And then did you think, well, I’m going to go to Hollywood? No, I didn’t think that at all. It was all just a pipe dream, like how cool that would be. But I was of the mind that every single person sitting in that cinema was looking at the person in the film and going, ‘I want to be an actor too. That would be really great.’
And so, what would you say to young aspiring actors? What would you recommend that they have to do to have a successful career in acting? A successful career in acting can be measured in so many different ways, and the obvious way to measure a successful career in acting is how you are perceived by the public. Right. But I would also suggest to not worry about how you’re perceived by the public, but to worry more about your ideas and your privileged position, the honour of being able to connect, which always comes back to the truth. How you connect with anyone is about truth.
What projects are you working on today? I’m developing two different projects for different films that I’m going to direct in Australia. I am signed on to do a film next year and another Australian film, which is a biopic of someone quite well known, an Australian artist called Del Kathryn Barton. I’m now in the process of developing stuff to work on as a director, but I don’t want to work too much at the moment because I’ve got one kid left at home and he has one year left of school and he’s my youngest and I’ve made a commitment to myself and to him to be home as much as possible.
Do you regret not having been there for your other children or having been there less? It’s not about regret so much. It’s more just, it’s a combination of time moving in a direction for me and for them. And you know, I’ve got three kids and, in a year, year and a half, we’ll be empty nesters, so what does that mean? It’s like, okay, well I’ve only got this much time, so I am going to make the very most of it.
You have been married for more than 20 years now. Obviously, you’re a really good-looking guy, a model. You probably get a lot of opportunities. What would you say are the keys to a successful marriage, especially when working within your industry? Any relationship is not without many, many challenges. So, I guess it’s, it’s never really taking the great moments for granted. I think the truth is that having kids has put so much more into the relationship, it takes the focus and the attention of both of you. You’ve got to have kind of a united goal, which is raising the kids and enjoying that experience. I think you do it because you want to do it.
What do you believe is your mission in life? I think just to get through it without too much carnage, carnage for yourself and for others. Carnage for yourself is a tough one because it’s a profession in which people can be self- destructive.
Would you want your children to follow in your footsteps? I want my kids to be happy. You know, if one wants to be a plumber or one wants to be a poet, I want them to be happy.
