Jon Sivewright is an interesting man. Twelve years into a career as a fire-fighter in Perth, Jon made a very big (and very brave) life-decision: he decided to have a go at acting.
A move across the country to Sydney and a drama course later, Jon finds himself in the near-unbelievable position of Home and Away star. Now, three years after making the journey to The Journey Course at The Actors Centre, we have a chat with the man most viewers know as ‘Tony Holden’…
So Jon, how does someone go from being a fire-fighter to starring in one of the country’s most popular shows?
It is a big life change, but I’ve always wanted to be an actor. That’s what I left school in 1981 for. But it’s a bit hard at 16 in Perth, so I ended up getting a job and worked for 20 years and then I just got to a point where I was very stable in my life, so I had an opportunity and thought I’d have a crack at it.
Did you do any acting whilst you were a firey?
I used to do a bit of modelling and stuff, but that was just a bit of fun and a giggle. Then towards the end of the fire service I started doing some amateur stuff because I was getting a bit bored. It got to the point where I was training to become an officer and I realised I was doing it because it was the next step. I was kind of going, ‘If that’s the next step, how long before I’m bored again?’
What happened next?
I realised I wasn’t fulfilling what I wanted to achieve and I broke into long service leave and thought, ‘Well, I’ve got three months off. I can either change my life or I can change my attitude’. That was it really. The idea was to have one attempt at whichever (drama) schools I decided to have a go at. I had a go at three and I thought if I get in then obviously, I’m going to do it and if I don’t, I’ll just change my attitude towards the fire brigade.
And you got into the Actors Centre in Surry Hills, Sydney…
Which was a very good program for me because it concentrates only on acting, although I thought it was a little bit gentle at times, but I think that was me coming out of 12 years of fire brigade where there is a lot of discipline. It did allow me to have a transition period because it was a rather large change from wearing the invincible suit and 10 days later wearing tights.
Was there a particular reason why it took twenty years for you to have a proper stab at acting?
I think it was probably maturity, really. I mean, I was 16 when I left school and I spoke to a school counsellor and he said, ‘There’s no future in acting, mate. No career in that.” So I ended up applying for a chef’s apprenticeship, got accepted into that and then went skateboarding one day before work and broke my arm and buggered that up. I was in plaster for 16 weeks and went back to school and ended up saying to my dad, “I’m wasting your money and my time, let’s get out of here” and he said, “Well, if you get a job you can leave.” So I got a job and suddenly you’ve got money. I bought a car and just got caught up in work. It’s very easy to do. Next thing you’ve got debts and you keep working.
How did your family and friends react when you made the decision to try acting? Did they know it was coming?
I didn’t tell too many people. My immediate family, I had big discussions with. It really depended a lot on how my father reacted, to be quite honest. I was in the middle of renovating a house with him and I just sort of casually said, “How do you feel about what I’m doing?” And he said, “Mate, if it’s going to make you happy then that’s what I want you to do.” That was the decider, really.
So does it now feel a bit surreal to be on Home and Away? You make a decision, go for it and the next thing you know you’re in front of over a million viewers every night.
It feels very, very strange. I still sit there on set in the middle of a take and go, ‘There are three cameras looking at me. What’s going on here? Why am I doing this?” I do feel incredibly privileged though, because there are a lot of actors out there who are my age - 41 - and have been doing this stuff for 25 years and they can’t get a gig and in my opinion, they’re better actors than I am.
On a completely different topic, what’s it like living with Mark Furze? (Tony and Mark are flat mates)
Oh, he’s a tool (laughs). No, it’s good. He’s a good bloke, not your average 20 year old kid and I’m probably not your average 40 year old bloke. He’s a good guy and I’ve got a lot of time for Mark and we’ve got a pretty good arrangement up there. For a little while I was concerned that working and living together would be heavy, but we don’t have a lot of scenes together.
Is there much socialising amongst the cast of Home and Away?
I think there is. It’s such a very good cast. I think there’s a lot of respect for each other and so I think when you go out at different events or specific parties or whatever, it’s actually fun to go out with these people because you can just let it go a little bit. You know that you’re not being judged and you know that there are no dills there. It’s a nice vibe here with people looking out for you. I’m glad I’m here, it’s great.
Finally, what do you think makes a good actor? What kind of advice would you give?
I think it’s just trying to make a reality. Play the role you want to play. It all comes back to truthfulness and that’s why I say with life experience it sometimes makes things a little easier. At the end of the day, acting’s not life or death. Whilst nerves are good, there’s no real need for fear. But it’s easy for a 40 year old bloke to say there’s no need to be scared than it is for an 18 year old kid. I’m very fortunate because of the job I did before where I was in life and death situations and here the worst case scenario is you might make a bit of a dick of yourself, but so what? I think acting is about decisions and you just make them and whatever decision you make, you’ve got to believe it 100%. If it’s wrong, so what? Someone will pull you up and you’ll go, “OK, I’ll have a crack at the other side of the decision”. It’s not rocket science, but you do have to work at it, you do have to practice at it.
Interview by Michael Hugill
