Working with Sam Neill & Marta Dusseldorp: Set Lessons from Damien Strouthos - Ep 98

Welcome back to another insightful instalment of the Two Unemployed Actors podcast. 

In Episode 98, your host Max Belmonte sits down with the incredibly talented and versatile Damien Strouthos. This conversation is a deep dive into the nuanced craft of Acting, offering listeners a rare look at how a professional performer approaches their work with both discipline and creative freedom. It is an exploration of the relentless dedication required to thrive.

 The heart of this episode focuses on the intricate art of character study. Damien shares his personal process for bringing significantly more to a role than what is simply written on the page. He explains how Actors can find the "unspoken" layers of a character to create a performance that feels authentic, unpredictable, and lived-in. This segment is a must-listen for anyone looking to elevate their audition technique or character preparation process today.

 We also explore the technical side of the craft, specifically the enduring benefits of revisiting Shakespearean works. Damien breaks down why classical training remains a vital tool for the modern performer, helping to sharpen vocal precision and emotional range for the camera. Whether you are a seasoned veteran or just starting your journey, these technical insights provide a clear roadmap for long-term artistic growth and professional sustainability in an ever-evolving landscape.

 Beyond the technicalities, Damien shares fascinating stories from his time working on major sets. He reflects on the invaluable lessons learned while sharing the screen with industry titans like Sam Neill and Marta Dusseldorp. These anecdotes offer a glimpse into the professional standards and collaborative spirit required at the highest levels of the Australian screen industry.

 Join us for a masterclass in resilience as Damien Strouthos pulls back the curtain on his career. From the rehearsal room to the big screen, this episode is packed with actionable advice and inspiration for every artist navigating the life of an Actor. 

 Subscribe for more insights!

Episode Webpage:  https://shorturl.at/1MbOO

Transcript

Intro 0:00

Two unemployed actors. Two unemployed actors. They're just between projects.

MAX 0:11

Welcome back to two unemployed actors. I'm Max, and joining me today is actor Damien Struthos. Did did I pronounce that right?

DAMIEN 0:21

Mate, you absolutely nailed it. I actually was just thinking on the way here on the driveover. I was like, I know he's gonna have to say it, and he's reading it off a page, and he's gonna go, oh no.

MAX 0:30

Right?

DAMIEN 0:31

But you nailed it, you killed it.

MAX 0:32

So I've got to do was ask you. I actually got it written down to ask you, you know, just to check that I'm pronouncing it right. But anyway, okay, four points to me. Fantastic. I won't have to edit that out at all. That's brilliant. So with a background across uh the stage, uh Whopper graduate, um, some film and television credits to your name, and and most recently in the 12. But Foxdall, credit to them for investing in scripted drama because it seems like there's so many reality programs and well, reality is so cheap to make, you know, that it's very small crews, and there isn't a team of writers who are constantly, you know, working 24-7 for months and months during pre-pre pre-production and production up until the end, you know, that it's it's just so cheap to make.

DAMIEN 1:19

So I guess that's the way the world goes. And I think also uh with the rise of social media and stuff like that, there is a there is a like a deep want for for the public to to want to view voyeuristic, like voyeur, like view people's lives, they want to watch real real people.

MAX 1:36

Make them feel better about their own, perhaps. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. Exactly.

DAMIEN 1:40

And they want, you know, they want something to complain about in the office the next day.

MAX 1:44

Well, the the 12 is like it's a fantastic series, and I mean what a what a cast, too. Obviously, because you're in it, but also there's Sam Neil, um, Kate Mulvaney, you know, some some some big uh names, particularly in Australia. And it was was it intimidating for you at all coming coming into a cast like that or joining a production with a cast?

