der Boom, which has been developed by the same team behind the multi-billion-dollar CSI franchise.
For van der Boom it’s the latest break in a six-year slog that began when she snared a US green card back in 2008 following a series of Aussie stage and screen roles.
Damon Herriman is the star of Justified. Source: Supplied
Claire van der Boom. Picture: Gregg Porteous Source:News Corp Australia
Now based in Los Angeles, she says the sound of the Aussie accent is never far away.
“You hear it in every cafe you walk into,” van der Boom laughs. “Long gone are the days when the odd Australian was a cute novelty. You literally hear the accent in every zone in LA you drive into.”
The lure, she says, is bona fide opportunity — evidenced by the swarm of Australians on both the big and small screens.
“It’s a bit of a numbers game but it feels like the longer you are prepared to stick it out — and if you have a bit of talent and can work hard — things are genuinely possible.”
Sydney’s Benedict Samuel is further proof of that.
Appearing in Home And Away just four years ago, the 27-year-old this year snared a role in the cult zombie series The Walking Dead and will also be seen soon in this year’s Sundance Film Festival breakout indie smash The Stanford Prison Experiment.
“It’s definitely been a big couple of years,” says Samuel, brother of Twilight star Xavier Samuel.
“There’s a really great feeling among the Australians in Hollywood.
“There’s so many of us and we all support each other and it’s a really nice feeling, being able to sit back and see so many people doing so well.
“It’s a great motivator to keep going and keep pushing for new things.”
THE AUSSIE STARS IN US TV SHOWS AND MOVIES
Another Sydneysider, Damon Herriman, still buzzing from a breakout performance in Breaking Bad, returns this year in the Vince Gilligan-directed Battle Creek for CBS, while Kiwi import Martin Henderson will take up a new role in the long-running smash hit Grey’s Anatomy.
Joining them: former McLeod’s Daughters alumni Matt Passmore, who will appear as a male gigolo in Satisfaction for the USA Network; Clare Bowen returns to the award-winning Nashville; and Luke Mitchell and Dichen Lachman in the Marvel spin-off Agents Of Shield.
Clare Bowen, the Aussie actress and singer best known for her role as Scarlett O'Connor in the ABC musical-drama television series Nashville. Source: Supplied
Then there is Caitlin Stasey and her fellow Aussie Adelaide Kane starring in the period bodice-ripper Reign, while one-time Dancing With The Stars host Dan MacPherson will soon appear in the MTV sci-fi series The Shannara Chronicles and the indie flick Infini.
The list of Aussies dominating the film industry, too, is equally staggering.
Queenslander Jason Clarke, who got his first start on Halifax f.p. back in 1995, has no less than six major films slated for upcoming release on the back of his breakout performance as an al- Qaeda interrogator in Zero Dark Thirty.
Jai Courtney plays Kyle Reese in Terminator Genisy. Source: Supplied
Topping the list is his current turn as John Connor in the recently released Terminator Genisys, and his upcoming role as the head of the Gestapo, and the architect of the “Final Solution”, Reinhard Heydrich in the anticipated World War II epic HHHH opposite fellow Australian Mia Wasikowska.
They’re joined on the A List by Sydneysider Brenton Thwaites (now filming Pirates Of The Caribbean 5 on the Gold Coast), Isla Fisher, Rebel Wilson, Margot Robbie, Chris Hemsworth, his brother Liam, Jai Courtney and Sydney’s Hugo Johnstone-Burt, who is riding high on the back of his role in the smash San Andreas.
Johnstone-Burt says the Aussie invasion of Hollywood is a trend that doesn’t appear to be letting up.
“I think we’re more than just hot for the minute ... I think we have really established ourselves as good actors because of our work ethic and personality,” he says.
A solid theatrical background, too, is widely considered one of the reasons Australians are so high on every casting director’s wish list.
While most US actors come fresh from a modelling agency, waving their Screen Actors Guild card, it’s uncommon to find an Aussie thespian who hasn’t spent a good chunk of time in one of the country’s big drama schools, like The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) or the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA).
“Most of the Australian actors are trained ... they have honed their art, while in LA there are a lot of models that think that because they are good looking they can jump into acting roles,” says Johnstone-Burt.
“Sometimes there are roles for them but they’re normally projects without any substance whatsoever.’’
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