Jack finds himself in the firing line when a dramatic bank robbery goes fatally wrong. A life is lost and Jack is critically injured leaving him in fighting to survive.
I caught up with Paul in between mouthfuls of toast as he tried to squeeze lunch and interview into an already very hectic day.
Did you ever play cops and robbers when you were little?
“Wow…(he thinks back) I used to play James Bond, so yes, kinda, we were in the secret service. We used to have cap guns and run around and shoot each other but I guess we were always the goodies, me and my brother, we were just trying to shoot each other.”
Did you practise falling down dead?
“I did, I was pretty good at that. .I’d let my sister shoot me or beat me up then I’d go arghhhh and pass out.” he grins
How many takes did you have to do for the bank robbery scene?
”I think we got it in 3 because that’s all we had time for.”
Was it hard to do?
”It is when you keep falling on the ground because you can hurt yourself. You are trying to look realistic and get all pumped up for it then at the same time you are trying to look after your back because you don’t always have a mat there, especially on the wide shots.”
Did you have a mat?
”No, well we did on some of the rehearsals but by the time you have done rehearsals plus filming you have jumped on your back 12 times. My elbows were a bit sore.”
Then you go into a coma…how hard was that to play?
”The coma was kind of hard, I had to do my homework.”
Was it hard to keep a straight face?
”It was, I cacked up heaps of times” he laughs “It was funny because we’ve had this recurring joke… everyone knows Jack loves Martha and yet we keep playing it where he is with Sam and it’s kind of frustrating, so we make jokes that Jack is always calling out for Martha and then I had to do it…”
(So you’ve heard it from the man himself …Jack loves Martha…even the actors want to get back together!!)
Paul continues, ”And it was quite funny being in a hospital bed and having people come and see you and also lying on your back for so long. I was in there for 8 scenes so I was in bed for 10 hours and only got out of bed twice, so I spent a solid 8 hours on my back which can be really weird especially when you go to sleep that night, your body’s going ahhh I’m sore I don’t want to lie down.”
So would it upset your Mum seeing you in a coma?
”Yeah, Mum does get quite upset when she sees me in a comas,” he sighs with a smile.
”She goes ‘oh you poor thing, I saw you there and had a little tear in my eye’, but more so it was the stealing drugs that she wasn’t too fond off...she goes ‘what are you doing stealing drugs?’ … Mum it’s a show !!!”
Outside The Bay, you’re really busy getting ready to go and play Aladdin in the UK for the pantomime season?
”Yes I am trying to get a visa which is really hard, and I’ve got an audition coming up which I can’t mention yet but it’s very exciting.”
We will let you know Paul’s news as soon as possible and don’t worry he’s not leaving the show and UK fans, make sure you book a ticket to see Aladdin. We will give you more details at the end of November.
Interview by Tania Seager
