Rhys talks about locking lips with a mate!
We hear you were stoked to have your friend Jessica McNamee (Lisa) back in the Bay!
Jess Mac’s great, she’s always cool to catch up with. She did a guestie a while back [as Drew’s girlfriend] and that’s when we became a little group of four – me, Jess, Bobby and her. We’ve just kept in contact and become friends. I’d basically forgot she’d even worked on the show, so having her back was mad!
So what was it like having to kiss a friend?!
Having her as a love interest was hilarious, we couldn’t stop laughing. I’ve never had to play a love interest with someone I’m friends with, so that was different. It wasn’t awkward – not with Jess Mac, she doesn’t make much awkward, she tells it as it is [laughs]. Nah, it was just funny.
And then she dies!!
Yeah that was intense! Jess Mac was really upset, she was reading it and going 'Oh no! She dies!'. It was hard to play, because as far as character was concerned, it was really hard to find a balance and a level in which he would mourn her death. By rights we really only knew her in that passionate little love affair they had the week before she dies, and then little bits here and there. So it was hard to find the right trigger without going over the top or without underplaying it. Hopefully I found the balance…
Do you ever watch yourself on air?
There is a viewing room. When I first started I was quite savvy and watched it all and tried to take it in but I get really self conscious watching myself so I try to avoid it, unless I feel I did a good scene or there was something I was trying to grasp.
Do the rest of the cast check themselves out?
People watch interesting storylines, like if there’s a big storyline, people watch it to see how it worked out, but generally speaking, no I don’t think anyone watches themselves that religiously. I think that might be a little weird!
So what did you get up to over the production break?
I went to Paris and London, it was great, so much fun. I went with a friend of mine who’s just moved to London, so she came to Paris with me, and we went to Disneyland, which sounds like cultural suicide but we still did it because it doesn’t get dark til 10.30pm so we were there at night till 11pm.
Did you do all the sights?
We certainly did: the Eiffel Tower, the Champs D’Elyse, the Arc D’Triomphe, the Louvre, the Musee d’Orsay. We stayed in Stoke Poges in London with her family friends. That was cool, they were such a nice family and it was a REALLY nice house! They had a day party, with a band playing and waiters, it was really nice. Next time hopefully I can Paris the same way!
What about London’s famous theatre scene – did you see many plays?
I saw heaps of theatre every night. I saw Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, In Celebration with Orlando Bloom – it was… alright. It was realism, I’m not a big fan of realism, it’s kinda dull in my opinion. We saw a play called Boeing Boeing which was this absurd over-the-top play, it was really cool. It had the mother from Matilda, remember that movie Matilda where she can move things with her mind? I thought that was mad seeing her onstage! We saw Lord of the Rings the musical, just cuz we heard it was the biggest budget Western production ever. It was so-so. I guess we were expecting a lot.
Do you like doing theatre yourself?
I love live theatre, that’s kinda where I really grew into acting. At the school I was at, McDonald College, they focussed so much on theatre. They had the Black Box theatre which was this really low-key theatre. It was really cool, a really cool vibe, so I would love to do a play. It sounds weird, but I think it validates yourself as an actor. You’ve got an audience to react off and you can sense how they’re feeling.
