#25 | Angus Sampson - Backstage with Cooper & Matty Johns

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Angus Sampson, Welcome into the studio.

Speaker 2 (00:02):
I think he wants me to be mad Max.

Speaker 3 (00:05):
Ice by Ice the Autobiography of Vanilla Ice, and these
cameras are.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
On, Professor I make bags out of your spritos.

Speaker 1 (00:17):
Angers Sampson, Welcome into the studio. Mate, pretty high production.

Speaker 4 (00:20):
In hereops, I don't know if you're used to these
big sort of production sets.

Speaker 2 (00:24):
Well, I've never worked with a zebra before.

Speaker 5 (00:28):
Yeah that's Glenn. He's twenty. Smells good. Jesus Gabriel.

Speaker 1 (00:33):
Yeah that is Peter Gabriel. Jack was just saying he
heard you say you listen to the Family podcast as well.

Speaker 2 (00:40):
Why I didn't know it exists existed?

Speaker 3 (00:43):
And my mate Griff who MJ's Mett, told me, oh,
you've got to listen to this amazing podcast.

Speaker 2 (00:52):
And I live in America and Australia, and when I'm
in America, I try to listen to American podcasts when
I'm trying and listen to ours.

Speaker 3 (01:02):
Anyway, I came out to us and put it on
and I was I was actually outraged and how good
it was.

Speaker 1 (01:11):
But it makes you angry, you know, I like, you.

Speaker 3 (01:14):
Know when you look at there are people who can
there are people who can share their private life. Well,
I'll say it on Twitter or something like, uh, you know,
I have friends with millions of dogs, millions of followers,
and they post like seventeen pictures of the same thing,
and I look at them and I'm like, what, who

(01:35):
are you posting for? Why are you so needy? And
then I might tweet something just taking the dog for
a walk, and someone will be like, is that an euphemism?

Speaker 2 (01:43):
I think we delete it? Oh my god, yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:46):
I think it's I think I I'm I think I'm
worried too much about what people think and care, and
so you know, when I tuned into that, I was.

Speaker 2 (01:55):
Like, who is this Trish? And how is how come she?

Speaker 3 (01:58):
Where's she come from? How come she's leading the chats
and what have you. But ironically, I think that's probably
why I like it. It's less white males talking, and
I always appreciate it. Whenever Jack, you know the silent
what is it from Penninella?

Speaker 5 (02:16):
Yeah, yes he is. Solon As.

Speaker 2 (02:19):
Comes in. He's like the Dali Lama.

Speaker 4 (02:21):
Yeah, he's like a silent monk. You don't hear from
him for like five weeks and then eventually he'll just
add some just a tiny piece of gold into it.

Speaker 2 (02:29):
But how many podcasts do you need? How many podcasts?

Speaker 5 (02:33):
Sixteen?

Speaker 2 (02:33):
Don't know?

Speaker 5 (02:34):
Sixteen is the magic number.

Speaker 1 (02:36):
Sty There's more, There's more and more coming as well.

Speaker 4 (02:39):
Hey, yeah, I wanted to ask you before we get
into into your life, your career, you and Matthew. I
was doing a bit of research yesterday on yourself all
your past roles. I didn't realize you were both in
Footy Legends together.

Speaker 2 (02:53):
That was an Australian film.

Speaker 3 (02:55):
I think they shot that in two thousand and three and.

Speaker 1 (03:00):
Oh yeah, it was come out two thousand and six,
so it would have been shot in two thousand and three.

Speaker 2 (03:03):
Or maybe it was two thousand and four.

Speaker 3 (03:06):
And it was made by the former Young Australian of
the Year Quad, brother of Ann and that was Vietnamese.

Speaker 2 (03:17):
Refugees and Qua was doing a lot of work around
Bankstown Way and.

Speaker 3 (03:27):
Ended up making writing this film with his brother and
they had Claudia Carbon in it and it was like
a football film that I was like, oh, I'd love
to you know, because I grew up loving footy and
I'd love to sort of combine the two and like
apparently they're getting excellent football, you know, real rugby league
players involved to play and like all stars. And it culminates.

(03:51):
The film culminates with a bunch of battlers. If you
look at it now, it's so disbelievable. With a bunch
of battlers from Yagoona, I think that's who come together.
We don't even have a full team of sevens.

Speaker 6 (04:03):
It was like they It was funny because when me
and Vossi turned up to do the commentary or Vossi
and I thank you for correct.

Speaker 5 (04:15):
I don't want to made bad grammar.

Speaker 3 (04:20):
And U s with ken Oh yeah, I don't know,
I think, can you I must.

Speaker 6 (04:28):
And they were really nervous because they someone had told
them that I was quite loose and you know, I
don't know, but they were like, oh.

Speaker 5 (04:36):
You know, so I want.

Speaker 6 (04:38):
They were tippy toeing around me a little bit. And
we done what we did one scene and the boom
dropped into in the fray and they said we might
we'll just do that again. The boom dropped in and
I said, no, no, leave it in. I said, the
audience will appreciate it, will go to show me you
don't take ours was too serious. And they both looked
at each other and went, oh, yeah, good point.

Speaker 3 (05:00):
I said, no, it was the players they had basically
was a tournament too. I guess maybe salvage or say
play their way out of their lower as socio economic situation. Yeah,
I can't recall, but it culminates with playing the I

(05:24):
guess the opposite of the Uga schooners, which were like
maybe I don't know, the double Baby Dolphins or something
you had and.

