X Factor Australia star Jai Waetford now all grown up in new crime drama

He shot to fame aged just 14 on X Factor Australia and now Jai Waetford is all grown up and returning to the silver screen.

Jai Waetford shot to fame on the 2013 season of X Factor Australia, during what was a blockbuster glory era for local television ratings.

The then 14-year-old made it to the final three in series five of the reality show, which was won by Dami Im, in a grand finale watched by more than two million households.

Suffice to say, many Aussies no doubt remember Waetford, who was touted as the next Justin Bieber thanks to his sweet singing voice and boyish charm.

Australian singer Jai Waetford shot to fame on X Factor in 2013.

More than a decade later, a now 25-year-old Waetford has turned his sights to acting, starring in the new Stan original series Critical Incident, which was created and co-written by Sarah Bassiuoni.

Set in Western Sydney, the six-part psychological drama explores themes of racial profiling and police ethics in vulnerable communities. In the show, Waetford plays Hayden Broadis, a young man whose fallen into a life selling drugs.

It’s a project that carries particular poignancy for Waetford, who grew up in the southwest Sydney suburb of Campbelltown, where he says he could have “easily” gone down a different path.

“Everyone is presented with choices, and it really comes down to the influences that you have around you that dictate how you go about making those choices,” Waetford says.

“There’s definitely a world in which I could have fallen into the same habits quite easily.

“Looking back now [at my childhood], it was really the perfect storm of influence and self-will to not succumb to the things you witness around you.”

Waetford is now all grown up.

Waetford is returning to acting for the first time since 2016.

Music played a significant part in fostering a dream outside his environment.

Waetford learned how to play guitar watching videos on YouTube, and given the popularity of talent reality shows in the early 2010s, felt inspired to audition for X Factor, a decision which shaped the trajectory of his life.

The young star, who is currently based in Dubai working on a secret project, says he’s “flying” right now, after previously revealing he struggled to “find happiness” following his success on TV, which included a 50-episode stint on Neighbours in 2016.

Waetford and Zoë Boe star in Critical Incident. Picture: Stan/Matchbox Pictures

“My life [since X Factor] has been a rollercoaster, to say the least,” he says.

“In short, there’s beauty in being so young and naive. It was like, no matter what came across my desk, it was hard to take it too seriously, so there was never really a point where anything mattered too much.

“And I know that might sound a bit shallow, but it made it easier when I was 15, coming off the back of a national TV hit, having to figure out which direction to move and which way to go, there was never really a time where I sat down and went, ‘Hey, this is different’.

“There were a lot of things that were gained, and lost, but I think that period in my life made all those things easier to handle than maybe if I was a little bit older and more experienced with the world to know what was actually going on.”

Ultimately, it caught up with him later. In 2018, Waetford opened up about his mental health struggle, saying he’d been quietly suffering from depression for some time in an interview with Herald Sun.

Afterwards, he signed up as an ambassador Australian Suicide Prevention Foundation.

Waetford believes naivety helped him early in his career.

It was through travel that Waetford says he found himself. “I know it sounds so cliche, but it’s true,” he adds, detailing how he spent lengthy solo stays in countries including Africa and Brazil over the past couple of years.

“Honestly, I had to add to just leave. I had that security of friends, environment and family, which don’t get me wrong, it’s amazing and I think everyone should be able to rely on that, but I think there also comes a point when you have to learn how to be good on your own,” he says.

The 25-year-old says travelling helped him reconnect with what matters. Picture: Instagram/@jaiwaetford

He continues, “I think just purposely putting myself in a position where I wasn’t comfortable and I didn’t speak a language, or I had no idea where I was. Sometimes I didn’t have any money, I didn’t have any reception. I didn’t have everything that I was comfortable with.

“I stripped myself off and it just taught me a lot about who I was around people that had no idea who I was.

“For the past couple of years, I’ve been so good. I’ve reconnected my relationship with God and with my family, and I’ve really kind of just committed to, I suppose, putting that piece first. Above any kind of financial opportunity, above any kind of lifestyle.

“And now, if something [career wise] comes across the table, I’m in a different position where I would 100 per cent take it.

“I’m enjoying life and being happy, and not treating it like a job. I’m sick of that. I do this because I enjoy it and because it makes me happy.”

Critical Incident is now streaming on Stan

Originally published as X Factor Australia star Jai Waetford now all grown up in new crime drama