Today I have the immense pleasure of welcoming a very special guest, actor Joss McWilliam, to CINEMATIC REVELATIONS for an interview. Joss has acted in several motion pictures over the years such as THE EMPTY BEACH, THE COOLANGATTA GOLD [my review of the film can be found here] THE SUICIDE THEORY, and MAGDALA ROSE. In this interview Joss will be discussing his part in THE COOLANGATTA GOLD, acting, television, and role as an acting coach.
Welcome to CINEMATIC REVELATIONS Joss!
Athan: When did you first realize that you wanted to be an actor?
Joss: Thanks Athan. I did a bit of acting at school in a number of plays and quite liked it. Then bits and pieces at university. I tried out for NIDA in 1979 and could have got in, but for an all-night drinking session the night before my final audition. I was pretty young and wild and frankly not committed to the idea yet. I travelled overseas and saw some amazing theatre in Stratford and London. During a performance of Duet for One, starring Frances De La Tour, I was so enraged with the actor playing opposite her that I began to stand, to argue with him. Quickly sitting, I couldn’t believe that I had fallen for an imaginary situation. Mind you, it was great acting. That night, I decided that that was what I wanted to do.
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Athan: Where did you study acting?
Joss: On my return to Australia in 1981, I tried out for NIDA and didn’t last the morning. I then spent two weeks at the Ensemble but did not like it at all, so I dropped out and ended up studying privately with an actor called Brian Syron. This was two nights a week in Woollahra. He had studied with Stella Adler so it was in that tradition. When I started working, I feel like I threw a lot of what he taught me away, but at least he taught me to think like an actor. I feel like most of what I have learned has been on the job and I have had the good fortune to work with and learn from some extraordinary actors and directors.
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Athan: Your performance as Steve in THE COOLANGATTA GOLD was the linchpin for all the action in the movie, a young man of many shades, and moods, who was psychologically complex, and thoroughly compelling. What it is that drew you to the part of Steve?
Joss: In my second year with Bryan, I was spotted by Rae Davidson, a casting director at Forcast and asked to audition for The Coolangatta Gold. It was simply a chance to start climbing the greasy pole, an opportunity to start working. After I landed the job, I suppose I found parallels between the character and myself and drew on them for the role. I have always joked that I started at the top and have been working my way down ever since.
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Athan: THE COOLANGATTA GOLD had a prolific cast with yourself, Nick Tate, Robyn Nevin, and Colin Friels as the movie’s central focus, the Lucas family. What was it like working with these performers?
Joss: I had a wonderful time working with Colin and I had the sense he was looking after me. Instinctively, I was drawn to his personality and way of working. There are things that we joked about on that set that still amuse me now. He once gave me Hamlet’s speech to the players at the back of a Grips truck. The perfect acting lesson. I still think of him as my acting brother. Nick was fine, but from a different acting school than the one I was interested in and Robyn, for whatever reason, didn’t speak to me once for the two weeks we were on set. Go figure.
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Athan: THE COOLANGATTA GOLD was about an iron man endurance marathon, with many scenes of training, and the eponymous marathon race itself depicted in the movie. In preparation for the film, did you undertake a training regime, and what was your experience of this?
Joss: When I got the role, I wasn’t that fit, so I spent the next 3-6 months preparing. The week consisted of running many kilometres every second morning alternating with weight sessions on alternate days with the Manly Sea Eagles conditioner. I would swim 50 laps every second day and learn to surf ski on the alternate days. Then every evening I would learn Karate with Paul Starling for two hours. Exhausting. It was difficult at first, but I learned the transformative power of hard exercise and I became incredibly fit.
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Athan: In THE COOLANGATTA GOLD, Steve also attends karate classes, under the instructor of real-life karate master Paul Starling, who played his close friend and confidant. Did you also train in martial arts specifically for the movie, or was this something of which you had prior experience?
Joss: I trained with Paul in Sydney, specifically for the movie. I had no prior experience and since the film have never used those skills again.
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Athan: THE COOLANGATTA GOLD was directed by Igor Auzins, who also helmed the motion pictures HIGH ROLLING IN A RED CORVETTE, and WE OF THE NEVER NEVER. What was it like being directed by Mr Auzins in THE COOLANGATTA GOLD?
Joss: The Coolangatta Gold was my first job and I honestly expected to get more direction than what I got. I have since discovered that most directors just expect you to know what you’re doing. The best directors are collaborative and will work with you to improve performance.
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Athan: Aside from your film work you have appeared in many Australian television shows over the years, from series such as Winners, The Flying Doctors, The Adventures of Skippy, and more recently in The Strip, and Home and Away. From your perspective, what are some of the most striking differences between film, and television production?
Joss: Both film and television at their best re all about storytelling. The most striking difference is the time given to tell the story. You have more time on a film set and there is more care taken on the shot and the content. Quality television is like film these days anyway.
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Athan: You have been an acting coach for over a decade at Angel Studios, which is a professional recording studio in Brisbane, Queensland. What it is that led you to this, and what provides the most satisfaction in seeing students thrive in their aspirations?
Joss: I have been teaching off and on for twenty years. Because acting is a precarious profession financially, I’m sure I took it up to make extra money. There is something satisfying in seeing students grasp the idea that you are trying to get across. I enjoy watching their confidence grow and it is extremely satisfying to see some, as I did, go on to have professional careers. As I was taught, so have I gone on to teach.
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Athan: Do you have any upcoming projects of which you would like to tell readers?
Joss: I did a fantastic show last year called Boy Swallows Universe. There is a chance that it may tour next year nationally. Other than that, I have nothing coming up. This may change overnight, but if it doesn’t and I never worked again, I have no regrets. It is 40 years since I auditioned for The Coolangatta Gold and I have worked on many great projects since then with some wonderful people and have travelled all over Australia.
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Thank you so much for your time today Joss, and for the insight you have provided into the art of acting, THE COOLANGATTA GOLD, cinema, television, and acting coaching. It has been wonderful having you on CINEMATIC REVELATIONS. You are welcome to return whenever you wish.
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Joss McWilliam links
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