DAMIEN 2:05

I was really like walking to set the first day, um, walking into the the courtroom the first day where sort of everyone was together um was incredibly exciting, I think. Okay, and and this the brilliance of someone like a Sam Neil is he will make the entire set feel at ease um when he's sort of doing his doing his his bit. Um it was kind of amazing to sort of watch someone of that caliber, and I want to be very careful about how I use my words here, but um, stop and start. I was gonna say screw up, but like him doing his like him going through his lines, playing a barrister um called called Colby, who is defending Kate. And so he has a lot, a lot in the courtroom, obviously. And sort of day one, he's there and he's got pages of dialogue, and so could Martha Disable. And I and I asked Martha afterwards, I was like, oh my god, were you nervous? You had you know 100 people watching you or this being Marta turned to me very sweetly and said, I've done a lot of theatre. Um I was like, Oh, sorry, of course, of course, Marta. But Sam had this other this other brilliant way of making the the whole set feel at ease when he would stop um if he dropped a line, make a joke, yeah, go back to the top and just keep going without cutting. Never cut, he never cut himself, which I was like, oh wow. So um not never intimidated like by the actors uh doing the work. I think just it yeah, probably just generally intimidating having so many um wonderful, you know, powerhouse actors in the same place in one room. We're talking, you know, yeah, as you say, came off anymore, but this will talk Sam Neil, Brendan Cow, Halloween Shadow, who plays uh the head juror, Brooke Satchwell, um, Kat Van Daddy's like the it's endless. It's crazy. And like newcomers like Migali Shaw and Toby, Toby Bloem. There's so many of the like incredible people in one space, in one place. So it's unbelievable.

MAX 3:58

It's kind of like a masterclass for you, really, every day on set. You'd be pinching yourself.

DAMIEN 4:03

Well, it spent a lot of time as a jury member listening, like doing a lot of nothing. A lot of time doing nothing, which was awesome and and at times really tedious. But there was certain like you know, there was never there was never a moment where I didn't have someone to watch or something to be picking up on um during the during the six months we shot.

MAX 4:23

That's great. And and so over that six months period, I mean, it's kind of every player's really integral. I mean, it's not like you can come in for two months and you know, you're you're all in the room together, all 12 of you. Um it is about all of you um and your and your journey. I think did you have much of an opportunity to bring more to your character than what was on the page?

DAMIEN 4:48

It's a really, really good question. And actually, yes. Um, I think something that I was incredibly proud of and fortunate, just so lucky. Um, Greg Waters, the script producer, who who welcomed us really early on, um particularly those characters who are played by ethnically diverse people, um, of which there were lots. Like it was it's an it's an incredibly diverse show and so brilliant to see on Australian TV. It's fantastic. And what Greg Waters Waters did beautifully was he invited us to go, okay. Well, look, you're playing Alexi Menelao, he's a Greek origin, second generation, Greek descendant, and so are you. What you know, what can you bring? And actually, there were things um every every episode I was allowed to sort of bring what I thought was appropriate um culturally. And I said, Look, I want to rewrite this scene in Greek. Can I do it in Greek? And they said, Yeah, go ahead. So I rewrote it in Greek uh with my auntie. Um, not rewrote the script, we did the dialogue, we we translated it into Greek, and we got to perform it with Lex Maranos, who's another fabulous actor. Um, uh with Ben Mingo, who plays my brother, and we got to have a scene in entirely in Greek, which was really cool. And it just, I don't know, that kind of stuff doesn't always happen. So to be invited to do that was really special.

MAX 6:03

Yeah, that's that's fantastic. So I guess uh it sort of must have all really felt like and very quickly like a you know, a big sort of family unit where everyone's sort of working and singing to the same tune and just bringing something to set each day, you know, trying to add something special.

DAMIEN 6:21

Um much to the right is sometimes I think because because Greg offered this is one of the things I talked to Greg about this as well, because he had made that offer really early on, actors were constantly coming up with like new things, and the re the rewrites are happening on the day, and the writers must be pulling their hair out because they're getting phone calls from the director being like, Hey, can we change something like that? It was it was a lot, it was a lot for the writers. Sarah Walker as well, who sort of took over, um, who was the head writer on it as well. I mean, kudos to her and her patience with all of us, me in particular, I think. Um, such a yeah, such such a patient person, such a talent.

MAX 6:56

So, yeah, I mean, lots of actors passionate about their characters, you're always gonna get that and and that little and that little bit of tension, you're gonna push for a little bit extra, um, you know, to help your character land. But that's fantastic that that you it in an environment where you felt safe to offer up something like that, um, let alone um have them agree to it and run run with it. That's that's fantastic. Um I know sometimes on a set it can feel very closed in terms of opportunities to to even try take certain you know, slightly different uh than the than the very specific direction, but uh that's okay, it's just my trauma coming through there too.

