That film never saw the light of day, but that fortnight in picturesque Tassie was an experience that was forever etched in Muldoon’s mind.

So when he met Tasmanian Holly Barnes – the woman who would later become his wife – at a charity golf day in Melbourne 10 years ago, Muldoon had some knowledge of the state she hailed from.

The now 57-year-old has visited the state many times since meeting Barnes, and raves about Tasmania, describing it to his followers as “staggeringly beautiful and unique” while also using his profile to support the protection of Tasmanian wilderness in areas including The Tarkine.

But it wasn’t until the pandemic hit that Muldoon considered moving to Tasmania.

He’d seen other high-profile performers successfully basing themselves in Tassie – including Marta Dusseldorp, Essie Davis and Katie Robertson, just to name a few – and thought it might work for him too.

And the decision to move here 14 months ago is proving successful, with Muldoon currently awaiting the launch of his latest TV series, North Shore — on Channel 10 — on May 10.

Muldoon plays Detective Chief Inspector Andrew Newell in the six-part crime thriller, which centres on a clash of cultures between British and Australian detectives who team up to solve a complex murder mystery against the backdrop of Sydney Harbour, and uncover a conspiracy with international political consequences.

Muldoon flew to Sydney to film the series in October last year and while the veteran TV star enjoyed the experience, he was pleased to leave the high-rises of Sydney’s bustling CBD behind and fly home to Tasmania for some tranquillity once filming wrapped.

Muldoon lives in a house by the water at Opossum Bay, where he can sit on his balcony and look across to kunanyi/Mt Wellington in the distance. He already feels very comfortable in his adopted home state.

Muldoon says living in a small coastal community, where crime rates are low, community spirit is high and everyone knows their neighbours, is a far cry from the couple’s time spent living in isolation in a Melbourne apartment during the coronavirus pandemic.

“We were in Melbourne during lockdown,’’ Muldoon explains.

“It was just unspeakably unbearable.

“We came down here (to Tasmania) and for the first time I realised I could still have a career and live here, I didn’t have to actually live in Melbourne or Sydney to have a career. I could live in Tasmania and fly up for jobs, which is what I did for North Shore.

“And I suddenly felt free. I really love Tassie, and just having that freedom to live somewhere you love and go to other places for work, is just the dream. And bringing more work to Tasmania, that is the other big dream.

“I feel like I can contribute something down here.’’

Muldoon says there’s a lot to love about Tasmania.

He is smitten with the Tasmanian landscape and walks on the beach every day, usually with his cat Dusty in tow (the cat is named after footballer Dustin Martin, as Muldoon’s wife is a Richmond Tigers supporter).

He loves the strong sense of community. And he appreciates the fact that he can live in a small coastal town but still only be a 45-minute drive from Hobart’s CBD and an easy commute to the airport.

He has also enjoyed learning about all the idiosyncrasies that make Tasmania such a special place.

He’s fascinated by the north/south rivalry that exists between Launceston and Hobart, despite the two cities being just two hours apart.

He loves the separate Year 11 and 12 college system in Tasmania, as it reminds him of his own school days in Canberra when he felt incredible freedom moving from high school to college.

He’s watching the debate regarding a proposed football stadium at Macquarie Point with great interest and says he’d love to see more concerts and bands coming to Tasmania, as well as more conferences attracting smart thinkers to the state.

He’s been captivated by SBS TV series Alone Australia, which follows the struggles of 10 individuals as they survive alone in Tasmania’s remote wilderness for as long as possible with minimal survival equipment.

He has also quickly realised how protective many Hobart residents are of their beloved kunanyi/Mt Wellington, and the scenic backdrop it provides to the city. He says building a cable car on the mountain would be “like building McDonald’s next to Vatican City’’.

“The mountain means a lot to Tasmanians,’’ Muldoon says.

“My wife takes a photo of the mountain every day. It’s perfect, I’m looking at it right now.

“And when there’s snow on the mountain … well, everybody just likes talking about the mountain.’’

