As a young man you went overseas to study interior design but ended up being deeply involved in the Arts, what was your parent’s response when you returned home and told your mom that you actually wanted to be an actor?

 

My mother was kind of supportive because they knew from the get go that I was deeply interested in the arts.  My mother always knew my determination to be an actor but because I had already graduated as an interior designer she was supportive in the sense that if this acting thing didn’t work out I had another career to fall back on and I think the main reason why she believed in my acting dream so much was because during the time I was studying in London I had met up with a couple of young actors who allowed me to be involved in their theatre productions.  During my time there I’d assist with stage managing, during rehearsals I’d help the actors with their scripts, so from then on I think I proved to my mother that acting wasn’t just a phase I was going through but it was truly the real deal.

 

What are your thoughts on this trend of reality TV stars and presenters landing acting jobs whilst those who have received formal training are left outside in the cold?

 

I absolutely believe that in order to have longevity in this industry you need a strong acting foundation; this fly by night trend does not work in the long run.  Just because you have a nice smile and personality and that you’re the flavour of the month won’t get you far in this industry it’s a very tough industry to sustain yourself in so these fly by night opportunities I don’t consider to be solid careers for one to get into.  But if you’re going to be an actor’s actor you cannot pretend to be one just because you’re a presenter who suddenly has a part on some series on television that’s absolutely not a solid foundation for one to thrive in.  Understandably so for some producers I guess it’s about television rates and box office success where you’ll get a trained actor who will audition with a presenter but for viewership reasons the producer will hire the latter. It doesn’t always work because the presenter or reality star will realise that they can't longer pull this off any longer.

 

If you were to be stuck in an elevator with your favourite actor Harry Dean Stanton, what questions would you ask him?

 

[Grins] Harry Dean Stanton, what a cool guy!  I would be very interested to know about his character choices as an actor, he’s had a very curious and interesting career I must say.  I definitely would be flabbergasted if I were to be stuck in an elevator with him but I just get the feeling that he’s not the sort of guy to be feed on people’s appraisals of him he’d probably tell me to bugger off or something.  Harry, such a cool guy I mean if it were Jack Nicholson that I was stuck with I’d probably be very professional and not even look his way but with Harry I’d definitely spark up a lengthy conversation with him.

 

If I were to simmer through your book shelf at home, which books would you recommend I read as a young adult living in these times?

 

Hmmm, now you’ve caught me up short but I do know that an author like Gore Vidal has had a tremendous influence in my life; not only his books but his essays and how he wrote about the end of the American empire which is essentially what you youngsters of today are witnessing and are going to be living through.   This is going to have a massive effect on us because the world is and has been about the Americans and I just find it very interesting how he fore-saw a new empire emerging so I’d strongly recommend that you read his books and essays of the history of America.  I’d especially recommend you read his novel titled “Burr”, “Hollywood” and “Lincoln” which was way better than the movie trust me.

 

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