DAMIEN 7:36

No, I think everyone I think everyone's had an experience. Anyone who's I mean, I've only I've done I think a handful of days on home and away, and it was very much like no, the exact words. Yeah, the exact word, there's no and there's no time either. There's no there's zero time to I have an idea, no ideas, zero ideas. Just do what you're told, stand there, look here, and then get off because we've got we've got 16 more you know episodes to shoot today.

MAX 7:59

Well, we've got another five hours to shoot today or something, you know. It's like ridiculous how much footage and three cameras at once. And I interviewed Shane Withington or uh uh a couple few weeks ago who's into his 14th year uh of his character, and uh he said, Oh, we used we always joke that you know you your first take and your warm-up take sort of thing is when you walk onto set, because you get it doesn't matter who you are, whether you're a guesty 50-worder or you're a you know you're a regular, you you get two takes, that's it, moving on.

DAMIEN 8:27

Yeah, and I and I got to watch him work, we had our our scenes were together.

MAX 8:31

Fantastic.

DAMIEN 8:31

He's a fantastic actor, but also like such a continent professional and so good at that kind of um that kind of television. And like I think people tend to shit on Home and Away a lot, but what it teaches you if you're on the show for a while, because my partner did three years on Home and Away when she was very young, um, when she was, I think, 17 years old, she straight out of high school, kind of went on to Home and Away and did three years. And that was her drama school, that was her training ground. Um, and and she became a genius at continuity, she became a genius at getting her, um, making bold choices quickly and then executing them really well. So it's like, you know, people might might poo-poo home and away in a little in a bit, but until you've actually been on set and you've been there and done it, it's really difficult to say, you know, to talk about the quality of the show. You're like, there's no time, and these actors are really under the pump.

MAX 9:21

That's it. You've got you've got to turn up prepared, have options ready, you know, ready to go, because it's a fluid environment and yeah, they shoot really quick, three cameras at once. Like it's just I think the one one at the last time I had a 50 word, I was um a lifeguard, and it was a big scene for them, the food truck explosion. So there's fire and fire brigade, there's police, you know, there's all these extras and and of the of the regular cast members, and they're like, okay, and you've got a cue to race on on the scene, then a cue to say something, then a cue to grab the fire extinguisher, and a different cue to fire it. And I've got to know which direction I'm doing all this stuff, and my head is exploding as I'm trying to just remember how many steps to get to here and there or whatever, because the flames were real. And then uh and then I found out we've only got four fire extinguishers. So you know, and and they only by the way, fire extinguishers only last about 30 seconds. That's something else I found out which was quite disturbing at one level. You were churning through us. I was absolutely burning through them. So it was it was a lot of it was a lot of fun, but yeah, no, fantastic environment because if you can work under such pressure, producing so many minutes of television uh a day, you know, you you it's almost a luxury then to have time to prepare, rehearse, go and and have a few more takes.

DAMIEN 10:42

Absolutely, absolutely. And I think um, as you say, like this, the difference, it's it's gonna be unique to every single production, you know, like time, time, money is a factor, all of those things sort of feed into um creative influence that you might have over a over over a show a shoot. Um, yes, I I have a very similar story to you with with my time on home and away, which was I had uh, you know, it was sort of an ambulance, something had happened terrible, and ambulance.

MAX 11:09

I love it.

DAMIEN 11:09

Lots of fire engines and this thing. I had to drive a car that on the day they're like, Oh, can you drive by the way? And I was like, yes. And they're like, Great, because you're driving this car over the scene. I was like, what if I said no? Like, what would you redo the whole scene then? Like, how does that work? Anyway, I had to drive over the top of this camera because they wanted a shot where the car would sort of go over the top of the camera like that and would go black. No time to rehearse. So they stick the camera in the sand and like drive over the top of it, no rehearsal. And I remember I was in the car with come back to, I think his name's Danny, and uh we driving, flawed it into the scene, but the car went from driving on concrete to driving on the sand and dropped about, I don't know, 10 centimeters. But that was just enough for me to bottom out on top of a $60,000 camera as we drove over the top of it. And I remember driving and went on the camera, turned to Danny, and I was like, mate, did I just hit that with the wheel? He goes, No, no, no, you're over the top of it, you're fine. You missed it completely. And then I think it was the second or third AD just came in the window and went, Yeah, you you fucked the camera there, mate. And I was like, oh my god. What are you gonna do? No rehearsals, and that's what happens.

