Bachelor Tim Robards finds permanent home on Neighbours

Tim Robards has turned his stint on reality TV as Australia’s first Bachelor into a permanent acting gig with his permanent return to Neighbours as the shady Pierce Greyson.

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Tim Robards has landed his dream job as a permanent character on Neighbours. But the 37-year-old Newcastle chiropractor, who became Australia’s first star of The Bachelor in 2013, says he still has a lot to prove.

Last year he spent eight weeks playing Pierce Greyson on the long-running soap — a role that was made permanent this year.

But coming from reality TV with little acting experience puts Robards on the back foot.

“I have had this burning desire for years to (do acting) but I never had the courage,” he tells BW Magazine between scenes on the Erinsborough set in Melbourne.

Tim Robards plays Pierce Greyson on Neighbours. Picture: Network 10

“I’d get in my head and say ‘You’re a chiropractor, that’s what you do’ but I thought if I don’t give this a go, I never will.

“The thing I’ve learned more and more is to back myself, you have to take yourself out of your comfort zone to grow. But I’m still so nervous because I feel I really have to prove myself to the others.

“Last year it took me until I was about six weeks in to feel comfortable, to actually remember lines instead of freaking out every time they called action.

“And this time around I’m about 10 weeks in, so it’s getting better.”

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Robards plays shady entrepreneur Greyson who becomes embroiled in a messy affair with Chloe Brennan, played by April Rose-Pengilly.

Robards, who married his Bachelor sweetheart Anna Heinrich last year, says it’s difficult being apart from his bride during the week — he is filming in Melbourne while she lives in the new Sydney home they bought last year.

Australia’s first Bachelor Tim Robards commutes between Melbourne and Sydney to be with his wife Anna Heinrich. Picture: Supplied

“I fly back every week,” he says.

“And when we’re together we maximise our time, we don’t waste it on silly arguments — what’s the point of spending the little time you have together giving each other dirty looks?”

Robards is taking his new acting gig seriously, hoping to translate it into a long-term career, despite coming to it later in life.

Between scenes on Neighbours he pays for extra acting tuition, one-on-one lessons, and has even started taking voice and singing lessons from Australian Idol winner Wes Carr.

“(The singing classes) really help with acting,” he says.

Tim Robards makes a permanent return to Neighbours. Picture: Network 10

“To start with I felt like an idiot, but you have to be open and vulnerable and I’m starting late so I have to learn quickly.

“Some actors have been (on Neighbours) for decades. With any other job you come in with not very much experience, but on this I have to hit the mark. If I’m playing opposite Stefan (Dennis) for instance, I have to be up where he is right off the bat. It’s huge pressure.”

Heinrich has also tasted TV success with her show, Trial By Kyle, picked up for a series after a successful pilot last year.

While the couple have certainly managed to turn their stint on reality TV into promising careers, Robards says he is at a stage in his life where career and personal life could be at odds. While he is keen to use his time on Neighbours as a springboard to a long-term acting career, he is also conscious of wanting to start a family with Heinrich.

“I definitely want to keep at it and maybe go for some bigger roles down the track,” he says. “But we will probably start trying for a family next year, and that may not be so conducive to acting — you could be weeks or months without a job or have to grab your bags and travel at short notice.

“But Anna is so supportive of everything I do, as I am with her.”

* Neighbours, 6.30pm Tuesday, 10 Peach

Originally published as Bachelor Tim Robards finds permanent home on Neighbours