Speaker 6 (05:34):
We had Brett Kenny, Brett, Kenny, Bradley, Clyde, Cliffy Lins.

Speaker 2 (05:38):
Rod Wishart was in it, rocket right.

Speaker 3 (05:40):
I saw him two weeks ago at the Melbourne from
Lighthart V at Tiger's V Storm.

Speaker 2 (05:46):
Yeah yeah, and he beautiful.

Speaker 3 (05:48):
Man came up, came up and say gooday, and said,
you wouldn't believe how many people come up to me and.

Speaker 2 (05:55):
Talk about you.

Speaker 5 (05:57):
Live with his young bloke Tyrant.

Speaker 2 (06:00):
Become friends with his brother cal Callum. Yes, lovely cow.

Speaker 1 (06:04):
He's a good man.

Speaker 2 (06:05):
I went down to visit the he's involved with the
Better Beer. Oh yes, we have with Foux and Steely
from the Inspired Unemployed.

Speaker 3 (06:17):
I went down to the Sacond eight of them one
time last year to Mick cron and Oval at Jerringong.

Speaker 2 (06:23):
And I never never seen like local league played by
adults and I couldn't believe the sound of the guys sick.
And is that the same for NRL? Is that do
they make those noises?

Speaker 6 (06:38):
You know what it is and of course you, of
course you removed a fair bit away from the crowd.
But I'm with you when I watched the local football
and you know that you're right there.

Speaker 5 (06:47):
Make the sound of the crunching. It was funny if you.

Speaker 6 (06:50):
I was talking about this the other day Jim Jeffries,
who the comedian who he's mum dated by old man once.

Speaker 5 (06:57):
Yeah, that's how linked there.

Speaker 6 (06:58):
He was one radio and he goes your old man Gary,
so yeah, yes, carry carry Gary.

Speaker 5 (07:03):
So yeah hees my dad.

Speaker 6 (07:05):
My mum dated your old man when they were young.

Speaker 5 (07:07):
And he went, so it's your old man. She said, yeah, yeah,
that's it. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2 (07:12):
He talks about that.

Speaker 5 (07:15):
Inappropriate.

Speaker 6 (07:16):
So he got in touch with me. He said, listen,
I'm doing I'm doing a special related We're doing a
special for American TV and I want them to show
the real Australia. He said, Madde, can you organize a
local football side and we go and do the country
on the sideline to show what it's like. So we
lined up the narrow Been sharks and the Cromer kingfishes
and we're going to sit on the side and commentate.

(07:38):
There was a COVID breakout, another one, another wave that
comes to and it got canceled. But it would have
been like I can only imagine when the Americans were
bloke's hurling abuse on the sidelines and the sounds of
like overweight guys just crunching into each other.

Speaker 3 (07:52):
The thing with the footing legends was that I had
actually tried to play football for I don't want to
say career, but I guess it was sort of the
only thing I did, the only activity I did. And
so word had filtered down from we filmed it Saint
Mary's in there, which is in the west of Sydney

(08:14):
for your international listeners.

Speaker 2 (08:17):
Listener, we have a large base.

Speaker 3 (08:25):
And word filtered down to the set that apparently Matthew
had said about me, Oh this kid can play.

Speaker 2 (08:34):
That was the exact words. I've never forgotten it. After
going off off script, just a couple of cutouts. I'll
never I'll never forget it. Was they had.

Speaker 3 (08:46):
We sort of had sort of like they called it,
like half pace sequences, you know, of us sort of
tackling or side stepping. It was really embarrassing to be
there and see how obviously, you know, we were acting
and pretending. But at one stage, the great Gary Larson,
who was also in the opposition team, ran and he

(09:10):
was dragging a bunch of players, and it came to
my character and I was like, I'm going to apologize
for this later, like I'm.

Speaker 2 (09:16):
Going to put a shot on him, just because they
failed me. And I just did my best, like Tan
Margot like that and jammed and I kid you not.
At the last minute. I guess it's called putting up
the bumpers or something.

Speaker 3 (09:29):
I just lifted his elbow and I literally I think
I had a stroke in my right arm.

Speaker 2 (09:36):
I was like Simon Dwyer.

Speaker 3 (09:38):
Just like on camera, all my all my lifelong dreams
of being on a big hit highlight reel.

Speaker 6 (09:48):
Elbow, the cork in the shoulder or the bye of.

Speaker 4 (09:52):
The stinger and it just vibrates all the way down
your hands to put a big Yeah, you could it
on the brute big hit highlights.

Speaker 2 (09:58):
But it was a lovely, lovely experience.

Speaker 3 (10:00):
And yeah, that was twenty orded years ago. And now
I'm filming with Claudia again. I'm in Australia filming a
series called Bump for Stan which we're shooting our fifth
and final season.

Speaker 1 (10:16):
What's that about Bump.

Speaker 3 (10:17):
It's a story of a teenage girl who has a
pregnant who has a child. She's pregnant unbeknownst to Claudia
and my characters were her parents, and so she has
a child in the opening scene of season one at
age sixteen. And so for me, it was the first
time I'd worked in Australia.

Speaker 2 (10:39):
It was during COVID.

Speaker 3 (10:40):
It's the first time I worked in Australia since we
did the what's called Pickups from mad Max Ferry Road
like seven years earlier, and so it was during COVID.
So I actually had to do two weeks quarantine to
go on to do the show Bump. And I was
traveling from a farm in Victoria to Sydney and they

(11:01):
said would you do quarantine?