MAX 12:11

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sand can compact quite considerably. And uh, just providing a physics lesson for everyone. It's uh character building. Character building. And you can also add stunt driver on your IMDB now.

DAMIEN 12:25

Oh, I haven't thought of that. I'll uh amend immediately.

MAX 12:29

Do you do you think your um your background uh in theatre helps for those moments where you've got you know lots of dialogue to turn through and not a lot of time or a lot of takes, you know? For me, uh you know, wanting to be off book at rehearsals for for theatre and then you it sort of frees you up to be able to take some chances. I kind of have a similar approach when it comes to in front of the camera. It's sort of get adjusted off book, so it's still a bit uh exciting, uh and and but enough so that I can be in the moment and really listen and react um to what's happening. And I find I guess it's not so much does that does one way prepare you for a totally different style of acting, but um I've got a same approach for both uh prepared, but but enough to be able to be in the moment.

DAMIEN 13:23

Yeah, I I completely agree with you. I think putting the book down as quick as possible. Look, it's actually courses for courses. So um I think with theatre, uh, because of how I grew up, we grew up, I grew up doing a lot of indie theater very early on, over 10 years ago, started doing independent theater where we had like, you know, two weeks rehearsal, um, and there was no time to learn, you know, you're talking like Shakespeare monologues and things like that, and lots of them, and you know. So uh I I learned really quickly to learn lines fast and then make bold choices quickly as well, just because of the nature. We didn't have time to rehearse, and we, you know, you weren't getting paid very much or anything at all. So it was very much like do it as quick as possible so you can get on and don't spend that much time um practicing and just doing the run and getting on with it. Um, and I I think I've definitely kept that sort of mantra for um auditions, for screen auditions. Um, like yourself, I will definitely learn it basically. I I'll learn, I'll read it through and try and get someone working with me as quickly as I can so I can get off book as fast as possible. Just know it with a little bit of um uncertainty, I guess. So there is that I really have to listen to what you're saying, so I know what to say. So I'm not there's no over preparedness, particularly because for auditions, if you're doing a couple per week or whatever, or you get them and you have to go to do the next day, there's not much time to learn it. So it's very much like on the fly. But also, I think for your your self-tapes, particularly for my self-tapes, I'll speak for myself, for my self-tapes, I just want to do like a strong opening, a really good turning point in the middle somewhere and a strong ending. And the lines kind of, I'm like, yeah, you just get a sense, I'll give you a sense of the character with what I will give, the flavor that I will give it. Um, and that's how I look at self-tapes now. But with theatre, um I had that history of like wanting to learn really quickly and getting off book really quickly. And actually, Darren Gilshim, and I had a conversation with him once, who's a he's a fantastic theatre actor, and like um he was once described as I think Australia's uh Australia's Jim Carrey. He's like for now, if you don't know Darren Gilson, then get to know his work.

MAX 15:28

Yeah, that's fantastic. I've had him on the show and I've seen him on stage too. And I think I've never heard that, but that that's spot on, an Australian Jim Carrey.

DAMIEN 15:37

He's just he's just wonderful, like a fantastic clown, or like Australian Robin Williams, you know, he's got that level of energy and and it's just amazing watching work. But anyway, I had a conversation with him once, and he was like, oh no, no, don't put your script down, put a pencil behind your ear and hold your script for the first however many weeks, because you want to just slowly figure out the character, slowly figure out your choices. And I really took that on board and like since then, um, that was probably maybe 2017 or something, has have since then always kept my script in my hand for theater much longer than I would have before. Kept a pencil behind my ear, did exactly what he told me. It's just like making notes, making choices. What was that idea? Did that work? And then be able to go back, rub out, change it, and like trying to work more methodically rather than just like gung-ho, because I think while instincts are really important to remember and write down, like what was my instinct now? I write that down. Um, there's actually 10 other options that you can go through before landing on the one that is suitable.

