TV stars of The Wilds say they were ‘starved of choice’ with Straddie pub grub

A group of American actors shooting a popular TV miniseries on North Stradbroke Island have slammed the choice of food on offer at the popular holiday hideaway, triggering a backlash from locals.

Charles Alexander, below, who plays hot-headed lacrosse player Kirin O’Conner in the Amazon Prime Video TV drama The Wilds, said Straddie was perfect for filming a story about a deserted island. Colleague Alex Fitzalan said it was difficult getting food outside the pub.

Actors shooting a popular miniseries on North Stradbroke Island, have slammed the holiday hideaway for only having one pub and too few restaurants.

Charles Alexander, who plays hot-headed lacrosse player Kirin O’Conner in the Amazon Prime Video TV drama The Wilds, said Straddie was perfect for filming a story about a deserted island.

But when it came to sating gourmands, he was less effusive about his time on the island away from his favourite food of Mexican tacos.

“There also weren’t a lot of facilities available while on location, and they only had one pub to eat at,” he said.

“We became intimately acquainted with the menu of the Stradbroke pub.”

Fellow actor in the series, Alex Fitzalan went further.

“That was absolutely a challenge going to get food after you finish work … and everyone’s like, ‘Good luck getting food’,” he said.

“That was awful sometimes, but we make it work.”

Seafood, beef, and fresh salads are all part of the menu at the Straddie hotel.

The young actors’ comments about the lack of island facilities fuelled a local backlash with Straddie businessowners reporting drops in sales whenever the film crew was on the island.

Straddie Chamber of Commerce president Colin Battersby said the island as like a ghost town midweek in off season after 7pm.

“Movies and other entertainment are kept under wraps to start with,” he said.

“We think that island businesses should be afforded priority in providing services for film crews — at least be given the opportunity to get involved.

“We didn’t really know The Wilds were coming until they arrived.”

Island resident Carolyn Turner said the duo should have stayed in character and “practised finding their own food and making it”.

The Stradbroke Island Beach Hotel is a popular venue on the island.

Ms Turner, who lived 100m from the film set, said the production logistics were poorly organised “with very little consideration for the residents or holiday makers who actually invest in the community”.

“My house is only 100m from Deadman’s Beach and when filming was happening, I was prevented from walking onto the beach for several days — even though I wasn’t intending to walk anywhere near the filming site,” she said.

“Correct me if I’m wrong but our beaches are for public use and as ratepayers we have a legal right to use them.

“If there were going to be restricted access times then signage should have been erected.

“I received mixed responses from personnel who were in the carpark.

“Hopefully, if the state government decides to entertain the needs of media companies, workable and fair consultation needs to occur.

“I’m all for fostering all kinds of business on the island but The Wilds 2 was a sh*t show in many ways.”

The first series of The Wilds was shot on Straddie last year.

Long-time resident Liz Johnston said local catering businesses could have been contracted to keep the film crew fed.

She suggested businesses who would be interested in catering contracts could be engaged for when film production crews were expected at the location.

“But then, of course, there’d be nowhere for the extra staff to live. The economy can never grow while workers are unable to find accommodation,” Ms Johnston said.

It was the second time film crews for the series had made headlines while filming on the island.

In August, residents lodged complaints with police after spotting cast and crew near Deadman’s Beach not wearing Covid masks during public filming, just days after locals were fined by police for not wearing masks.

Filming of the series relocated to Queensland with crews sent to Straddie twice, including this month, for the second series.

The series, which stars Aussie actor Rachel Griffiths as an unorthodox professor conducting a social experiment on a deserted island, wrapped island filming for a second series this month.