Speaker 2 (11:03):
I was like sure, So they said we might be
able to get you around having to do it.

Speaker 3 (11:07):
So I go to Sydney, get to Sydney Airport, places
deserted army Army soldiered camouflaged dudes and has kem suits.
We were seated five meters apart at the luggage carousel
like the people off the plane, and interviewed before they

(11:29):
had led us out of the airport. And this was
must have been sort of July, I think twenty twenty. Anyway,
they weren't friendly or anything, and so I ended up
taking me to a hotel room in Pitt Street, Sydney,
and for fourteen days I had to to quarantine to
come from Melbourne to Sydney. And so I was like,

(11:50):
you know what, I didn't have a window in my room.
I didn't get to choose. I was like, you know what,
I'm I'm not going to wear any clothes. I'm going
to like, I'm going to embrace the I'm going to
embrace my idea of solitary confinement.

Speaker 2 (12:08):
I didn't eat. I had four meals in fourteen days.

Speaker 3 (12:13):
And for every for every kilometer they cycled in the
Tour de France, I would do one push up. So
for that that stage, if it was like one hundred
and ninety eight kilometer stage, I would do one hundred
and ninety eight kilometer one hundred and ninety eight push
up for each kilometer.

Speaker 2 (12:33):
Made of mine.

Speaker 3 (12:34):
Nath Ashley does this thing tour to push every year.
So if it's a mountain, if it's a mountain stage,
you have to do decline push up, if it's a
time trial, you have to do clap.

Speaker 1 (12:47):
Like, yeah, it's not a bad idea.

Speaker 2 (12:49):
Actually it's a great it's a great way to get
a structure. And I can't even do normal push ups.

Speaker 5 (12:56):
What would you?

Speaker 6 (12:56):
And guess what did you learn about yourself during that time?

Speaker 3 (12:59):
I lost seven k I ate four meals in fourteen days.
I lost seven kilos. It's a good question, maybe because
I actually i'd never been by myself for that long.
I've certainly been alone and grew up. I think I'm
spending a lot of time alone. But the idea that
you couldn't leave a space normally, I often think about it,

(13:20):
like if you get barred from going somewhere that you've
only been once, does it really matter? Or a couple
of times as soon as someone says you can't do
something sort of plays on your mind.

Speaker 2 (13:32):
Like I grew up working in pubs and we barred
that bloke, you know, he's not coming back in. You
sort of think does it really matter?

Speaker 3 (13:40):
They just go to the pub next door, but it
sort of does on some psychological level.

Speaker 2 (13:45):
I was very grateful for John Edwards, to John Edwards
and the producers. They kept ringing checking on my well being.

Speaker 3 (13:53):
What ended up happening was because of the turnaround of
the time and I ended up having to do a
costume fitting for Bump for season one. And they're like,
it's all right, we'll just send the costumes to your
hotel room and then a career will you pick them
up and take them out. So set up my computer
still naked, sorry for the vision.

Speaker 2 (14:14):
And they say, okay, go from left to right on
the clothing rack.

Speaker 3 (14:19):
I start getting changed into each costume and they take
a screen grab next one, and that there was There
was forty eight costumes in there. After I finished, I
put them all back on the rack and they went
to organized to collect them to pick up the clothing
rack from my room that had no windows, no view,

(14:42):
and I wasn't about to leave, and they were told
that nothing could leave the room. So now I had
forty eight outfits in an already small room.

Speaker 1 (14:52):
It's a hard industry to be in.

Speaker 4 (14:53):
Isn't it like it's there's not a there's not exactly
a you know, a certain security. I want to we're
going to get into the acting stuff. I want to
ask you for take us back to a young answers
Angus Sampson. Where'd you grow up and what did your
parents do?

Speaker 2 (15:05):
Well?

Speaker 3 (15:05):
I grew up in Sydney, Australia, in the in a
west suburb called Croydon and Hill End where my mum's from,
which is about an hour and a bit past Batist
in the central west of New South Wales.

Speaker 2 (15:21):
It's a gold mining town that.

Speaker 3 (15:25):
Is famous, I guess or known for the largest Evan
nugget being found. Holtman's nugget wasn't really a nugget.

Speaker 2 (15:32):
It was just a bit of a vein, coarse vain
gold vein. And the cricketers was painted there by Drysdale.
I don't know if you've with that painting you you're
a collector of Drysdale.

Speaker 1 (15:48):
No, that went straight over my head.

Speaker 2 (15:50):
And so.

Speaker 3 (15:54):
Dad was a doctor, he's a psychiatrist and pharmacist.

Speaker 2 (16:00):
For that double degree at Sydney UNI.

Speaker 3 (16:02):
And my mum she was like a registered nurse matron
of a private hospital in Sydney. I have an older
sister who four years older, and we lived next door
to her school and you could see out the back

(16:22):
of her bedroom into the in the swimming pool and
the tennis courts in one view of the school. And
so yeah, I think they my mum or my dad
and someone had said if his sister's going to that school,
then he should go to a good school.

Speaker 2 (16:40):
Too, or whatever.

Speaker 3 (16:41):
And so we lived in a house that was built
for William Morris Hughes, Billy Billy Hughes. He was a
Prime Minister of Australia, the Little Digger, and he never
lived in it. It was built for him, and I
think his brother lived there. It was like a three
story house, but the bottom, the bottom level was there

(17:02):
was no floorboards.

