‘It was really touching’: Guy Pearce reveals his reaction to Neighbours finale

Neighbours alum turned Hollywood star Guy Pearce has shared his sombre reaction to the show’s finale during a “quick little visit” to Tasmania over the weekend.

Hollywood star and Neighbours actor Guy Pearce has revealed he shed a “tear” when he watched the finale of the Aussie soap, as fans watched his character rekindle his romance with his high school sweetheart.

Pearce told the Mercury, while in Hobart with his family, that he watched the finale on Thursday night at home in Melbourne with his partner Carice van Houten – best known for playing Melisandre in Game of Thrones – and their five-year-old son Monte.

In his first interview since the finale aired, Pearce said he was unable to attend the viewing party hosted by Neighbours star Rebekah Elmaloglou due to filming commitments.

“I was filming up a mountain and I couldn’t get back in time to get to (her) place, so I wanted to get back to be with Monte and Carice,” he said.

“So I watched it at home.

“I had a tear.”

Pearce portrays Mike Young in the show across almost 500 episodes, having landing the role in 1986 as an 18-year-old.

Mike Young (Guy Pearce) and Jane Harris (Annie Jones) in the finale.

His character soon struck up a romance with Australian actor Annie Jones’ character, Jane Harris, with Young declaring his love for Harris in the finale after they broke up decades earlier.

“It was really touching,” Pearce said.

“I’m a good friend of Annie Jones, so it was really lovely for us to get to work together and I think do what most of the country wanted, which was for us to rekindle our romance.”

The 54-year-old said the reaction to the finale has been “really positive and delightful”, with 1.2 million viewers tuning in nationally on Thursday night.

Pearce has started filming new television series The Clearing in Victoria but he told the Mercury he was able to sneak in a “quick little visit” to Hobart with his family, after what he described as a “whirlwind” week.

“We went to Mona (on Sunday), which was my second visit to Mona in 10 years,” he said.

“We came here pretty much 10 years ago for a friend’s birthday, which was not long after the place opened, so it was good to get back and bring my family.

“These have been my only two visits (to Tasmania) unfortunately.”

Guy Pearce and Carice van Houten welcomed their son, Monte, in 2016. Pic: Instagram/leavecaricealone

Pearce said he felt like the area outside Mona had been transformed in those 10 years.

“Monte was playing on the trampoline and playing on all the outside equipment,” he said.

“I don’t remember any of that being there, but I didn’t have a kid then so I probably wasn’t looking for it.”

The Hollywood star also ate lunch at one of Mona’s restaurants, The Source, delighting in the seafood salad and cauliflower.

“We were recommended the cauliflower dish, so we all had that pretty much.”

Originally published as ‘It was really touching’: Guy Pearce reveals his reaction to Neighbours finale