Making Leadbelly

“Ah, Eddie. He’s a good boy,” said Mick Gatto of Eddie McGuire. “He always comes and says hello if he sees me.”

Then he paused a beat. “Is he still at Channel TEN?”

In an insightful, behind the scenes article from Age journalist John Silvester (co-author of the Leadbelly books), Gatto decided to have a face to face meeting with Screentime producers to discuss how he would be portrayed in Underbelly. One of the names producers mentioned might play Gatto was one Eddie McGuire, the same network executive who was instrumental in greenlighting the series.

“I hear Anthony LaPaglia wants to play me,” he suggested.

“Well, I’m prepared to play myself — for a fee,” he continued. It was strong coffee and weak smiles all round.

The article suggests a ‘Making Of’ would have been just as dramatic as the one air version of Melbourne’s gangland.

Gatto, who was eventually cleared of shooting Andrew Veniamin on grounds of self defence, explained that he would rather be left alone but if he was to be in the series he would not want to be seen as connected with the drug trade.

Eventually his role was played by actor Simon Westaway (pictured).

“As an actor it was a great opportunity to meet the man whose character I was to play,” Westaway said later.

The article also tells of the Underbelly launch at the Waterside Hotel, earlier this year.

At least one actor knew even then that it meant his scenes might never make it to the small screen in Victoria. After several (unwooded) chardonnays he was heard to say to a fellow cast member: “It’s all right for you — I’m going to be pixellated.”

The full article can be read at the Sunday Age.