Peter Baker is back from the dead! And you know what that means, don't you? No, it doesn't mean you too can jump into a gas explosion and expect to survive. It means Nic Bishop is back on our screens! Here's a Q&A with the man himself...
So Nic, how was Peter feeling after he found out his death had been faked and he was now in the witness protection program?
Obviously pretty shocked and confused, but I think probably more frightened than anything else, not knowing what was happening back in the Bay.
Quite a bit of time passes between the explosion at Jack and Martha’s wedding and the return of Peter Baker to the bay. What’s Peter been doing?
He’s been in a safe house. He couldn’t leave, he couldn’t go anywhere. They had to keep him in there twenty four hours a day and he’s actually had no contact with the outside world whatsoever.
So what was his relationship with Drew like before Peter came to the Bay?
There wasn’t one, really. Peter’s been trying to make contact with Drew over the years and Drew’s basically said, ‘I don’t want to have anything to do with you’. What Peter has been doing is financially supporting Drew through school, not that Drew knew that. When Dan and Leah went through Peter’s financial records after they thought he was dead, [they discovered] he had no money. All of it had been going to Drew's boarding school. So Peter’s had an active part in his life that way, but no actual contact.
So what do you think he makes of Drew now that he’s back in his life?
Well, initially it’s the parental thing of hearing that your son is in danger and that’s what draws him back into the Bay, even though he really should not be doing that because he’s supposed to be in witness protection. He always wanted to establish that father and son relationship, but Drew always rejected him.
What do we know about the mother?
I assume it was a very brief thing.
What does Peter make of Drew hooking up with his and his brother’s ex?
When he first comes back, he basically says to him to keep away from Amanda because of his history with her and Dan’s. As far as he’s concerned, she’s bad news and has a history of hurting ‘The Baker boys’. I think he’s worried that Drew’s a young bloke caught up in all the glamour of this ‘older woman’ thing and you know, she looks great so Peter can understand the attraction, but he doesn’t want his son to get hurt.
So what’s in store for Peter now that he’s back?
He’s very much about trying to establish a connection with his son. That’s his number one priority, as well as to try and get his health and strength back and then to eventually go back to work. Obviously, Peter and Amanda have an ‘intense’ relationship and that causes a massive wedge between the family, so he’s very much trying to get all the family back on track especially Drew and Dan.
Now, how about you Nic? What have you been up to?
I had a daughter. She was born about a week after [my last stint on Home and Away] finished so it was kind of perfect timing really. So its been me at home being a dad. That’s been my latest role, which has been great, but I do a lot of voice over work and I teach a lot, mostly at NIDA. I run a screen acting course every Saturday that goes for the whole year so a lot of my efforts go into that.
I haven’t really been auditioning because I knew that I was coming back, so it was really just downtime and the last couple of months of my story line before I left were really full on, so I did need time to relax. All that running around in factories getting beaten up by women!
Do you enjoy the teaching?
I love it. I think that you learn a lot because acting is such an evolving thing and its all about personality and attitude and creating different roles and that’s not something you can necessarily master. You just have to keep learning and teaching helps me do that a lot.
What do you think would be your ultimate role?
I’d love to be in a western – put that out there in massive letters! Actually, a western with Juliet Binoche (laughs).
Interview by Michael Hugill
