Veteran Aussie actor Damon Herriman on the challenges of playing Charles Manson
AFTER 38 years, actor Damon Herriman is now an overnight success after landing one of the biggest roles in his career, but he reveals it wasn’t easy. He will work alongside some of Hollywood’s elite stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and fellow Aussie Margot Robbie.
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AFTER 38 years, actor Damon Herriman is now an overnight success.
Landing the role of Charles Manson in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood has elevated the Australian to the A-list, alongside co-stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Al Pacino and fellow Aussie Margot Robbie.
“I’ve been doing this since I was a little kid and then this year particularly just feels like it is a very different year compared with everything that has gone before,” Herriman told The Daily Telegraph, after being announced as the Qantas Orry-Kelly Award winner at the upcoming Australians in Film Awards.
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“As an actor, you are always having peaks and troughs but this year has certainly been like no other — for me anyway. I am just enjoying it for the moment and hoping that it doesn’t suddenly come to an end — but I have also been doing it for long enough that I know that is entirely possible.”
Herriman, 48, is a prolific actor who got his start at age 10 in The Sullivans, but it has only really been in the past few years that he’s made his mark internationally.
Securing the lead in a Tarantino film is next-level and something he has taken very seriously.
“I think it had a lot to do with being physically able to be turned into (Manson),” Herriman said.
“The (actor) had to be short, for a start, which narrows down the competition considerably.”
Preparing for the role of killer cult leader Manson wasn’t easy.
“Mentally it was certainly incredibly upsetting researching what happened,” Herriman, who also played Manson in David Fincher’s US TV series Mindhunter, said.
“In the scenes that I have to do, it is more about the characterisation of the guy rather than the horrific stuff ... It didn’t upset me having to play him, it was more upsetting having to research it.
“Playing a real person is a challenging thing, especially someone as well known as him, and you want people that are watching to forget they are watching an actor. It was one of the hardest things I have done.”
Herriman will walk the red carpet at the Australians in Film Awards in Los Angeles next month, alongside fellow award recipients Keiynan Lonsdale, Hannah Gadsby and Eliza Scanlen.
The Orry-Kelly Award recognises an Australian who has “contributed to the national identity with their body of work”. Past winner include Tim Minchin and Bruna Papandrea.