Speaker 2 (17:03):
There was like.

Speaker 3 (17:05):
And and a lot of rising damp, which might explain
my husky voice.

Speaker 6 (17:12):
But your dad to psychiatrists bring their work home.

Speaker 3 (17:17):
You'd have to think so, wouldn't you. He's fairly he's
fiercely intelligent doc and he's still alive. He's he lives
in Sydney. There were days when you know, you didn't
go to school and your company, your parents to work
and I'd go to him with him to work. And
he was forty five plus years that West mete out

(17:41):
the asylum in parra Matna. My memories are being on
the grounds of the asylum out of Cumberland, watching people.

Speaker 2 (17:51):
Rock back and forth.

Speaker 6 (17:53):
That's interesting, guess because a lot of doctors now doctors,
they get actors in to teach them.

Speaker 5 (18:03):
How to deal.

Speaker 6 (18:04):
With people, break bad news or to work with them,
to show empathy, but to not allow their problems to
get under your skin, so to spread, to actually demonstrate empathy,
but to still how to keep that distance.

Speaker 2 (18:20):
Is that something so they can see? Is that something
they can they see it.

Speaker 6 (18:24):
Happen or.

Speaker 5 (18:26):
I don't know.

Speaker 6 (18:27):
It's yeah, But like you know, sitting down with a
person telling them that they're you know, followed your old
son has got cancer and having the empathy and demonstrating
empathy without taking on board people's problems getting under your skin.

Speaker 5 (18:45):
It's very difficult.

Speaker 3 (18:46):
Well, he's a very good listener, and you know, I
would always try and get him to commit to a
position on things.

Speaker 2 (18:53):
I grew up loving Mark War.

Speaker 5 (18:55):
I love Mark War two.

Speaker 2 (18:57):
Although I recently learned that Steve Wall was at West
Magpiees fan. So it was my team growing up. So
I was. He used to say to Dad, Oh he's
how good s Mark or and he'd be like he
just not like but like you see good? Is he? Like?
Is he the best? And trying to get dad to

(19:19):
say to affirm my tea.

Speaker 6 (19:21):
And I see him at Fox Sports quote regularly. He's junior,
is very straight, like you have, very like, yeah, there's
there's no fund. He'll just remember once saying I ask
Hi about something I minut is something like you know
about you know, some player coming out of retirement. And
he went and walked off, and that's sort of strange.

Speaker 5 (19:45):
Respond five.

Speaker 6 (19:45):
And then he came back and gaves, I was just
thinking about what you said. He said, fucking stupid.

Speaker 5 (19:49):
What what the what?

Speaker 6 (19:50):
What the could you say that? I don't know, It's
just it was just my opinion, and you spark my memory.
Like Steve, remember the day you hit the four on
the last book.

Speaker 2 (20:01):
I went to it.

Speaker 6 (20:02):
I was there as well, Angus, But I tell you
what happened. I didn't literally the session before I saw
I saw Graham Gooch members and I went fuck. So
went up and said, hey, hey, Gucci, how you going
off at hand. He turned around and he just gave
me the stink guy and I went, that's weird. So

(20:22):
I went away and I'm looking over it and I thought, no, fuck,
he's in my city now, fus. I went back up
and I said, Graham, I'm I'm just I'm a I'm
a writer for Inside Edge Cricket magazine. I just want
to know what did it feel like to actually stand
at the crease and face guys like Dennis Lee and
actually be completely shitting yourself right? And he went, fuck you, mate,

(20:45):
and I went said, nah, fuck you. So any security
coming through me out? And I said, and I said,
this is someone. I said, what happened? I said, I mate,
I've got an argument with Graham Goose. So I said,
it's my gadding. So I'm in the cab going home
hearing you know, Kerry out Coop talking about this amazing

(21:05):
and the last ball of the day and Stevel hits
the four where they said this day will never be
forgotten in SLG history.

Speaker 5 (21:11):
God, Oh, thank you Graham Gooch.

Speaker 2 (21:15):
I actually thought that Graham Gooch looked a lot like
Mark Edmondson.

Speaker 5 (21:18):
He did Mark, And now that's the name I have
heard the older he did.

Speaker 2 (21:25):
I think he was the last unranked individual to win
the Australian Open.

Speaker 3 (21:30):
Right right.

Speaker 6 (21:30):
I think maybe he's one of those blokes market He
might have only been in his mid twenties, but he
just looks sixty.

Speaker 2 (21:38):
If you don't know, oh you wouldn't know that. He
kind of looks like one of the detectives out of
bed Hills. Yeah. So I'm trying to get dad to
commit to some some an opinion. Yeah, and I say,
but he's really he said, well, he's good enough to
play for Australia.

Speaker 1 (21:59):
He must be, all right, How did your parents go?

Speaker 4 (22:01):
Because your parents obviously going into like nursing and doctor
too strong professions, how do they feel about you wanting to.

Speaker 1 (22:07):
Be an actor? Because it's it's one of those professions
it's very obviously hard to make.

Speaker 2 (22:12):
I didn't know, well, I didn't know it was a
profession and I don't know if you call it.

Speaker 3 (22:15):
A profession now, Like I I think, I think there's
a real sort of indulgence of people to say it's hard,
it's hard to be an actor, like you know, I mean,
if it's hard to do anything, I think.

Speaker 6 (22:33):
Do you get do you get when you do a role. Okay,
the movie is about to come out, do you do
you get apprehensive?

