Walking Dead star Callan McAuliffe is living the Hollywood dream
Actor Callan McAuliffe has worked with some of the greats including DiCaprio, Spielberg and Luhrmann. But his life could have turned out very differently if it were not for a cocker spaniel named Kirby.
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Callan McAuliffe may never have tried his hand at drama if it hadn’t been for a cute cocker spaniel named Kirby. McAuliffe, now star of the global phenomenon The Walking Dead, but then a 10-year-old pupil at SCEGGS Redlands in Cremorne – desperately wanted the dog, but didn’t have any pocket money. His mother told him he would have to save up to buy it for himself, so he, enterprisingly, signed up with a talent agency and soon started being booked for commercials.
Fast forward and McAuliffe is part of the post-apocalyptic world of The Walking Dead, where humans are menaced by zombie hordes. It has become a worldwide hit, airing in 136 countries and coming second only to the juggernaut Game of Thrones for most in demand show. He stars as Alden, described in the character breakdown as “a sexy, blue collar twenty-something whose survival skills include sarcasm”.
Now McAuliffe is based in LA and Atlanta, with frequent trips home to the north shore – where he will spend Christmas.
Despite a slew of breakout acting awards, Callan remains gratefully unjaded by a career that has already seen him work with Hollywood luminaries Steven Spielberg, Baz Luhrmann, Leonardo DiCaprio, Sir Ben Kingsley, Gillian Anderson, Samuel L Jackson, Australia’s Teresa Palmer and director Rob Reiner.
Still only 24, he is multi-talented: he acts, studies Mandarin and science in his spare time, works with UNICEF Australia and the Wolf Connection and he owns 15 musical instruments. “Oh God, I can only play around three or four of them competently,” he groans cheerily, refusing to take himself too seriously. Oh, and he has just published his first novel, The Hill Ghost.
For a young actor glued to The Lord of the Rings, getting to perform deeds of derring-do is a dream come true. His athleticism at school – The Scot’s College in Bellevue Hill — won him the school’s “Flying Scotsman” title several years in a row for his speed over 100m. But his athletic career was cut short by a dislocated knee. The injury made McAuliffe turn his focus to the performing arts – although it was primarily as a means of making money.
Before too long he not only owned his own dog, but was also cast alongside Rebecca Gibney and Erik Thomson in the family TV drama, Packed to the Rafters.
“Back then I wanted to be a scientist when I grew up, but acting came easier and I did a few things for pocket money here and there. I didn’t really decide to take it seriously until I was cast in my first big role.”
That came in Flipped, a $14 million coming-of-age studio movie directed by Hollywood filmmaker Rob Reiner almost a decade ago. Without great expectations, McAuliffe auditioned for the romantic lead during a family holiday to the States.
When Reiner called to tell him he had clinched the role of Bryce Loski, McAuliffe was sitting in a caravan between takes for the low budget, award-winning Aussie short Franswa Sharl, the story of a boy who reinvents himself as a girl so he can enter a beauty pageant.
McAuliffe moved to the States aged 14, his mother, Claudia Keech, accompanying him as chaperone.
His CV includes Spielberg-produced I Am Number Four, followed by Aussie classic Cloudstreet and Baz Luhrmann’s multi-milliondollar screen adaptation of The Great Gatsby.
In 2013 he was named break out star at the Toronto International Film Festival for his lead role Dominic in Beneath The Harvest Sky and in 2014 he was named winner of a Young Artist Award (USA) for his role as Young Gatsby. He is the youngest winner of the international GQ Man of The Year Award for Breakthrough of the Year – presented when he was 17.
Today his voice has a soft, almost Irish lilt – two of his grandparents came from the Emerald Isle, while great-great-great grandfather Joseph Augustus Henriques was the first US Consul to Australia — as he ponders where home is nowadays.
“I’m based in LA but The Walking Dead requires me to be in Atlanta, where most of the show is shot, so I spend most time there. But I did live in LA for eight years or so and most of my possessions are still there in storage.”
“You know, it’s extraordinary just to visit the set,” he says of the cult show. “After making The Walking Dead for 10 years they’re so skilled with the atmosphere and effects, there’s just horrible gory nonsense everywhere.
“For me, one of the best moments was when I got to manfully dismount from my horse and throw a spear at a walker’s head,” he says, using the colloquial name for the show’s doomsday mutants. “That was something I was obsessed with doing, after growing up watching The Lord of the Rings. It was extraordinary joy.”
Australia, however, still has a huge claim on his heart. With his mother living in Sydney and his father, author and artist Roger McAuliffe, settled in country Castlemaine, Victoria, he gets the best of both worlds.
“When I’m away I miss my friends and family, but most of all I miss the atmosphere of Australia, the unique environment and wildlife. It’s always fascinated me and even more so when I spend a lot of time abroad. Being in Atlanta, where I am now, I miss being by the water, and I miss the eucalyptus trees …
“There’s a lovely ghost gum outside our house in Sydney and there’s usually anywhere between 10 to 20 rainbow lorikeets flitting about in there. I always look forward to seeing that again.”
But returning for the GQ Awards last week and the AACTAs this week also means he can launch The Hill Ghost here. His father drew the cover illustration, making it all the more special.
Describing it as “a dark satire” about a Tibetan mastiff who enlists a seagull friend to defend the last wild pack of wolves in Britain, The Hill Ghost contains more than a few of Callan’s favourite things.
“I’ve always loved animal fictions and the idea just came to me one day,” he says, modestly. “I’m a terrible procrastinator and I thought it might be nice to see if I could actually finish a project I’d started.”
In future he’d also love to work with Sir Anthony Hopkins, and make more Australian movies.
He has “a wonderful film coming out next year” about which he is sworn to secrecy. And that’s almost killing him.
“It’s been a wild ride, for sure. The fact that all this has happened to me, the people I’ve met, they’re kind of ‘pinch yourself’ moments.
“It’s extraordinary, but it’s important to remain grateful and not let any success you may have go to your head.”
Is it hard to stay so grounded? There’s a giant guffaw. “I think having an Aussie background makes it easier. The Australian character definitely has something to do with that. I mean, every Australian knows everyone will give them a hard time if they come back and they’re full of themselves.”