He shares the collective sadness of Tasmanian music lovers, after the Falls Festival at Marion Bay was axed. Muldoon attended the annual festival for five years.

“It just broke my heart,’’ he says of event being pulled from Tasmania.

“It was the best festival I’ve ever been to … it was just so friendly and relaxed … it just had a great vibe. I’ve always loved Marion Bay.’’

Muldoon considers David Walsh a friend – some of his earlier trips to Tasmania were to attend Dark Mofo and Mona Foma – and he describes Walsh’s Museum of Old and New Art as “a pretty wild but amazing place”.

He’s also been getting to know another Tassie icon, Noela Foxcroft — Rosehaven’s octogenarian receptionist Mrs Marsh — who lives not far from Muldoon.

And of course there was that time he spent hanging out with the late Mark “Chopper” Read all those years ago.

“His farm was outside Richmond, and I was meant to be staying at the hotel at Richmond,’’ Muldoon recalls of that encounter.

“But he picked me up at the airport, which was a big surprise to me … I’d never met him before. I said I was staying at the Richmond Arms Hotel, and he said ‘no, no, no, you’ve got to stay at my place’.

“So then I was staying with Chopper Read at his farm. I stayed there for about two weeks, working on a film idea about a female crime gang – it was a story he’d already written in one of his books that I really liked. I interviewed him and got a lot of material.

“It was my first time in Tasmania and I did have a lot of fun, it was quite amazing, I’d get woken up by Chopper at 3am and he’d say ‘Rhys, have a couple of beers’.’’

While he is excited to have met so many charismatic Tasmanians, and is passionate about issues affecting our island state, Muldoon is also mindful that he’ll never be a true Tasmanian.

“Obviously I’m new, I’m going to be an outsider until I die,’’ he jokes.

“Holly is a Tasmanian, but other than that, I’ll just be the new guy.’’

Barnes, who works for Brand Tasmania showcasing her beloved home state to the world, grew up near Devonport. Her extended family still lives in Tasmania.

Meanwhile Muldoon grew up in Canberra and got his first real taste of performing in primary school, when he was cast in a play called The Monster That Ate Canberra.

“I played Malcolm Fraser, who at the time was famous for riding a motorbike,’’ Muldoon recalls.

“People thought, ‘a prime minister riding a motorbike, how outrageous’. The play was obviously satire so I wore a kilt and rode a skateboard, and it got a lot of attention and did well, we had a lot of fun.’’

In high school he performed in musicals, although he admits he wasn’t much of a musical theatre fan back then, only growing to appreciate the art form in more recent years.

He headed to university with plans to become a historian, but along the way became distracted by performing arts.

“I tacked drama on to the end of my degree, and it kind of took over,’’ Muldoon admits.

“It was all going pretty well, so I thought ‘oh well, I might as well try out for acting school’.

So he flew to Sydney to audition for the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) and then to Melbourne to audition for Victorian College of the Arts (VCA). He made an impression at both prestigious acting schools, ultimately accepting a position at VCA and abandoning his university degree.

It was a decision that paid off – Muldoon has an epic CV spanning more than three decades – he has appeared in some of Australia’s most-loved TV shows including Blue Heelers, McLeod’s Daughters, The Secret Life of Us, Offspring, House Husbands, City Homicide, Big Sky, Water Rats, Stingers, Us and Them, Headland, Chances, Les Norton, Grass Roots, New Gold Mountain, The Secret River, Rake, Farscape, and Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries.

Movie credits include The Sapphires, Valentine’s Day, Danny Deckchair, Interceptor, Blackjack: Ghosts, Sweatshop, Chasing Comets, Jack Irish: Bad Debts, Jack Irish: Black Tide, and Finally Me.

He was also a long-time presenter on Play School (from 2000-2012) and starred in children’s drama Lockie Leonard. Muldoon has also performed in various theatre productions and is a published author.

Despite his extensive experience, Muldoon says he can’t choose one artistic medium as his favourite, and he enjoys the variety of his ever-changing workload.

“I’ve always been interested in all of them – I love theatre, film, television and writing,’’ he says.