MAX 16:35

It's it's great that that you've got that confidence to want to play with it a bit in the rehearsal space and and really try and push it in different directions. And I think that's fantastic. I just I can imagine Darren's script has got pencil marks all over it as he plays with blocking and how to say the lines, and like this just he's a genius.

DAMIEN 16:53

Well, he's like a I think he's like a mathematician of comedy, right? Like he's so intricate. All of his all of his gags, all of his sort of I mean, the the play that I remember him most from was 2008 in The Government Inspector, where it was him and Bill Zappa played 19 characters between the two of them, I think.

MAX 17:09

Oh my god.

DAMIEN 17:10

And it was I remember I was in the back row with my two best friends, I think it was two best friends at the time, and we were convulsed cry laughing in the back row of the opera house, um, just like yeah, in weeping, and it and like all he was doing was clicking a pen. It was ridiculous. And I was like, that's you know, that's the kind of that's the kind of actor I want to be.

MAX 17:31

And when when did you know that uh that acting was calling you?

DAMIEN 17:37

Um I don't know, man. Um like I did my first play when I was in year nine. So in year nine, we had to do monologues for drama class. Like I took drama as soon as I could, I think as my brother did, and it seemed like a bit of fun. Like it wasn't, it wasn't like I saw a film and I was like, oh yeah, that's the guy I want to be. I just kind of took drama, I thought it'd be fun. And we had to do a monologue, and we did it was Shakespeare monologues, and I did pick Henry V and I copied Kenneth Branners Henry V down to making. I I I made my mum make me a costume. So she like made me a Kenneth Brenner outfit with like, oh, it's just it was amazing. Love your mum, but uh yeah, yeah.

MAX 18:16

It's your mother and your brother that have that have that have made.

DAMIEN 18:19

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, my brother's, you know, he went into making films and he's a he's a post-production producer now, so he's definitely in the biz too. But um, so we did this monologue, the Shakespeare monologue, and we had a teacher at the school, Damien Ryan, who happened to be uh an incredible actor and director himself, who'd worked with Bell Shakespeare a lot, and he saw the potential, I think, of a group of young boys at high school and went, I'm gonna put you all in a play. So he put us all in a play called Henry V, um, and which was eventually remounted 10 years later with the Bell Shakespeare Company with a bunch of the same actors from high school. So from that year nine production when we when we we did this show, um, I think from about then was about 14 years old. I was like, oh, I really love this. I really love this, this I like doing it. I love, I like, um, what did I like about it? I think I just liked holding holding space and feeling um feeling confident and feeling like I had a voice. It was really interesting to go from being a 14-year-old, like not very, like not very bright at high school to speaking Shakespeare. I was like, and and once it had kind of been unlocked for me, yeah um, and once I unlocked Shakespeare for myself, it actually became like an obsession. It became really fun to like figure out the language and um yeah, to play with it. So I think really early, early on, I guess, is the answer, is the short answer. But and I didn't realize it could be a profession until you know, probably when we were leaving high school after high school.

MAX 19:54

Well, it's it's it's great that at such an age where you're normally so nervous about the space you inha in inhabit, let alone wanting to own the space, take charge of it in front of other people as well. So that's that's quite fascinating.

DAMIEN 20:11

I think that's a story for a lot of young kids. I think that's the thing, right? And that's why a lot of young people like drama or or they have a drama teacher or an English teacher who really helps them find themselves, if that makes sense. But because a lot of kids like, yeah, I was I still am, I still feel incredibly stupid and inarticulate. But when I'm acting, I get I have like, you know, I have a brilliant writer who writes me fantastic, you know, who's written fantastic script, and I get to play out these these moments, you know, that I might not necessarily otherwise experience, you know. And I think that that's really, really special and can be incredibly empowering for a young person to find.

MAX 20:47

That's fantastic. And and you still love Shakespeare just as much now as as when you were the teenager discovering and having that world opened up for you?

