ScreenTalk

From appearing alongside Lucy Lawless and baby ‘Stanley’ in the 90s ASB Bank ads, to headlining the hit Aussie drama Packed to the Rafters, actor Erik Thomson has built a solid career and a loyal fan base. He has appeared in TV shows such as Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Xena: Warrior Princess, All Saints and The Alice, short films (Snap) and the features We’re Here to Help, The Black Balloon and Somersault.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Thomson talks about:

• Spilling wine over himself on his very first TV shoot on Marlin Bay
• Playing a US soldier in Bread and Roses
• Bringing a ‘Woody Allen’ touch to playing Hades in both Hercules and Xena
• How presenting the Australian travel show Getaway was not as glamorous as it sounds
• Why Packed to the Rafters has been a huge hit due to its ‘everyman’ approach to characters
• How a TV critic had to eat his words after claiming the show would not work
• Never dreaming he would have the career path he has had

This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence.

Actor Roy Billing has become “an overnight sensation in my early 60s” playing ‘Aussie Bob’ Trimbole in the hit Australasian TV drama Underbelly. But before that he had a successful 30 year acting career in both Australia (Rabbit Proof Fence, The Dish and Siam Sunset) and New Zealand (Under the Mountain, Inside Straight, Gliding On and Skin and Bone).

In this ScreenTalk interview, Billing talks about:

• His one-line debut in the movie about the Arthur Allan Thomas case – Beyond Reasonable Doubt
• Being mistaken for a taxi driver on the set of Inside Straight
• Getting a taste of fame after marrying Beryl on Gliding On
• Being accused of impersonating a pilot in a bar while shooting Erebus: The Aftermath
• Basing the character of Tupper on his father in Skin and Bone
• Playing a cross-dresser in Mirror Mirror and looking like his mother-in-law Dame Cath Tizard
• Working with Sam Neill in the Australian film The Dish
• Trying to make the audience love drug dealer ‘Aussie Bob’ Trimbole  in Underbelly
• How the drama became the highest rating show ever in Australia and made his career

This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence.