This week keep your eyes peeled for a new/old Summer Bay hottie lighting up the small screen – Rodger Corser returns to the Bay as the dashing Dr Hugh Sullivan! Viewers will remember the doc with a heart of gold from the days of 2006, when he attempted to woo Leah away from Dan, to no avail. We sat down with Rodger to find out what brings this hunky guy back to our fave beachside town!
Q. So, tell us what brings Hugh to the Bay.
A. Well, he went to university with Rachel and they did an internship together. She came up this way and I stayed in the city. We lost a little bit contact but then last year he came back into her life when he came to Summer Bay for a holiday. He liked the place, so when a spot was available at the local hospital he put his hand up and now he’s arrived!
Q. You arrive in the middle of the love triangle between Kim, Kit and Rachel. So what does Hugh make of all that?
A. He’s just trying to be there for his mate. She’s shows some despair at the situation and he’s just trying to show her a bit of perspective. It’s not an average situation, so you’re allowed not to be able handle it very well. He tries to do some things to smooth things over for them.
Q. Is there some attraction there?
A. He definitely cares for her. Yeah, he does like her and he realises that she’s a great girl. They spend a lot of time together - Kim’s away a lot with Kit so they’re enjoying each others’ company. I think there’s probably always been an underlining thing, but they’ve sort of put that aside. They tried it once in uni - had one date and it was hopeless. So they’ve always just had a laugh. A lot of female friends generally - I think that even if they are friends, sometimes there’s a little undercurrent of attraction, you might find them attractive and you think they’re great and you’re going ‘another time, another place’ who knows but…
Q. But Hugh’s not going to explore what that might be?
A. Not at this stage. She’s married and he doesn’t want to complicate the situation anymore. He’d love to find someone like her, I think!
Q. What are the qualities in Rachel that Hugh likes?
A. He likes that she’s an equal, intellectually – they can talk. There’s also history, you can’t beat history with people. They’ve been through university together, they’ve been through an internship, no one else can know those sorts of things.
Q. And how do you find working in Summer Bay?
A. For such a long-running show and with everyone having been the show for so long, everyone just gets on really well. I was a little bit shocked; I thought everyone would be like, “Right, cut! I’m out of here.” But people hang out at the weekend and get on really, really well. Everyone’s been really welcoming.
Q. How do you find the pace of filming?
A. I’m used to more one hour drama. For one hour drama there’s 40 scenes to an ep. In one hour, 47 minutes of screen time, and you shoot it over six days. So it’s a lot quicker and there’s a lot less coverage. I like pace. Sometimes [filming] can be a bit of a drag - like when you’re doing a film and you’re only doing 3 scenes a day, it can get kinda stale. So it keeps you on your toes!
Q. Tell us a bit about your background.
A. I was a musician first - I didn’t start acting till I was about 25. I was in bands in Melbourne. I was in my first pub gig when I was 16, as singer, sometimes guitarist. I started playing in bands, covers and originals. I went to uni and did media studies at university. I wanted to get into production - be a DOP or get into sound. I enjoyed editing as well. But then I ended up going for a musical, an off-the-street open call for a Broadway musical coming to Australia called Rent. I’d never been to an audition before in my life and I got the lead role! I started enjoying the scene work within the musical. Then I got an agent and she started seeing me for auditions and that was my apprenticeship. Getting jobs and failing terribly and learning things and then quickly running away and reading acting books and going “What am I doing wrong?”.
Q. Do you still play music?
A. Oh, my fiancé says I’ve got way too many guitars! There are 8 guitars stored in our 2 bedroom semi so she’s got no room for anything else! I just don’t play enough, don’t get time.
Q. What was the name of the band?
A. I had several, usually shocking names. We had one called Stone the Crows, they did Black Crowes and Rolling Stones covers, and a band called Hype. Tender Prey was another band.
Q. What about a Summer Bay band!
A. That’s why I’ve came here because I want to release a single [laughs].
Why do you think Hugh is back in the Bay? Who would you like to see him hook up with? Email us on homeandaway@seven.com.au!
By Georgia Clark
Rebecca: I think it would be good if Martha got together with Hugh. Martha needs to get put back in her place and needs a guy who’s going to treat her with respect -not like Cam. I think they would be really good together!! Even though I do really love Martha and Jack - maybe they are really over? But if Hugh tries to split Rachel and Kim up I don’t know what I would do!! Ahhhh, I love Rachel and Kim! Rachel and Kim For ever!!
Filipina, Auckland, NZ: I would like for him to be with Rachel even though she's married maybe they can work out something. It's obvious that they like each other since Kim's always spending time with Kit. I mean, it's not fair that Rachel's his wife and she doesn't spend time with her own husband. So it will be good if they can be together. They do look cute together and they’re old mates... Maybe they just have what it takes to become a couple despite the odds against them. By the way, I love watching Home and Away, its really catchy.
