Netflix accused of using paid actors on reality TV show Byron Baes

Netflix show Byron Baes is allegedly using paid actors after acting profiles for rumoured cast members surfaced online.

Filming for Netflix’s upcoming reality TV show Byron Baes is said to be underway and insiders claim the controversial new series will include paid actors.

Confidential hears that several participants have notable acting experience while others have allegedly had acting lessons in the lead up to filming.

“This is a fake show that is not based on reality, it’s all contrived” one insider claimed.

Netflix and production company Eureka have not yet confirmed the cast however, rumoured participants include Elias Chigros and Hannah Brauer who both have acting experience according to their online talent profiles.

Elias Chigros is a rumoured cast member on Byron Baes. Picture: Instagram

Chigros, 30, who rose to TV fame on the reality TV show Love Island in 2018, refers to himself as an “actor” on Starnow, which connects talent with casting professionals.

His profile lists him as an “Actor, Extra, Model, Influencer” along with his extensive work experience.

Elias Chigros’ profile on Starnow lists him as a model actor and influencer.

“I’ve done a number of commercials in Australia and some minor roles in TV and wish to gain more involvement in acting in Australia and abroad,” Chigros states.

Byron Bay retail worker, Hannah Brauer, is another rumoured participant with a profile on Starnow.

Brauer is listed as an “Actor, Extra, Model” who began acting at age 8 and can perform a variety of accents.

Her acting experience includes “unpaid speaking roles” and musicals, plays, short films and modelling work.

Hannah Brauer’s actor profile on Starnow.

Other names that are circulating are Bachelorette alum Nathan Favro and influencers Elle Watson and Jade Kevin Foster.

All three are signed to the same talent agency Stage Addiction, which represents everyone from film and TV stars to podcasters.

A production source insisted there are no paid actors in Byron Baes.

“There is absolutely no truth to this claim,” the source said.

Hannah Brauer is a rumoured cast member on Baes. Picture: Instagram

Earlier this month, Netflix confirmed that the show would feature a range of “hard working” artists.

“They are artists, musicians, entrepreneurs, business owners, models, on a spiritual journey and more,” Netflix’s Director of Originals in Australia, Que Minh Luu, announced on Twitter.

“They understand the power of influence. They are part of Byron. They understand the creative vision of the show that has been developed with them over several months.”

A local protest mounted against Netflix reality show Byron Baes. Picture: Liana Boss

The show promises to be “entertaining” and a recent tongue-in-cheek press release said it will feature “fights, flings and heartbreak”, which prompted criticism from one local musician, Billy Otto, who claimed he was offered $200 per day to participate.

The show has sparked various complaints from thousands of locals, who fear their beloved town will be misrepresented and ridiculed.

A petition calling on production to be cancelled has amassed nearly 10,000 signatures and a paddle out in protest against the show was also organised by local residents last month.