Caffeinated Clint
Though he’s been in the acting game for over 30 years, New Zealand actor Roy Billing really only became a household name earlier this year, when he played real-life crime figure Robert ‘Aussie Bob’ Trimbole on the hugely successful Australian crime series ‘’Underbelly”. But the actor, whose many film and TV credits include “The Dish”, “Passion” and TVs “Home & Away”, tells CLINT MORRIS that he’s just happy to be in work – recognition is just a bonus.
Billing’s latest bit of work is a small part in Dean Murphy’s heart-warming laffer ‘’Charlie & Boots”, starring Paul Hogan and Shane Jacobson, in which he plays the good-natured pilot ‘Roly’.
Looks like you had a bit of fun doing this one, Roy?
Did you know my character was based on Dean’s father, Clint?
No, I didn’t. Is that true? So he’s a pilot?
Yeah, he has a little plane they fly around their property.
So did you have to actually take flying lessons?
No, most of the flying scenes were done from the back of a truck. Never even went up in the air. We just move around as if we’re in an airplane – turn this way, turn that way. I was actually pretty glad I didn’t have to go up in a real plane – can you imagine taking all those cameras up!?
A logistical nightmare indeed. So how did you meet Deano?
Well I did the part in Strange Bedfellows, and when this came up Paul [Hogan] and Dean just decided I’d play a role in it. And when you’re asked to do a movie with Paul Hogan and Shane Jacobson, you don’t say no! It’s a bit of a no-brainer.
So where about were the majority of your scenes filmed?
Emerald, and also a beach just outside of Cairns. I had a week off from Underbelly, and that’s when I did my stuff. I literally flew Sydney to Brisbane, Brisbane to Cairns, and then got a car to the location. Straight to make-up. I didn’t even take my bag to the motel. It was about five days work. Very quick. I got to spend a week on a beautiful stretch of beach though – it was lovely!
And I hear you’re about to spend a little more time up there in Queensland, doing “The Chronicles of Narnia : Voyage of the Dawn Treader”?
Yes, how did you know that? I hop on a plane on Monday. I’m playing Chief Dufflepud – a gnome-like creature who hops around on one leg. There’s a whole heap of [Dufflepuds]. Got to get fitted for prosthetics and all.
And how much work is that?
It should take a week or so to film my scene.
There are a few Aussies in the cast – Gary Sweet….
Gary has quite a big role – he’s playing a Sea Captain. He’s probably in a half to three quarters of the movie. The first Narnia movies were a big success, and I’m sure this will be too – with all the special effects and so on. It should be good.
Has “Underbelly” been a bit of a blessing for your career?
Oh yes, indeed. I’ve been acting for about thirty-years, and I’ve always had work, but I was always just a character actor that came in and came out. This was a lead role in the highest-rating Australian TV drama ever. I’d played bad guys before but the thing about Trimbole was that the thing was just so well-written – I got to do comedy, drama… it was a great role.
You’ve worked with some terrific filmmakers over the years – Phil Noyce, Peter Duncan, Chris Kennedy – how did Dean fare?
Oh, Dean’s great! He’s such a calm guy. By the time I arrived on set, everyone was rather frazzled – and not surprisingly, they’d had to do a lot of miles – but the humour was still there, and I think that can be attributed to Dean. He’s a good leader. No matter what went wrong Dean always kept his cool. He was always laid-back. You wouldn’t know if he was stressed out or not, because it doesn’t show. It makes the people he’s working with more confident.
How was it working with Hoges again?
Oh great. He was the one who wanted me to do the role. He and Shane were great together, too. They’re funny guys. Nothing Diva about either of them. They were just part of the gang.
I know how excited Hoges was about ‘’Strange Bedfellows”. He was eager to be doing something – say, unlike ‘’Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles” – that was just all story; it had a purpose for being.
I guess for a while there the marketplace didn’t call for these types of movies. But the audience response to [Charlie & Boots] has been amazing. It think part of that is the combination of Paul and Shane, and that it also had a good script. It’s got heart. I think it might do well.
I love ‘’Strange Bedfellows”, but I can see “Charlie & Boots” possibly appealing to a wider demographic
I think it will, too. And I think it’s come out at a good time when Aussie films seem to be going great guns. We’ve seen a renaissance in Australian television – what with Underbelly and Packed to the Rafters – and now we’re seeing a rebirth in the local film industry. There’s Balibo, Samson and Delilah, this… there’s a whole bunch of great Australian films out there, all very dissimilar, and I think – touch wood – that this will be the turning point. I think we will start seeing audiences returning to Australian films.
I interviewed Bryan Brown and Rachel Ward a week ago or so for ‘’Beautiful Kate” and got the impression that the sole reason this film happened now is because the interest is there again in seeing good, quality Australian films.
Yes, indeed. And it’s great. It’s something to be proud of.
You’ve done some great films, have you got a favourite?
I really like The Dish. It’s got a lot of heart in it. It’s a very popular film. I loved working with the guys from Working Dog. It’s a good picture that’s had great legs.
Just wish Rob and the guys would get off their butts and get another film up!
I’m waiting too! [Laughs] They get busy on other things, like Thank God you’re here, but I think they will do another movie at some stage. They keep things pretty close to their chests. They just don’t make movies for the hell of it – they have to really believe in something before they get to work on it.
I think the thing is too, and I’m speaking from experience, films aren’t as easy to get off-the-ground here as they are elsewhere. The AFC is forced to block a lot of good quality productions each-and-every year. If you can get yours through, it’s quite an accomplishment.
Yeah. Every filmmaker I know has a bunch of great ideas, and is out there trying to get money. Some get through and some don’t. I just have a really good feeling about the quality of some of the films that are coming out now.
And aside from ‘’Narnia”, have you yourself got anything else coming up in the near future?
There’s a film called A Heartbeat Away that I’ll likely be doing. Since Underbelly I’ve been presented with a few projects, but most of them are still waiting for their financing. Darren Ashton, who I worked with on Thunderstruck, has an American film that he’ll shoot here, that he wants me in. It’s about country music. Seems since Underbelly people want to get me attached to projects – suddenly my name means something.
You’re hot now!
Yeah hot at my old age! [Laughs]
Well look at Hoges – he’s going on 70, and on the cusp of a second coming!
I know, it’s great! It’s good isn’t it?
It’s great. Hoges started later in the game though. They start a lot younger now.
Yeah they do, don’t they? A lot of kids come straight out of NIDA and head straight over to America. If it works, fine, but a lot of the good young Australian actors – like Abbie Cornish – pay their dues here, and then go over.
Have you worked overseas yourself?
No, not really – well, I did a commercial in Japan. I was walking down the streets of Saigon and people were yelling out ‘Aussie Bob!’ – kinda strange! [Laughs] I’ve done stage work overseas, but no films.
I hear your ‘’Underbelly” co-star Anna Hutchison is overseas and going great guns.
She left the day before the final shoot to do a film in Canada.
Yeah, Joss Whedon’s ‘’Cabin in the Woods”.
Yeah. She left all the Underbelly publicity behind – so she wouldn’t have been aware how big it was. It was everywhere. Every guy I ran into commented on her tits! [Laughs]. I had more questions about Anna’s tits than anything else [Laughs]. I never saw ‘em!
I remember one day I was contacted by my agent who said they wanted to exercise the nudity clause in my contract. I was shocked! They wanted me to do a sex scene!? Nope, just for a scene that I had a prostate check.
And on that note…. Thanks so much for the chat today, Roy. Hope the film goes well – I believe it will.
I do too. I’ve got a good feeling about this one. My absolute pleasure Clint.
CHARLIE & BOOTS commences September 3rd
