Mark Coles Smith on the security of acting…

He’s currently starring in Mystery Road: Origin but actor Mark Coles Smith very nearly detoured into a new career, during the pandemic, with a crash course in Security work.

“I lost six months worth of work that was scheduled. I pivoted into a Security course that I did online over 18 days. I got my Security certificate so I could keep working.

“There were a lot of construction sites around the city that shut down. There was a huge spike in demand for Security Officers. There was a weird window where you could actually get your course online over Zoom.

“But once I got that I thought maybe I’d just take a moment to not work for a little bit and working on some music, read some books and chill while the world seems to be imploding.”

The Melbourne-based actor decided to head west to Broome to see family.

“Halfway into the pandemic in the lockdowns on the East Coast, I decided that I wanted to take advantage of that time to spend with my family. It took me three applications before I was able to get back into WA on compassionate grounds to attend funerals,” he reveals.

“I spent six weeks traveling the southern coastline to get the WA with a campervan on my own. It was a huge journey to get back to WA.

“I finally got up to Broome and spent 14 days in quarantine in a donger, where the only piece of artwork was a glass-framed photograph of a mining explosion in a  super-pit, hanging above the flywire kitchen sink. So it was a really interesting pilgramage back to the place where I was born,” he says.

“Once I got to Broome I was there for a week before I was booking work within WA.”

As things panned out, he never got to use his new Security certificate -and given his rising star status it probably won’t be needed anytime soon.

“I’ve got a few different options if things dry up!”

Mystery Road: Origin airs 8:30pm Sundays on ABC.