“It’s like asking ‘which child do you love the most?’. I do love them all, really sincerely.’’

He says anyone who works as a performer for a living has to be passionate about what they do – otherwise they would be better to toss it in, and pursue a more conventional career with regular working hours and wages.

“The actor’s life is not an easy one, it’s very up and down,’’ Muldoon says.

He says there are a lot of knock-backs when auditioning for gigs, and it’s not uncommon to be told ‘no’ 10 times for every ‘yes’.

“Especially when you’re older, like I am,’’ he says.

“I’ve been doing this for 30-something years. I’m doing the most childish job on earth (pretending to be other people), but I love it.’’

He enjoyed his North Shore role, spending time in police HQ – a skyscraper with an “outrageously beautiful” view of Sydney Harbour.

“Being a cop is great fun, especially being a boss cop,’’ he says.

“Being the baddie or the boss – they are the two things you want to be.’’

Muldoon knows he is fortunate to have enjoyed longevity as an actor – not every actor is so lucky.

He endeavours to find fulfilment in whatever acting jobs – big or small – come his way.

“If I was a pudding, I’d want to be a self-saucer,’’ he laughs.

“You’ve got to try and find the joy in whatever task is given, and try and give a bit more than what is asked of you. You’ve got to make the work satisfying, whatever the job is.

“It’s a very strange ride being an actor. I’ve just had a bunch of devastating ‘nos’, where you come second on really big jobs, so I am a bit punch-drunk at the moment.’’

With the crushing lows come some incredible highs. Not only is North Shore about to hit screens, but Muldoon is also part of the cast for the highly-anticipated drama Bay of Fires, which was filmed in Tasmania and will screen on ABC later this year.

He’s says it’s great to work locally, and to see a small state like Tasmania attracting the attention of the world. He’s excited to see Tasmania’s confidence continue to grow, and for the world to begin to see Tasmania as more than just a place that is dark and moody.

In many of the shows he’s worked on, Tasmania is often scripted as the place characters run away to, to escape their personal problems or to hide from the law.

But he says Tasmania deserves to be the centre of attention, rather than just an escape route.

“Tasmania is often the place people escape to,’’ Muldoon explains.

“Tasmania in Australian shows is like Mexico in American shows, people say ‘I’m going to move to Mexico until things blow over.

“Tasmania is often seen as this weird, unknown, mysterious, murder town.’’

But he says successful shows like Rosehaven and soon-to-be-aired productions like Deadloch and Bay of Fires are showing viewers around the world that Tassie is “not all dark’’.

“We have the landscapes to shoot dark, moody stuff here,’’ he says.

“But there are smiles in Tasmania as well, and sunrises. Not everything in Tasmania is oddness and quirkiness. And there’s that community aspect too, Tassie has a real sense of community that nowhere else has. Everybody knows everybody. And I know people can bristle about this. But that sense of community is one of the great things about Tasmania.’’

Muldoon says with the bold new world of streaming services, it’s an exciting time for those working in the film and television industry.

“Ultimately we’re in an amazing age of television,’’ Muldoon says.

He says in recent years the standard of television around the world has become “so unbelievably high” and “the standard of incredible shows is just so inspiring”. He’s excited about what that might mean for Australian television as viewers are increasingly seeking unique, well-produced content.

He has a few new projects in the pipeline and is also excited to see how North Shore turns out, as he hasn’t seen an advanced screening.

“I, like everyone else, will be watching (it on TV) with great interest,’’ he says.

Muldoon says he’s glad he took a chance on Tasmania and finally realised that his career could continue to flourish with Tassie as his home base.

His only disappointment is that he didn’t move here sooner.

“I was a bit nervous (about how my career would go when I moved to Tasmania),’’ Muldoon admits. “And I’m still a bit nervous. I’m only one year in. But the showbiz life is permanent nervousness, so if I’m going to be nervous I might as well be nervous in a beautiful place.’’•

North Shore premieres on Channel 10 and 10 Play on Wednesday, May 10, at 8.40pm.