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Big break for the boy from Brissy

A US Pilot that never took off has led to international success for Australian actor Matt Passmore.

When the Global Financial Crisis hit, Matt Passmore’s big US break seemed like it was over.

Masterwork, a Pilot developed by Paul T. Scheuring (Prison Break) for FOX, was put on ice. The “Da Vinci Code” meets The Amazing Race project was suddenly deemed too expensive. Passmore had won a lead just a week after concluding Underbelly. But despite the show being killed, it would ultimately lead to his next break.

“It was all going to be filmed in Europe. Every scene was in some kind of international place. They were flying up and down the Croatian coast to find places they could use as Japan, China, India, Italy. It was a great concept and it’s what got me over to the States, really,” he told TV Tonight.

“They had shot the thing so well and spent so much money on it that it was hard for any network to put out that kind of dosh.”

Now the boy from Brisbane has the lead role in US cable drama The Glades as Det. Jim Longworth, who relocates from Chicago to Florida after being wrongfully accused of having sex with his former captain’s wife. US critics have given him the thumbs up.

Passmore, who has appeared in McLeod’s Daughters, The Cut and Underbelly, is now home for Christmas, and says that whether acting in Australia or overseas, the job isn’t too different.

“You look around and you think ‘I’m not in Sydney now, I’m in Old Town Prague.’ But you know what, every set feels the same. You’re there to do a job, the crew’s doing a job. It becomes more about where you are, but the actual doing of the job feels the same whether you’re in Old Town Prague or sweating your arse off in a swamp in Florida,” he says.

But he concedes the trappings of US television are just a tad nicer, even if the workload limits his ability to enjoy them.

“I stayed in this amazing 2 bedroom condo in Hollywood Beach, opening out onto the ocean but I barely saw that thing. If you’re the lead in a show you’ve really got to put the work in,” he says.

“The other guys would try to drag me out to a Salsa Club but honestly I didn’t have the time or the energy to do anything but the work. It was very, very regimented.

“Series television is pretty brutal especially if it’s resting on your shoulders. You’re doing 18, 19 hour days usually working through to 4 or 5 of a Saturday morning. So you sleep all Saturday, maybe go out for a couple of beers on Saturday night. But come Sunday you’ve got to be all over your scripts for the next week or you’re playing catch-up the whole time.

“There’s no time to be doing any kind of homework or be worried about your lines when you’re doing the thing. You’re pumping it out, going hard, going fast -it’s pretty much non-stop.

“But my last trip to New York I was treated very well,” he admits. “I don’t know how restaurant managers and security keep across it all, but somehow they know anyone who’s anyone. Before you know it you get treated very well.”

Passmore says the setting of Florida serves as both the series protaganist and antagonist, full of small towns with unique communities from mystics to NFL Players. The show begins to settle after its Pilot episode in which a dead body is found floating in a gator-infested swamp.

“We actually re-shot 60% of the Pilot, so it was very much a work in progress. The second and especially third episode really kick in. You think ‘Ok this is Florida. This place is weird. This guy moves through the space this way.’ So it’s a character-cop-procedural.”

In February he returns to begin work on the second season for a 7 month shoot that begins to air in the US in June.

His long term goal is to tap into the other side of creativity.

“My dream down the track would be collaborating with people and getting up works that we’re excited about and believe in. I’ve got some mates in LA who are doing just that and it’s really exciting,” he says.

“I’m more or less wanting to do stuff that got us into this as kids in the first place. Things that made you go ‘Gee, I’d love to be an actor.’ Whether it was The Mission or Commando. I think I’m a blend of something in between.”

So does he think his US success will win him any favours from restaurant managers in Australia?

“If I went back to the Manly RSL I’d probably get a free beer,” he laughs.

The Glades premieres 8:30pm Sunday on W.

9 Responses

  1. Matt is a excellent actor. When you watch The Glades it is hard to believe that he is from Australia. He is charming and talented. The chemistry on the show is wonderful. Enjoy Season 1 and we can hardly wait for Season 2.

  2. Matt has won over a lot of American fans. The Glades was one of the best new shows to come on TV in a long time. I never missed and episode, looking forward to Season 2. He seems like a very down to earth guy and that has captured the hearts of female American fans, me included. We are so glad you’re here Matt.

  3. The two lads from Last Man Standing have certainly done well, and deservedly so. Passmore, and the other chap who has been in one of those current aussie cop shows.

  4. I had the pleasure of directing him a few times many years ago, and a more delightful man and committed actor, you cannot find! I hope he has retained his humility and charm. I struggled to find something wrong with the bloke – he has it all! Even then, i knew he had what it took to be successful.

  5. I just wanted to say Thanks to Matt for sharing himself with the states. He is fantastic as Jim Longworth and Sundays haven’t been the same without “The Glades.” I agree with Linda…it’s gonna be a looooong cold winter without Matt! We eagerly await season 2!

  6. Love “The Glades” and Matt Passmore. So glad he came over to the states. We are impatiently waiting for season 2 to start. It is going to be a long, cold winter without Matt and the “The Glades”.

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