Stephen Peacocke: “I’ve had a very lucky run”

With three recent hit shows actor Stephen Peacocke is enjoying a ‘lucky run’ -to use his words- after moving on from some 4 years as Home & Away‘s River Boy ‘Bracks.’

While the pandemic was a setback to production, scheduling changes actually freed him up to step into ABC’s The Newsreader as sports reporter Rob Rickards.

The behind the scenes drama was written by Five Bedrooms co-creator Michael Lucas.

“The Newsreader got pushed back to a point where I became available,” he tells TV Tonight.

“I remember Michael Lucas mentioned to me, ‘There’s a role that you might be alright for but you’re going to be doing RFDS.’ I didn’t ask too much about it, because I didn’t want to be frustrated. I knew it was gonna be a good project. But it timed (in my favour). I got a phone call about a month from finishing (Five Bedrooms) saying, ‘Would you like to be a part of it?’

“I’d do just about anything that Mike writes”

“I’d do just about anything that Mike writes. It was awesome and it’s been a fantastic opportunity for me because it was such a top show.”

On RFDS he plays Doctor Pete Emerson, recently filming again in western NSW, a world away from Five Bedrooms‘ tradie Ben Chigwell.

“I’ve had a very lucky run the last couple of years, working on good things. What’s been great is the producers of Five Bedrooms, RFDS and The Newsreader all know each other so well.

“As long as you’re grateful for it, I reckon, and it’s never lost on me that I’m lucky to go from from job to job.”

“Poor ol’ Ben”

On Season Four of Five Bedrooms, Ben is faced with new romantic prospects after splitting from Heather (Doris Younane).

“Poor ol’ Ben. He’s a bit wayward, you’d have to say,” he continues.

“He’s taken a bit of a gamble on a new relationship. At the end of the last season he still definitely thinks that Heather’s the one for him, and that could still be the case. But season four he sort of gets involved in someone else, which is pretty fun.

“He’s definitely a fairly shambolic character to play. Life is always spiralling out of control one way or the other.”

He is joined once more by Younane, Kat Stewart, Roy Joseph, Katie Robertson, Johnny Carr, plus Rodger Corser, Hugh Sheridan and Kumud Merani.

Whether working with his Five Bedrooms cast, or those on RFDS and The Newsreader, Peacocke never takes for granted the chance to learn more from those around him, such as William McInnes as Newsreader‘s tyrannical news boss Lindsay Cunningham.

“People would pay good money to be in the front row”

“He’s brilliant that bloke. And he’s a character too… he gives me a hard time. But we had an awesome time on set,” he recalls.

“He’s an absolute larrikin in the best sense of the word. He’s like a throwback to the old Aussies I grew up around. I remember a scene with William and Robert Taylor going head to head. I had a line at the top and then I got to sit back and watch. I thought ‘Far out, people would pay good money to be in the front row to see these two.’

“Your confidence grows as you do more stuff with high calibre (creatives) … I feel like I can turn up now and not just be absolutely petrified every day.”

“I remember going home from a huge swathe of the jobs I’ve done, with a bleeding throat”

Is confidence still a concern from someone who has featured across so many TV roles?

“100%,” says Peacocke. “I remember going home from a huge swathe of the jobs I’ve done, with a bleeding throat just because my voice had been cooked, just purely out of nerves, and stricken with fear. I don’t think anyone else would notice and I don’t carry on about it too much. Now at least I feel like I can come to work when you’re at least confident in what you can offer.

“When you’ve got a camera on you, you’ve got people watching you can’t help but start overthinking it. The more you do it, the more you learn to not overthink it too much.

“I’m petrified still of public speaking. I’d far rather someone else writes it and it’s done from the safety of a camera, where we can do a Take 2.”

Peacocke still credits the grind of Home & Away as being an important training ground, and doesn’t have too much time for those who complain about the long days and ongoing commitment.

“If you’re on that show you put in the time to use it to learn… and just not be a loser. Be on time. …there’s not much to complain about,” he insists.

“It’s easy to forget how much of a good job it is. I’d say 99% of the people I worked with with don’t, but I guess it’s just easy to forget how fortunate you are to be in work.”

Five Bedrooms is now screening on Paramount+