Heartbreak High star Will McDonald takes on next big gig with role in Thou Shalt Not Steal

Rising star of the Australian screen Will McDonald has made his next move. Here is everything you need to know.

Expect the unexpected from Heartbreak High star Will McDonald.

With the rising star of the Australian screen set to debut another new character this week, the 26-year old said he is excited for fans to see him as someone other than Douglas ‘Ca$h’ Piggott.

“I never want to be boxed into one thing,” McDonald told The Daily Telegraph/Confidential.

Will McDonald in Alice Springs, where he shot new Stan drama comedy, Thou Shalt Not Steal. Picture: Lisa Hatz.

“I love the profile that Cash has given me but part of the joy of acting is challenging yourself and trying to play different roles and showing people that you have got range, that you are not just this one trick pony. I do one thing, and then I want the next thing to be the complete opposite, completely different.”

McDonald latest project, Thou Shalt Not Steal, premieres on Stan on Thursday (October 17). It is an outrageous road trip dramedy telling the story of two teens, Gidge (McDonald) and Robyn (Sherry-Lee Watson) on the run from police and crooks from Alice Springs to Adelaide.

“Gidge is the complete opposite of Ca$h, which was something that really drew me to the role and to the project,” McDonald said.

“He is kind of dorky and awkward, he has lived this very sheltered life with his dad travelling around Australia in their caravan so he doesn’t really have friends or people skills and he is always putting his foot in his mouth or saying the wrong thing. He doesn’t have that brooding edge or silent strong type quality that Cash has, he is very much an open book. And the show itself is not just different from Heartbreak High, it is different from anything we have seen on Aussie television before. It is dark but also really funny and it has a lot of heart but it is also kind of messed up, gross and disgusting.”

Filmmaker Dylan River with actors Sherry-Lee Watson (Heartbreak High) and Will McDonald (Young Rock) for new Stan Original series Thou Shalt Not Steal. Picture: Supplied.

Thou Shalt Not Steal had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.

On Friday, McDonald attended the Australian premiere of the series at the Araluen Arts Centre in Darwin, returning to the Northern Territory town where a large part of Thou Shalt Not Steal was shot.

Written and directed by Dylan River, Thou Shalt Not Steal also stars Miranda Otto and Noah Taylor.

Heartbreak High stars. (L to R) James Majoos as Darren, Gemma Chua-Tran as Sasha, Sherry-Lee Watson as Missy, Will Mcdonald as Cash, Chloe Hayden as Quinni , Ayesha Madon as Amerie, Kartanya Maynard as Zoe, Bryn Chapman Parish as Spider, Brodie Townsend as Ant, Sam Rechner as Rowan, Thomas Weatherall as Malakai, Asher Yasbincek as Harper in Heartbreak High S2. Picture: Netflix

He will head to the US later this month as one of six finalists for the annual Heath Ledger Scholarship.

“It has been a great year,” he said.

“I feel like I have had a couple of good ones and I am just very grateful and very lucky. I went through a period before where I really wasn’t working at all so you’ve just got to kind of enjoy those purple patches when you have them.”

Actor Will McDonald in Alice Springs, where he shot new Stan drama comedy, Thou Shalt Not Steal. Picture: Lisa Hatz.

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