Speaker 5 (22:44):
Are you? Are you thin skinned?

Speaker 2 (22:46):
Like?

Speaker 5 (22:46):
And I asked that question respectively.

Speaker 2 (22:48):
No, no, But I mean it's you grow up. I have.
Everyone has adolescent baggage.

Speaker 3 (22:54):
And you know, having an older sister, I would see
things through her eyes or paraphrase to me, like she'd
be like, your nails are disgusting, or cut your tone,
whatever it is, those things that you sort of hold
some importance because of your older siblings.

Speaker 2 (23:13):
I'm sure it's the same if you with you guys
or not not really.

Speaker 3 (23:19):
But you know, it's my favorite part of any production,
of any project I'm.

Speaker 2 (23:25):
Involved here is.

Speaker 3 (23:29):
It's before it ever comes out to the public. You've
had the experience you shared. Particularly enjoy filming on location,
because let's say Cooper, Matthew and I were in the
cast or you were the director and we were shooting
in I don't know, Bowen, Queensland or something, or in Santiago,

(23:51):
Chile and we're from Australia.

Speaker 2 (23:53):
Instead of going home to our wife boyfriend, you know.

Speaker 3 (24:01):
You actually with one another, guess like and so I
guess it may have been like when you're doing COVID
for the NRL stuff or on tour the Great Britain
tours that they talk about, and I realized that that's
everything I've been.

Speaker 2 (24:15):
Craving since a kid.

Speaker 3 (24:17):
Is that sort of inie and camaraderie and boys seem
to talk about it, footballers seem to talk about it,
or I've heard you talk about it with Gary with
your father about your father missing the comaraderie. In the
mind afterwards, it's you know, you just want endorsement.

Speaker 2 (24:36):
We just want endorsement that our instincts are correct.

Speaker 3 (24:38):
So with filming, it's very love it's a lovely thing
to be asked to come and create and perform.

Speaker 2 (24:46):
That's a very exciting.

Speaker 3 (24:48):
Thing for actors to go, I've got a callback or
you know I've got the job, or you know I'm
going to Argentina to film. And then when it's often
the same actors are like, yeah, I just did this,
Like you're always sort of proving that your career choice
is a good one, or that you're busy, or that

(25:10):
you're worth something, And so am I thin skin sure,
I'm much happier to talk about you than me. This
is a thing for me where I must have been
asked to over two hundred podcasts, and after you, after
you asked me to do one with Coops and it

(25:31):
was new, I thought, oh, yeah I should. If I
do it with people I like, then it's not really
a podcast. Obviously, after this, am my thin skin, I'll
be like, shit, I can't believe I said that. Well
that was worrying, or can you take that out? Do
we really need to hear from a middle aged white guy?

Speaker 2 (25:46):
You know? It's that's the reality of it. The thing
for me that made me excited to come here today
was I wanted to ask you guys questions. So am
I thins again? Absolutely? Yeah.

Speaker 6 (26:00):
We all say it's copping criticism, accepting criticism. Is it
takes time, you know, it takes after a certain period
of time to actually not take it personally. You know,
talk about age, you know, and you're pushing towards fifty.
I've gone over the edge of fifty and people say you.

Speaker 5 (26:17):
Have to be young again. Oh, I'd hate to be
in my twenties again. Like yeah, I like because I
because at this.

Speaker 6 (26:25):
Age now, I've worked life out. I think I have
Who knows when I'm in the sixties I might look back,
but I feel I've worked life out and everything just
sort of on the teftline.

Speaker 5 (26:34):
Everything falls off me. It doesn't matter what people say
to me, doesn't matter.

Speaker 6 (26:37):
It's not that I don't care, it just doesn't impact me.

Speaker 3 (26:40):
But why when you say you work something out, what
did you work out? Or is it you experience something?

Speaker 6 (26:46):
I experienced something, and I there are certain I remember,
I've been through things that you would think are completely
the worst thing could happen in your life, all your
fears right. And I remember walking with my great Irish
mate and we're walking along and it was a horrible time,
horrific and he turned to me and said, maybe you okay,

(27:06):
and I said, you won't believe this, but I am.
And I thought, I thought, you know, it just shows
you what you can endure. And once I went through
that and got through that, I was like, fuck you
just get out there and live your life. Just go
for it, because if I get you know, you just
know the things that you fear most, you get through it,

(27:29):
you'll come through the other side.

Speaker 5 (27:30):
It'll be okay.

Speaker 2 (27:31):
Well you.

Speaker 3 (27:33):
That my questions, you know, some of them are like
I guess you cover what you see that's we have
no choice.

Speaker 2 (27:41):
You're not saying you want.

Speaker 3 (27:43):
To be bashed by somebody if that if you grew
up in a terrible house with violence. But if you're
watching things, you want to see yourself on screen. If
you're watching your mum play footy, I want to do
that too, whatever whatever that is. So but you're just
not sure if it's the right choice or what's important.

(28:03):
I know, for me, I'm much better at work than
I am at home. That's yeah, that's uh, you know
that's probably because I I'm good at I think I'm
a good dinner table guest.

Speaker 2 (28:20):
I can you know, I can tell you some anecdotes
that aren't about me.

Speaker 1 (28:25):
Is the anger? Is the anger?

Speaker 4 (28:28):
Samson at work? A completely different man at home? Like
are you you know when you get home? Are you
completely different bloke than when you're in front in a crowd,
like a lot of energy at home?