DAMIEN 20:57

Uh I I think I've I've I've done some Shaky plays numerous times um over the course of my life. And every time I come back to it, like do this, I play the same character numerous times. I'm like, oh, that's I've I've screwed it up the first two times. Now I understand it, now I get it. And then I'll do it again. I'm like, oh my god, I've never it's constantly like there's always more to mind, there's more to understand. There's also different ways to do it, and then you see someone else do it differently, like, oh my god, that's how you do it. There's I mean, it's never ending, particularly given he's got 37 plays, and you know, um I haven't read them all. I'm just like, there's still so much more there to explore and discover.

MAX 21:33

Discovery, and you and I guess you keep bringing more life experience each time you you revisit it as well.

DAMIEN 21:38

So yeah, and you also go through different age ranges where you end up playing different characters, yes. Um, which I think is really cool as well. There's always a there's particularly particularly for the men, there's the women are slightly less so by probably pretty huge margin. But like there's for the men, particularly, there is a lot of age ranges that you can go through and you kind of you rank up as you get older.

MAX 21:58

It's it's it's really

DAMIEN 22:00

interesting and and and quite a comprehensive um training ground in high school did you did you and you went straight to whopper from high school or did you have a gap um no i i um went to so i graduated and i got my my uai as it was called then and i when and i auditioned for nider and i auditioned for aca and i auditioned for act so some act some acting schools around sydney um i didn't get into nider straight up and my mum was devastated i was like oh but you know it sucks but my mum was so sad uh because she was like that's what you're gonna do like nider's where you need to be um didn't get in there got into aca and act and i got into sydney uni to do like an arts degree and so i went to my dad and i was like hey dad what do you reckon about you know acting school and he was like well go to sydney uni and i was like i'm probably just gonna go to acting school so decided to go to aca and went there for a year and because it wasn't a degree it was you had to pay up front i couldn't afford it after about 12 months because i think it was two and a half thousand three thousand per term or something and by the end of the year I was like I'm 18 years old I've got no money so I left that and I got a job um that same drama teacher Damien Ryan employed me with the Bell Shakespeare Company to do to do a um schools tour called Actors at Work and so I toured New South Wales for um eight months doing Shakespeare and then after that year I auditioned for NIDA again and didn't get in and then I auditioned for Whopper that same year and then got in that year. But I was really proud of myself because the story with NIDA and all my best friends went there as well by the way like my best friends in the world just to make a yeah yeah just to rubbish and Jesus Mike Ross and Eddie all got in not to mention like Sabrina and a couple of other people as well close friends got into that school and then I got in luckily with some other mates said WAPO some other beautiful people but I was really proud of myself because I I the second time auditioned for Nighter I did the best audition I could I was like I nailed that that was as good on the day I did as good as I could do but I still didn't get in which actually I kind of felt better about I was like good at least I know that I did my best that's that's that's that's great.

MAX 24:06

And and and I guess also you know that experience although there'd be moments of disappointment like NIDA the first time or or having to to to leave ACA because of funds um you know that that that that's a rich journey in terms of you know character building to then land at WAPA with some solid experience.

DAMIEN 24:29

Yeah what was I mean for for what it was it was incredible. Like we we did six days training a week or something like that um at a fraction of the cost at the time as well because it was uh an ad an advanced diploma that was I guess heavily subsidized by the Western Australian government at the time and like so it was it was a really wonderful experience plus you're sort of in Perth in your bubble um separated from the industry in Sydney um and you and I was just because I was 19 when I went and you're forced to grow up like forced to you know live by yourself or find friends and live with them and it was just a really wonderful way to sort of yeah gain some life experience I think so fantastic and I'd recommend it to anyone.

MAX 25:10

I think one thing that that I'd think it'd be challenging for me is is the touring to you know bringing bring bringing the craft to to to high school students is great but I just the execution I'm just not sure how did that go how did that were you were you apprehensive with that sort of an audience like you really got to grab their attention and hold it for I was so young when I did that as well though I was 19 when I did that too and it was just like I don't know I didn't I didn't know any about it.

