Next stop Hollywood? Guy Sebastian’s next move: ‘I wouldn’t pursue roles for the sake of it’

As he debuts a new look, Guy Sebastian reveals the real reason he is moving into acting – and sets the record straight about the future of his music career.

How Guy Sebastian “accidentally” landed his debut acting role after leaving The Voice Australia.

Below, the singer speaks to Stellar for the Sunday Seven.

1. He’s been showcasing his powerful pipes on radio and TV since winning the first season of Australian Idol in 2003, but Guy Sebastian is ready to flex a new creative muscle: acting. The ‘Battle Scars’ singer will make his big-screen debut in Hindi Vindi, an independent Australian film about the quest of teen musician Kabir (Mihir Ahuja) to bridge generations through song.

“The acting part was a bit of an accident,” Sebastian tells Stellar.

“[The producers] wanted me to write some music and be the singing voice of the protagonist, played by Mihir.

“He’s a real up-and-coming actor in India, a really good actor. And then it turned into me writing a few more songs and I ended up getting asked to consider this part as [James], Kabir’s dad.”

Guy Sebastian is entering his leading man era, with a move into acting. Picture: Steven Chee for Stellar

‘I don’t like talking about myself in third person because that’s weird …’ Picture: Steven Chee for Stellar

2. Sebastian, who also spent six seasons as a coach on The Voice Australia, had to learn to speak with an Indian accent for the role.

“That was pretty challenging for me,” he admits, adding that he also faced the tricky task of trying to shed the public persona of “singer Guy Sebastian” as he tackled a new vocation.

“One of the most challenging things was that when I was on set, I was constantly reminded that I’m Guy Sebastian.

“It’s a weird thing to say. I don’t like talking about myself in third person because that’s weird, but it might even have been one of the soundies telling me mid-scene they loved The Memphis Album.

“That flip-flop … I had to sit the directors down at some point and from then on, they started calling me James on set and everything improved. It got easier for me to remain in character.”

‘They started calling me James on set...’ Guy Sebastian has opened up about his move into acting in Hindi Vindi. Picture: Steven Chee for Stellar

3. The singer was born in Malaysia and raised with his three brothers in Australia by their father Ivan, who is of Sri Lankan Tamil descent, and mother Nellie, who is from Kanpur in India. But Sebastian says he had never delved into his ancestral roots prior to his work on Hindi Vindi.

“I’ve had this cultural input into my life that has shaped who I am and I have never been there,” he admits, despite having travelling widely to tour with and work on his music.

“I believe in timing and I think that maybe now I’m ready. I have this real desire to seek out that history and connect with it.”

4. Acting in the role of James led Sebastian, 43, to reflect on his own relationships with his stylist wife Jules, 45, and their sons, Hudson, 12, and Archie, 10.

“James’s character centres a lot on the lack of balance of work versus fatherhood, so it was more of a reminder that I do that pretty well. For a long time, I’ve stuck really tightly to my strict guide of not being away from my kids for more than two to three weeks.

“They’ve had their dad with them their whole lives. More so than anything, [the role] made me glad that I couldn’t relate to that part where James didn’t make his kids a priority.

“I’m glad I’ve made my boys a priority.”

Picture: Steven Chee for Stellar

5. Sharing a screen with rising star Ahuja and Bollywood legend Neena Gupta (who plays Kabir’s grandmother) only increased Sebastian’s desire to hone his new craft.

“What the film did was enable me to know that, with the right role, I can live a character convincingly,” he explains when asked if he caught the acting bug.

“I can’t imagine anything taking the front seat over creating music for me, but I’ve seen so many people do it hand-in-hand; I would only do it if I believed in it. I wouldn’t pursue roles for the sake of it. But if the right one came along, I would do it now.”

6. The announcement last October that Sebastian was stepping down as a coach on The Voice Australia, coupled with the departure of his fellow 2024 coaches Adam Lambert and LeAnn Rimes, may have come as a surprise, but he has faith that returning star Kate Miller-Heidke and new coaches Melanie C, Ronan Keating and Richard Marx will triumph when the series returns later this year. “There aren’t going to be any gaps or any holes,” he reveals.

“I think they’ve nailed it; it’s very hard to get that dynamic, but I think once people see it, it will have all of what you need.”

Listen to the latest episode of the Stellar podcast, Something To Talk About:

7. With his focus now directed to other projects, Sebastian reveals his 10th studio album is close to being finished, following a long gestation (his previous album, T.R.U.T.H., was released in 2020).

“A lot of the moves I’ve done this year have been guided by my mental health,” he tells Stellar.

“It’s all about getting in a place of simplifying and just being in my comfort zone.”

As for what to expect from the album, set for release later this year, Sebastian teases that it’s “pop-country-soul”, before citing a broad range of musical inspirations.

“I’m influenced by people like Chris Stapleton, Labyrinth and Teddy Swims … It’s definitely the best album I’ve ever made.”

Hindi Vindi is in cinemas on Thursday. See the full shoot and interview with Guy Sebastian inside Stellar today, via The Sunday Telegraph (NSW), Sunday Herald Sun (VIC), The Sunday Mail (QLD) and Sunday Mail (SA).

For more from Stellar, click here.

Originally published as Next stop Hollywood? Guy Sebastian’s next move: ‘I wouldn’t pursue roles for the sake of it’