Speaker 3 (28:39):
Yeah, And you know people always joke about it, I
hate people or whatever.

Speaker 2 (28:44):
But you know, sometimes if I'm walking down the street
with family and my nursyllabic or and someone bumps.

Speaker 3 (28:51):
Into us, it's suddenly you go up to nine. I
think it's true with anyone, then you they walk off.

Speaker 2 (28:57):
Who was that? I'm absolutely no.

Speaker 3 (28:59):
Idea, and then it's become on a slabic again.

Speaker 2 (29:03):
But it's I have a great life. I don't don't
for a minute think that I'm you.

Speaker 3 (29:10):
Know, struggling, you know, outside of places that other people
aren't struggling.

Speaker 5 (29:15):
We're not working in a salt mine.

Speaker 2 (29:17):
That's right. You know, I feel very grateful.

Speaker 3 (29:19):
I live in California for at least half the year,
usually about nine months a year, and I have a
farm in Victoria that I try to get back to.
Bought it off the internet without ever having gone there,
never seen it from a hotel room in stab City.

Speaker 5 (29:39):
Oh yeah wow.

Speaker 3 (29:41):
And you know that those are the things where you
sort of go what all I wanted was to be
on Game of Thrones, for example, Yeah, that's not, but
just as a reference, why am I on that?

Speaker 2 (29:58):
I've got a good head for that sort of you.

Speaker 3 (30:00):
Know, swords and sandals and.

Speaker 6 (30:06):
Ladies and gentleman punch of pilot.

Speaker 2 (30:12):
Take you testiculous and so and so.

Speaker 3 (30:15):
It's one of those things where you know, I firmly
believe what what are you doing about it?

Speaker 2 (30:21):
Is?

Speaker 3 (30:21):
What my version of is. I wanted to do that
or what are you doing about? Other people might say
manifestation is the key, or other people might say, you know,
I was going to be an actor once, or I wanted.

Speaker 2 (30:34):
To be a danc or a director.

Speaker 3 (30:35):
So I ended up getting a letter one day from
the guy who wrote Game of Thrones asked me to
be the lead villain in a not that they call
a lead villain, but the follow up to.

Speaker 2 (30:48):
The show in Europe. It was all I wanted, was
like to.

Speaker 3 (30:51):
Be vindicated as a performer in Europe as an actor
and not have to audition to boot.

Speaker 2 (31:00):
You know, you get there.

Speaker 3 (31:04):
And you're like, this is amazing, it's amazing, and then
these things start creeping in like that you indulge, you off,
You're like, wow, this is a shit script.

Speaker 2 (31:12):
Oh wow that. I spent twenty eighteen days in Limerick.
First eighteen days the.

Speaker 3 (31:17):
Sun came out for twenty minutes and I was like,
looking out my penthouse apartment, there were suicide patrols walking
the bridges, three bridges of the Shannon River, twelve of them.
I would come home, I'd leave work, leave for work
before the sun wherever it was, came up, come home
after the sun had gone down.

Speaker 2 (31:39):
I have to learn my line. So the next day
I'd take them down cups of tea, you know, midnight
chat to them.

Speaker 3 (31:46):
Highest rate of suicide in per capita in Europe is Ireland.
I'm like that, what am I?

Speaker 2 (31:53):
You know what I mean? Like what it impacts you?
You're like, what am I worried about?

Speaker 6 (31:57):
Before we talk about some of the roles, I've going
to say, I really enjoyed some of your radio work.
Used to occasionally go on Get This with the great
Tony Martin of Martin Malloy fame. The other thing I
used to listen. I used to listen you had this,
You had this show, late night radio show on the.

Speaker 2 (32:16):
A b C.

Speaker 5 (32:17):
The Lonely Hearts Club, Lonely Hearts Club. I used to
love I used to love.

Speaker 2 (32:23):
It, The Lonely Hearts Club. Coops was a radio show
that came up with and got Radio National Australia to
agree that I was allowed to do it anonymously.

Speaker 5 (32:39):
Rich and Silk.

Speaker 3 (32:43):
With Andrew Denton, Tony Martin and all these people that
I had loved Sampang, I still love them, Steve Curry
and it was a it was a men's group radio
on Saturday nights. All around Australia and we but but
they couldn't tell anyone that it was us that was

(33:05):
the I can't believe that they agreed to it. The
Green Guy organized to organize the photo shoot for the
cover of the Green Guy in the broadsheet newspapers. I
got three of my mates, Horse Spency and robbing him
alone to pretend to be breakfast radio sort of trio.

Speaker 2 (33:27):
I must have been asked eight hundred times to do
radio in my life, must have been and whenever I
had no money, I'm gone, I should have done it.

Speaker 3 (33:36):
But this was a This was a late night show
where basically, as part of the premise was we had
all met at the home of Sexual Men so.

Speaker 2 (33:48):
At Hosum.

Speaker 3 (33:50):
Homosexual Man, and were part of our final step we'd
been wronged by females or found ourselves alone surprisingly and
part of our yeah, so I guess migration back into
society and dating and.

Speaker 2 (34:11):
Was to share our stories and tales.

Speaker 3 (34:14):
Of woe and we would have experts come in. I
had a friend who grew up in Tahiti, Matthew Tripp's
sister actually from the storm, Tina Hello.

Speaker 2 (34:26):
Who was voice a character named Matilde, and it was.

Speaker 3 (34:30):
The segment was, I guess it's a bit like you
what some of your shows where the intros and outros
are longer than.