DAMIEN 25:38

That was me. Like I was I was one year out of school as well you had a job as an actor yeah yeah yeah I did I did I really didn't think about it too much and I think if I would went back now um and had to do it again I would probably be exhausted every day and like really really struggle because it was three you know it was three shows a day sometimes um and three three one hour shows should I say they weren't like long shows three one hour shows per day um half the time I think and then uh yeah just constantly on the road and but I didn't know any better and I thought it would that that again was like a wonderful training ground for like oh this is what it's like to kind of be in a thousand different venues across you know across New South Wales and um yeah just kind of learn how to how to perform to big groups of people.

MAX 26:21

That's great. That's really great. And um from WAPA graduating there to you went straight back to Sydney did you find an agent right away did you have have someone in mind or was it were you part was that a a result of the showcase or something?

DAMIEN 26:42

Yeah as a result of the showcase which I think is um I think if anyone's thinking about drama school it's it's almost worth it for that you know what I mean it's not it's not often that you can get every agent in Sydney in one room watching you do something. Like it's really kind of the the most amazing part about drama school really um because I don't think the drama school is the only way to be an actor as I said my partner never went to drama school she did she she worked she was in she was in high school and and and did auditions and was picked up for home and away so like it can happen that easily um and then obviously home and away what's the training ground but Wabba being like I don't think it's I don't think drama schools are the only way in but it is an amazing thing that you get and it's a wonderful stepping stone into the industry. So when I graduated I was lucky enough to um be seen by Lisa man who ended up um offering me a meeting um and I was incredibly nervous for that that that time I was because I think by that point I'd worked out all shit like it might be possible to like do this for a living oh my God imagine if this happened so I remember we'll go having that meeting and um yeah I I think I knew that I wanted to be with Lisa because I was equally nervous probably for all of them but maybe particularly for her because I remember at one point in the meeting she just went Damien stop stop stop slow down slow down. And I was like okay just so enthusiastic about wanting to get everything right yeah like and that's oh wow that's a really interesting phrase wanting to get everything right that that is something I mean definitely I still battle with that today but like certainly over the past 10 years of of sort of working have have let go of the idea of getting it right a lot a lot more from the time when I just graduated anyway but yeah such a that's such an interesting phrase well bringing it back to to the 12 um there there's a there's so much excitement around the series and certainly for Foxtel um we get a sense that it's very much a flagship show for them and with the cast as well um did you get a sense of that sort of hype and excitement around the production uh for those six months as we were doing it yeah there was definitely a I mean there's always a buzz on set when you've got that many actors in one room it was it it it felt like um and it was kind of in amazing in in in in a way that you know kind of being locked in a jury room which is a very small studio room in our talent that we worked in which you know on some of those hot days over summer got to 40 degrees and it was just like a melting pot of sweaty actors but it it was it it did feel pretty special. There's some pretty electric moments um on set and there were some pretty electric moments when we're on location as well where things were happening and it did feel like for me personally as well like it just it felt so special doing it and there was I I do remember um texting my best mate at one point just saying um I think that was I think that was the best day on set I've ever had and I wasn't referring to my acting I was just referring to the feeling of being on set and and kind of what was happening and the amount of like just the the kind of the the the the effort that was being put in from all corners from every department like it was it was really all systems were running at 100% it was kind of amazing to be a be a part of and I feel very very lucky to have been a part of that show.

MAX 29:53

Yeah well that's that's fantastic it certainly worked really hard to to to make the most of these opportunities and the fact that you you talk about being prepared you know so that you can I guess also enjoy these these jobs like you're saying it's it's fantastic.

DAMIEN 30:10

Yeah that's a that's a good point as well coming back to the learning dial like learning lines thing um I think feeling like if I'm going to settle it to a big dam I'm in every scene from you know from six o'clock in the morning till six o'clock at night feeling prepared like I know what I'm gonna do or like knowing how knowing what my very first offer is going to be and like that feeling prepared that prepared I think that's important. So yeah feeling like slightly nervous and a bit like loosey goosey for for tapes and stuff like that but certainly by the time I'm going to set and going to work like I really want to feel like I'm on top of I'm on top of my shit.

MAX 30:43

Yeah well done I'm looking forward to um watching the the entire series of the 12 on Foxtel here in Australia. And Damien thank you very much for your time we really do appreciate it here at two unemployed actors uh Damien Struthors thank you Max thanks mate to Unemployed actor