Neighbours: Don Hany takes over from Tim Robards
Stepping into the shoes of another actor like Tim Robards is not always an easy fit, as new Neighbours star Don Hany has discovered.
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Stepping into the shoes of another actor is not always an easy fit, as new Neighbours star Don Hany has discovered.
Taking over the role of Pierce Greyson, a Ramsay Street favourite played by former Bachelor star, Tim Robards, set Hany up to meet the extraordinary physical standards of his buff predecessor.
It’s a comparison the Offspring and Heartbeat actor bats away in an instant, joking: “I think my head was smaller than one of his biceps.”
“It’s not something I think I could ever match, so we all just agreed that none of the wardrobe was going to work … or I was going to have to stand on boxes and stuff,” he laughs.
“But I’m flattered that I was considered to step in,” he adds, “just all the running scenes got cut and the shirtless gym stuff. Suddenly we’re making Pierce a thinking woman’s man and he’s got glasses and is filmed doing the crossword.”
Jokes aside, Hany was humbled by the “handover” from Robards, who relinquished his first-ever TV role on the Melbourne-based soap, to return to his pregnant wife, Anna Heinrich as they prepared to welcome their first child back in Sydney.
Border closures imposed by the outbreak of COVID-19 in Victoria also meant producers had to find Robards’ replacement within in the state; where happily Hany lives with his actor wife Alin Sumarwata and their two daughters.
The quarantine restrictions may have kept the men from meeting, but Hany, 45, was impressed by the professionalism and commitment of the one-time reality TV star.
“He’s just such a kind guy,” Hany says, “and he gave me as much information about the character as he could. You know, the backstory on Pierce and what he’d put together in his head over the years. And he really had worked hard and got him to where his marriage was falling apart but also how much pain Pierce was going through because of how much he loved [wife] Chloe (played by April Pengilly). How he couldn’t work out why they weren’t right for each other; so he was having an affair with the woman he probably should have married, Dippi (Sharon Johal).”
While Hany’s career has taken him around the world and back again, arriving on Ramsay Street was a teen dream come true, he says.
“I watched it as a kid and there were always characters that I found interesting. I’ve always been an Annie Jones fan (who plays Jane ‘Super brain’ Harris). There’s something about the way she can deliver concern for something that I’ve always been enamoured by. And then when I learned that she was Hungarian and I speak a little bit as well, so we were able to talk,” the East West 101 star explains.
“I’ve always had a bit of a crush on her, but I mean, she’s just one of the most delightful people … she’s a sweetheart, she really is.”
For the same nostalgic reason, he also relished the chance to work opposite Stefan Dennis “and I was lucky enough to do most of my stuff with him. I tell you, this was like a dream job in so many ways.”
But he saved his most effusive praise for Ben Turland, the 22-year-old who plays Greyson’s son Hendrix, who wowed his new on-screen father.
“He’s a staggeringly talented kid,” he enthuses, “I mean, he can dance like you wouldn’t believe, and he can sing. Talk about a triple threat … that guy’s going to be somebody special, he really is.”
With the international industry still largely shutdown, Hany reveals he’s awaiting word on his latest project, which was to have begun filming overseas earlier this year; but now could go back into production as early as March.
Finding a place on Neighbours (even for just a short, one-month stint) during the pandemic was a gift, Hany says – producing the kind of content that audiences around the world see as their daily balm.
“There’s a sense with Neighbours, that you could switch it on and relax, you can kind of medicate yourself with it, which is strangely what we need right now,” he says. “I feel like there’s a lot of heavy drama that may be complicating things for everyone; whereas, there is a need, I reckon, for kind of soothing people.”
Look over his acting credits and there is plenty to soothe fans – from his breakout TV role as swoon-worthy Dr Chris Havel in beloved Aussie drama, Offspring [streaming, Netflix], to one of his more underrated performances, as a damaged migrant prisoner preparing for release in the 2014 film, Healing [streaming, Amazon Prime].
Meanwhile, the uncertainty of where his next job may appear, or that of his industry peers, is very real for Hany, who described the Federal Government’s lack of support during the coronavirus crisis and recent budget measures to abolish quotas as “pretty disappointing.”
“It’s just sad that if you look at the history of the arts sector, at times where there are challenges, challenging circumstances for the community, for the nation, it’s one of the first industries to become philanthropic and to offer volunteer services for the good of everyone. It’s disappointing that the government never sort of considered it as an industry worth protecting or that there’s any longevity to a national storytelling voice. On the one hand, a lot of Australians have had to find work overseas, and that’s probably the result of a lack of protection for the industry as well. But the other thing is that it’s a breeding ground for so many jobs … whether its crew members, or production assistants and runners, or new writers or people coming in to pull focus or build sets. There’s so many wonderful ways into the industry before you even look at the talent in the cast. It’s really sad to think that if it wasn’t for offshore money, there is no way a show like Neighbours would have continued.”
* Neighbours, 6.30pm, weekdays, 10 Peach.
Originally published as Neighbours: Don Hany takes over from Tim Robards