Speaker 2 (34:36):
The actual.

Speaker 3 (34:38):
Actual substance on the section, and it was pillow talk
with Matilde and so what the idea was to spice
up things in your sex life? And she would see
she would say something in French and then give the
and give the English translation.

Speaker 2 (34:55):
And it was one a week. And it turns out
that everything.

Speaker 3 (35:00):
She said like you'd hear her say something in friends,
You're like, well, that sounds sexy. And then the music
would stop and the translation was where is the nearest
atm It was all to do with paying for sex?

Speaker 2 (35:17):
And then we would have cooks come in and give us.

Speaker 3 (35:24):
Recipes to make it home. They genuinely do it, but
we would we would.

Speaker 2 (35:30):
Try not to laugh. You know. It was produced by
Nicky Hamilton.

Speaker 3 (35:35):
And and and Pots and bands who does who?

Speaker 2 (35:40):
Maddie who does get this? And Sizzle Town.

Speaker 3 (35:43):
Stuff now, And it was a great privilege to do that,
you know, it was it was just a play. And
Andrew Dent said to me, he said, you know, thank
you so much for this invitation. I've just never I've
never been able to play for such a long time
to come on very liberating, you know that it wasn't Andrew.
You didn't have to watch his p's and q's. How

(36:04):
it would work is I'd invite so Maddie onto the
show and I just give you your name and your occupation.

Speaker 2 (36:10):
So for Andrew, he was Wesley DeShawn and he was
a poet. Yeah, and then he turned up. That was it. Panging.
I think Panging. I think Pangy was. I think he was.

Speaker 3 (36:25):
Maybe no, that that was Cousin, but Pangy was someone
like a choreographer, you know, like Lucas Dawson was Steve
Curry and Tony Martin was the second unit director. So
you just it was just it's just a thing that
we're trying not to laugh. We play music, a lot
of it yout rock and it was a number one
podcast in Australia on health.

Speaker 6 (36:50):
Really in the Health, in the Health CAAG Yeah, Angus
mad Max working with the great George Miller.

Speaker 5 (37:00):
What type of guy's George?

Speaker 2 (37:01):
He's a hero. Yeah, he's a hero. Before he even
got into filmmaking, I think grew up in rural Queensland,
twin Greek migrant yeah, I don't want to tell his story, but.

Speaker 3 (37:21):
Anyone who works in I guess in America we call
them first responders, but health and care, medical industries and
what have you. He studied medicine at Union in South
Wales with his twin brother, became a doctor, was doing
his rounds down in Melbourne and made the first mad

(37:44):
Max after seeing a lot of being called to roadside accidents,
you know when they didn't have to have seat belts
or people didn't wear seat belts, and.

Speaker 2 (37:55):
So that already is an interesting enough you know, hundred
different lives lives.

Speaker 3 (38:00):
But I I went to I grew up in I
went to school in Armadale, northern New South Wales, and
I made of mine Simon Desh, and he loved He's
from Lightning Ridge. He he loved Mad Max and he
we we could watch videos on the weekends. I was

(38:20):
at boarding school up there, and you could get a
new release or and a weekly and he would just
get every weekly was.

Speaker 6 (38:27):
Mad Max you st jode your sparks and memories about
the overnights, the two nights or the weekly.

Speaker 5 (38:36):
Anyway, Yeah, and.

Speaker 3 (38:38):
Some of these references and so and so he would
get Mad Max every Week, made in nineteen seventy nine,
set an anarchy road like sort of a dystopian future.

Speaker 2 (38:49):
It just opens with a few years from now. Yeah, and.

Speaker 3 (38:55):
I didn't realize it was an Australian film. I just
remember that was the moment where I was like, hold on,
they make films in Australia. Ironically, the first ever feature film,
Coops in the World, was an Australian film about Ned Kelly,
and so I was like, oh, wait, this is a thing.

(39:17):
I still didn't know you could be an actor or
a creative for a job, because I didn't consider myself either.
But seeing George in the flesh for the first time.
Years and years later, I did a film called Kakoda,
and I'd heard that he might be making a new
Mad Max and one of the assistant directors was his assistant,

(39:41):
and I said.

Speaker 2 (39:42):
To him worked on Mount Tambourine.

Speaker 3 (39:44):
I said, mate, if they need anything, I'll park cars valet,
whatever you want, I'll do it. Of course, he was
just as enthused about getting the gig as anyone else,
and nothing happened. Years and years later I auditioned for
George for this Justice League that was proposed. Armie Hammer

(40:04):
is Batman, Megan Gaale, Wonder Woman.

Speaker 2 (40:07):
Ah. That was sort of like early yep. D C.
Day's pre Marvel.

Speaker 5 (40:12):
And I did this audition.

Speaker 2 (40:15):
For the Great Nikki Barrett and I can't remember what
I did, but at the end I was like, oh,
and thank you for Mad Max or whatever you going
to write it there.

Speaker 3 (40:24):
A couple of years there was a strike, write a strike,
and the film never happened. A couple of years later,
I get asked to audition and I'm like, I don't
know what this is, but it's for George again, so
I think it's for I think it's for Justice League
what George does, and I hope I'm sure he doesn't mine. Normally,
when you auditioned for something Coops, they might give you

(40:44):
a scene from the from the screenplay, unless you're Matthew Johnson,
and you just get to walk on.

Speaker 5 (40:55):
And spread the telling around it and so and.

