Hugo Weaving on his new TV drama, Love Me

Hugo Weaving has carved an impressive career in showbiz, though he’s admitted he gets a lot of scripts that aren’t “particularly good”.

From an elf, to an evil agent, a cricket captain, a drag queen and everything in-between, Hugo Weaving’s brimming resume continues to surprise.

At 61, the British-born, Australian-raised actor has carved a wonderfully diverse career in showbiz, from big-budget blockbusters to small theatre productions.

The Lord of the Rings and The Matrix actor admits he’s not one to meticulously plan what roles he’s going to take to further his career, he just wants to connect with the script and go from there. Though that’s easier said than done.

“Unless you write your own material, it’s hard as an actor, there’s a lot of stuff that’s not particularly good …” he admits.

“I’m always on the lookout for something interesting, and I never know what it’s going to be. Some actors might dictate their future more than I do. Sometimes I wish I could but I just try to choose things that interest me and will take me on a different course.

“This isn’t a job for me, this is what I love. I’ve never thought of acting as being a job.

“Is it something that provides me with money? Of course it does. But it’s the exploration of a character and of a world that interests me. It’s always a great holistic workout. I’m fascinated in human psychology.”

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Hugo Weaving at the premiere of Love Me, his new drama series.

As someone who is interested in human psychology, Weaving relished the chance to feature in a raw family drama for Binge’s debut produced series, Love Me, which is out now in full.

Weaving plays Glen Mathieson, a father of two adult children who loses his partner later in life and is pushed to open his eyes to new intimacies like love and romance.

It’s quite the far cry from his own journey, having been in a relationship with his partner Katrina Greenwood for 37 years. But Weaving says he didn’t need to have direct shared experiences with Glen to relate to his pain.

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Bojana Novakovic and Hugo Weaving in Love Me. Picture: Sarah Enticknap

“I don’t think it’s that hard to understand falling in love, and what it is like to lose someone,” he says.

“All the characters are universal. Everyone understands what love is and family is.

“I didn’t think about me or my life. Just imagining yourself in that position.

“These people are very warm and real. I liked Glen because he was genuinely a conservative nice guy. He goes on a journey of personal liberation. He made me laugh, Glen, he’s a funny man.”

Love Me is now available on BINGE.