Mark Coles Smith confronts sensitive subject, close to his heart.

Mystery Road: Origin star Mark Coles Smith is staying busy, moving from a starring ABC role to the upcoming NITV documentary, and raising awareness around suicide prevention in Indigenous communities.

Coles Smith will present Keeping Hope, produced by Joined Up Films.

The young actor has been haunted by unanswered questions regarding the suicide of his best friend in the Kimberly ten years ago and is travelling to some of the worst affected areas to speaks with professionals, Indigenous community leaders and his own family.

“We’ll be hitting the road travelling throughout the region, exploring the issue of suicide prevention and the role models that have been really powerlessly working to support the community up here, and just building some context and understanding,” he recently told TV Tonight.

The documentary also sees Coles Smith reflect on how it’s difficult to properly celebrate those who take their own lives because feelings of guilt and remorse inevitably arise. But suicide in Indigenous communities is now at epidemic proportions.

The documentary is due to screen on NITV in late 2022.

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