Another Aussie in LA (general)
Join Ansuya Nathan as she navigates the city of Angels, chatting to some of the shiniest Aussies in L.A., sharing their tales of living, working and playing on this side of the globe.

And we're back with the ubiquitous Damon Herriman, actor of many talents and many faces, most of them uglied down with hours in the make up chair... Oh well. Damon reveals himself to be a complete fatalist and may never act again after this chat... Oh well. We talk about getting offers from David Mamet, how surreal acting opposite Leo DeCaprio is, how awesome INXS is - very! - and the tranquil bliss of a Clint Eastwood set. Oh and I may NEVER work with Zack Snyder. EVER. OH WELL! 

Direct download: Damon_Herriman.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:12am PDT

It's sandals, swords and sex - kinda - with Daniel Feuerriegel, star of the Starz network's Sparactus series. (Enough 'S's do ya think???). Dan and i chat about acting fashions, the ins and outs of playing gay character on cable TV, being a working actor vs. being a superstar, the 10 year overnight success and hos most recent role - playing a proper geezer. We don't quite talk about Australian politics. There are somethings not worth starting...

Direct download: Daniel_Feuerriegel.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:27pm PDT

This is James Mackay - Winner of the 2013 Heath Ledger Scholarship! Yay James!! James is seasoned in the ways of LA so have a listen as we chat about how auditioning is like dating, dodging John Carter shaped bullets, Bollywood fame vs. Hollywood fame and how best to manage actorly expectations. We do some serious bonding over Sydney fringe theatre. Watch this one. He's going places. 

Direct download: James_Mackay.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:51pm PDT

You may not have heard of her but you've probably seen her work - Kate Woods, director of Changi and Looking for Alibrandi, who has worked on countless shows at home (where's that exactly?) and in the States. Kate and I discuss the realities of being a female  working in a male dominated genre, let alone in a male dominated industry, how one phone call can change EVERYTHING (especially if that phone call is made by Anthony LaPagila), the importance of doing your homework and the Underbelly lead recovery of Aussie TV. Coming to you from her little Santa Monica oasis, away from the hullabooloo of "Hollywood". *sigh* You can almost smell my relaxedness! 

Direct download: Kate_Woods.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:07pm PDT

Wish you were here with me and Felicity Price in Laurel Canyon? You know you do. Flick is the co-writer and one of the stars of Wish You Were Here (see what I did there?), a great Aussie film that opened Sundance last year and won loads of awards at home. We talk about the journey of making the film - from the moment of inspiration - she recommends couch lying for muse visitiations - to it opening in across the States - a little later than expected due to The Great Gatsby. We discuss the overwhelming love for Aussies in LA and our fatal flaw for being waaaaaaaaaay too honest. What are you waiting for? Go write yourself a role in a feature and get your husband to direct you! NOW! 

Direct download: Felicity_Price.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:28am PDT

Nicholas Bishop - sometimes good guy, sometimes bad guy but rarely acting in the in-betweens... We chart Nic's ups and downs of four years of livin' and workin' in LA. Number one rule of survival - Don't get sick! (Seems I can't even get that right. BOO!) He extols the virtues of the well oiled machine that is Home and Away, the sublime acting talent of Dana Delany and Alan Dale and the sausage rolls at Coffee + Food. Could you shoot 22 scenes in one day? Nic has... 

Direct download: Nicholas_Bishop_.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:15am PDT

Be thoroughly charmed by Matthew Le Nevez, star of Channel Ten's Offspring. Matty shares stories of losing two jobs in two hours, being arrested in the States, not-quite-working with Sarah Michelle Gellar and his excitement for his next project a biopic of Aussie war photographer, Damien Parer. We talk about the differences between making films and selling films, not giving people excuses not to hire you (i.e. GET A VISA IF YOU CAN!) and trying to capture the essence of Dennis Lillee via his bowling action. Matt's hammies will never be the same again!

Direct download: Matthew_Le_Nevez.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:26am PDT

Here is a gloriously actory chat with Daniel Henshall. You may have been terrified of him in the Aussie film Snowtown based on the "bodies in the barrell" murders. I was! Thankfully, in real life, Dan is an intelligent, soft spoken, thoroughly charming gentle soul with a slightly naughy sense of humour. Perfect for podcast... We get into the meat of his prep and performance in Snowtown, sure - but we also talk about the confidence game of being an actor in LA, the importance of having champions of your work, how awesome Jamie Bell is and bust open the overnight success myth. The history of facial hair is touched upon and he uses the word scoundrel. Yup, he's that kinda guy. 

Direct download: Daniel_Henshall.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:18pm PDT

Shooting the breeze with LA blow-in Celia Pacquola, a comedian and actress who generally splits her time between London and Melbourne... but you never know The City of Angels could get lucky! We chat about the virtues of a higher risk - higher reward approach to work, the importance of taking artistic breathers, how much better it is to write with someone than on your lonesome! We crown Toby Truslove King of ABC and wonder whether Damon Herriman might be an actual lizard - in a good (actory) way, of course. And if you liked season two of LAID, well, you better thank Cels! 

Direct download: Celia_Pacquola.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:18am PDT

Here's Myles Pollard! Star and producer of Aussie surfer drama, Drift. Myles and I chat about making films with mates, monster waves, ignorant tenacity, the changing face of film distribution, competing with Iron Man, Russian accents that morph into Austrian accents, doing what needs to be done and the joy of receiving 4 stars from both Margaret and David!!! I use surfing metatphors occasionally and swear A LOT. Sorry Mum. We try not to do tooooo much drama school reminiscing. But a little is inevitable... 

Direct download: Myles_Pollard.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:52pm PDT