Rel Hunt as Ryan on Heartbreak High in 1997.
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HEARTBREAK High was one of the most cutting edge Australian shows of the ‘90s, dealing with issues like race, broken homes, domestic violence, drug addiction and the severe lack of funding for inner-city schools.
Plus, it featured a multicultural cast, which still doesn’t really happen in today’s climate. The show begun in 1994 on Channel Ten as an Alex Dimitriades vehicle, before finding a more natural home at ABC in 1997.
For all its inner-city grit, the real appeal of the show was the warm heart at the centre of it. Even when these characters fell out, you could sense the natural chemistry between the cast, a lot of whom had never acted onscreen before. The run-down schools were very familiar to those at public school at the time, while the warehouse in which most of the characters lived in at some point was appropriately grimy.
News.com.au spoke to three of the main cast members from the latter, better ABC-stretch of the series: Rel Hunt, who played Ryan Scheppers, a player on the court and in the classroom, Putu Winchester, who played Dennis Klinsmann, a class clown with hidden depths, and Sebastian Goldspink, the nerdy, good-natured Charlie Byrd.
SEBASTIAN GOLDSPINK — CHARLIE
Goldspink entered the series towards the end of the 1996 season.
“I was nervous as I came straight from acting school where I’d spent three years doing plays,” he recalls. “I had virtually no on-camera experience.”
Charlie soon became a fan favourite, with his awkward manner and focus on his studies setting him aside from some of the other “cool” characters portrayed. Goldspink soon became a role model of sorts to disenchanted viewers around the globe. “It was great to get mail from young people all over the world who, like Charlie, were studious but socially awkward, and how watching him navigate high school helped them in real life.”
Goldspink now owns a gallery in Sydney’s Kings Cross.Source:Supplied
A burgeoning love affair with the confrontational Katerina, played to perfection by a young, pre-Home & Away Ada Nicodemou, soon become one of the show’s most endearing, enduring romances.
“I think the love story with Katerina was really at the heart of his character,” he said.
The chemistry between the cast was always central to the show’s success.
“We all got along great”, recalls Goldspink. “Some of the actors were romantically linked and sometimes this even paralleled their characters’ relationships. The male actors all shared a change room: we had music and couches and would hang out and watch movies.”
Goldspink has moved away from acting, working in the art world as founder and director of the Alaska Projects gallery in Sydney’s Kings Cross. “It was a choice [I made] about ten years ago,” he said.
“I don’t miss the rigours of the acting world. But I do miss the friends and colleagues and the intensity of working on a show like Heartbreak High.”
REL HUNT — RYAN
Rel Hunt entered the cast in early 1997, as Ryan, one half of the Scheppers twins, alongside Lara Cox as Anita (more on her soon).
He recalls his first day as “all a bit of a blur actually — I’m sure it involved run-ins with the director, and me thinking I was much better than I was.” Hunt points to both the racism storylines, and the comedic elements as his favourite aspect of the show. “That gave it some light and dark contrast — it wasn’t all brutal, there were laughs for the audience as well.”
He rejects the idea of there being any real pressure at the time — despite 5am starts and an appearance in Thomastown, Victoria, where the crowd swore at them because they didn’t stay long enough. “I don’t think that’s unreasonable”, he says of that reaction.
“I’m sure the ‘pressure’ messed with me, but I wouldn’t call it pressure now”, he reasons. “Real pressure is feeding three kids as a single parent without a job. I’m one of the lucky ones who has never felt that sort of pressure, thank God.”
Hunt now works as a voiceover artist for cartoons.Source:Supplied
Hunt admits there was “loads of tension” on set. “I think that came off the screen as well”, he said.
“I ran into Putu the other day”, Hunt adds, “and it was like seeing a long lost brother — I miss them all in different ways … but I do miss them.”
Like Goldspink, he has moved away from appearing on television, doing cartoon voice overs in the USA. “I’m retired as far as on screen acting goes”, he said.
Hunt’s fondest onset memories occurred after the show had wrapped for the week. “Kicking back drinking beers on Friday nights after a hard week of filming”, he remembers. “We used to watch an episode we had just finished post-production on — that was a fun time.”
PUTU WINCHESTER — DENNIS
A storyline at the start of the 1998 season saw the amalgamation of two local high schools. This made it easy to flood the cast with new talent, including Putu Winchester as the loveable Dennis. Winchester is grateful his first day was shared by other actors, easing him into the process.
“Basically we all met each other for the first time on that day,” he said. “It was a new year, and the whole show had actually had a month off from filming. Everybody was getting back on set, just getting to know each other again, which was the perfect situation for me — with the learning curve that I had — basically learning how to behave on set.”
Winchester now works mainly as a chef and photographer.Source:Supplied
Dennis began as the typical screw-up, assumed to not take anything or anyone all that seriously. Soon it was revealed he had a brother with Down syndrome, and Winchester got to tap Dennis’s hidden depths. He says this was his favourite storyline to play.
“I got to play alongside a fellow by the name of Saxon [Graham], and just getting to know him, in dealing with the compassion — and with the difficulties — of working with somebody with Down syndrome, and of being somebody with Down syndrome. I got along with Saxon really well.”
Winchester steered clear of any of the onset tension Hunt mentioned.
“Look, the chemistry within the cast was always amazing,” he said. “That’s my experience, but I never had any issues, so I think I was well-liked and I liked everybody that I work with — so that was fine. Maybe they were some issues with the emotions that come into play, but none of them involved me, so I was always just really, really happy to be there all the time.”
Winchester now works as a photographer and a chef, and has mostly moved away from acting, going for auditions “here and there”.
Wondering what happened to the rest of the cast members?
CALLAN MULVEY — DRAZIC
Mulvey has had a successful and varied career since graduating from Hartley High, appearing in massive Hollywood blockbusters such as 300: Rise Of An Empire, Batman v Superman, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. He also starred as criminal Mark Maron in Underbelly.
LARA COX — ANITA
After Heartbreak High, Cox showed up on Home & Away, where she played a nurse, H20: Just Add Water, and another Ben Gannon production Head Start. Recently she can be seen in advertising campaigns for Claratyne, Subaru and RAMS Home Loans.
LUKE JACOBZ — ZAC
Jacobz slid into hosting after his two-year HH run, being known now primarily for his role as host of the X-Factor, although he also spend some time on Home and Away, winning a Silver Logie in the process, and taking out the crown on the 2008 series of Dancing With The Stars.
JEREMY LINDSAY TAYLOR — KURT
Following Heartbreak High, Taylor took roles on Blue Heelers, McLeod’s Daughters and Underbelly: Razor. He can currently be seen on Home & Away.
ADA NICODEMOU — KATERINA
Ada is currently on her 17th season playing Leah on Home & Away. She is one of the longest-serving cast members in the show’s history.
DANNY RACO — MARCO
In a nice twist, Raco and Nicodemou played siblings on Home & Away. He has been directing on the show since 2007, having notched up director credits on close to 300 episodes to date.
— Follow Nathan Jolly’s adventures at nathanjollywrites.wordpress.com.
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