Australian soap operas: Cinema’s most reliable talent factory
There are no shortcuts that give an actor the fast track to cinema stardom, but based on the constant revolving door that has been populating the industry for decades, the world of Australian soap operas isn’t a bad place to start.
It’s not obligatory for any local performer to ply their trade in one of the nation’s most popular soaps before departing for the bright lights of Hollywood, but it certainly helps. Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, and Cate Blanchett are three of Australia’s finest big screen exports, but none of them showed up in either Neighbours of Home and Away, the established ‘big two’.
However, that does place them firmly in the minority, to the point the easiest way for any Tinseltown talent-spotter to cast their eye over the next potential big thing is simply to take a trip to either the fictional suburb of Erinsborough’s Ramsay Street or the equally fictional seaside town of Summer Bay.
Chris Hemsworth was in both, guesting in an episode of Neighbours before upping sticks for an 189-episode stint on Home and Away. His younger brother Liam pulled similar double duty, while oldest sibling Luke played two different characters on Ramsay Street during a 13-episode run separated by almost a decade to give the ridiculously handsome dynasty shared early footing.
Academy Award winner Russell Crowe isn’t even Australian, but he still played Kenny Larkin in four episodes of Neighbours in 1987, so it’s applicable to any Antipode with eyes on conquering their profession. Primetime Emmy winner Guy Pearce’s first-ever television credit came when he popped up in Erinsborough, and by having his cake and subsequently eating it, his second was Home and Away.
Oscar winner Heath Ledger was in nine episodes of the latter as Scott Irwin, while other notable Summer Bay alumni include certified scream queen and rising star Samara Weaving, two-time Oscar nominee and Kidman’s long-time BFF Naomi Watts. There is also the two-time Golden Globe nominee and The Mentalist star Simon Baker, while both Isla Fisher and Melissa George were mainstays who racked up a mammoth 345 and 466 episodes as Shannon Reed and Angel Parrish, respectively.
Golden Globe nominee, Primetime Emmy winner, and all-around character actor extraordinaire Ben Mendelsohn may have taken a while to become an in-demand presence in Stateside cinema. Still, in what’s long since been established as the habit of the show’s lifetime, one of his earliest gigs came when he added 19 episodes of Neighbours to his filmography between 1986 and 1987.
That’s not even counting the folks who kicked off their careers on Aussie soaps before deciding to try their luck in music instead, although Kylie Minogue and Natalie Imbruglia shouldn’t be forgotten on the soaps-to-superstardom pipeline. It’s become one of the most fruitful proving grounds in the business, but could Margot Robbie be in with a shot at being named the medium’s greatest-ever alumni?
She kicked off her acting career as Donna Freedman to ignite a 355-episode run on Neighbours, and little more than a decade after she departed, Robbie has multiple Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for both performing and producing. She shepherded the all-conquering Barbie to the silver screen and is emerging as a powerhouse behind the scenes and in front of the camera.
It’s not entirely out of the question, but looking at the talent that has emerged over the decades, it’s not as if she’s going to be the last to use Home and Away or Neighbours as a springboard to greatness.