Speaker 3 (40:59):
So people get it and they go, oh, this is
my character. There's a scene in which my character features.
I'm going to give They don't usually give you the
whole screenplay, espectainly in later stages of my career. They
it's sort of like a privilege for you to get
more access to that stuff. So I try to audition

(41:19):
now because I don't. I don't feel good about myself,
you know, for a long time. And so especially if
they don't give you as much information as they can,
you're like, well, ill you know anyway, And so George
what he does with his team is that he'll give
you a selection of scenes and they've just they've been

(41:41):
amended somewhat so not for copyright, and you get to
choose which one you want to choose.

Speaker 2 (41:48):
One of them is like the Who's.

Speaker 3 (41:50):
On first sequence? Another one was like a two hander.
One's got three beeple in it. There's a monologue and
they say it interests us which monologue or which scene
you choose and shows us how you like to work
versus this is the scene. Try and get it right.

(42:12):
And he said something to me while back. He said,
I'm curious films are so different at the end, but
when they're at the script form, they're identical.

Speaker 2 (42:22):
They all look the same.

Speaker 3 (42:23):
And so he's always been looking to innovate, I guess,
or maybe not innovate.

Speaker 2 (42:30):
But anyway, I'll let him tell his story.

Speaker 3 (42:32):
But for me, I chose a monologue that I recognized
from the film twenty fifth Hour with Ed Norton.

Speaker 2 (42:38):
I love that movie.

Speaker 6 (42:39):
Talking about the other day film Seemore often well, I
think it's such an not a Spike Lee movie.

Speaker 5 (42:47):
That makes When I found out he.

Speaker 2 (42:48):
Made, I yeah, did you like Crooklyn?

Speaker 5 (42:51):
Yeah? I did. I really enjoyed very un track and.

Speaker 2 (42:55):
So yes, I did that.

Speaker 3 (42:57):
And at the end end of the audition, they say,
I'll tell us something that you've never told anyone, and
I confess I told them something that you know that
had happened to me, and.

Speaker 2 (43:09):
Like a childhood assault that happened I never told anyone.
And the casting ladies director amazing that he was crying.
I was great. I was like, wow, this, I don't
know why I did that, you know, I just wanted
to be taken seriously.

Speaker 3 (43:25):
And just as she went to the camera, so I said, oh, actually,
can I just record a message for George?

Speaker 2 (43:30):
And she's like what I said, Can I just record
a message to George? And she's like sure, And I said,
I just want to say thank you for Mad Max
changed my life, my favorite Mad Max. Most people like
Mad Max two aka Road Warrior, but I like Mad
Max the original, and I don't even call it Mad Max.
One sat down in the Yu yangs and back as

(43:53):
marsh and what have you?

Speaker 3 (43:55):
Or near there anyway? I said, can I just say
thank you? And my favorite scene is the is the
featuring the police.

Speaker 2 (44:02):
Chief played by Roger Moore, the character Fee McAfee where
and I'm saying that I'm stop talking Fee McAfee.

Speaker 3 (44:10):
Where the guy Max Rokotansky's thinking of quitting. And the
guy comes in with a hap tenaie outfit and they're listening.
He has I don't appreciate having to what you say, Brian,
our top pursuit man with candy, and he has goodbye
McAfee and good luck and I do this.

Speaker 2 (44:28):
And and then Roger Wardling's over the banister.

Speaker 3 (44:31):
And goes, thanks labertorche, you're a real human beings. If
we're going to get a job, at least at least
I've got that out of my system.

Speaker 5 (44:43):
Is it on with you? Mad Max?

Speaker 6 (44:46):
The original he just stands up to this day still
and he's my favorite.

Speaker 5 (44:50):
It's so camp he's he's like I tell.

Speaker 2 (44:53):
You, he was the only one. Max was the only
one they got to wear leather. The rest of them
were in vinyls.

Speaker 6 (44:58):
Well I loved it when he gets it's in your blood, Rosky.

Speaker 2 (45:03):
People need heroes, Max, that's in your blood.

Speaker 6 (45:09):
What I hear and made Mad Max three is a masterpiece.

Speaker 2 (45:14):
What is Beyond thunder Dome?

Speaker 5 (45:16):
Yeah, Beyond Sunday Dome.

Speaker 3 (45:17):
I just well, yeah, I'll tell you something off air
about it, but it's that's some they had some tragedy
before that.

Speaker 2 (45:25):
And what people don't know around that is there's actually.

Speaker 3 (45:28):
Two directors of Beyond Thunderdome. So you notice that there's
a sizable shift.

Speaker 6 (45:34):
When when Sorry, that's really interesting because when I watched
it recently, You're right, it looks like halfway through the movie,
it looks like the movie is going to reach its
conclusion and then it just goes again like it.

Speaker 5 (45:49):
Was, Yeah, genius.

Speaker 4 (45:50):
When you found out you got the role? Did he
did George Miller ask you about that part?

Speaker 2 (45:55):
I've got to tell you. When you grow up with
ugly parents, I know you got to navigate, you find
beauty and other things. And so I get a vocal
to come in to see to meet with doctor George
at his then.

Speaker 3 (46:14):
Potts Point offices. It's beautiful, old Art deco movie theater.
I'm so nervous, and you know, you fork at the
same time. And I walk in and it's all very secretive,
and they take me up to a room and I
sit down and there's all these miniature models of dystopian
vehicles that would later feature in Fury Road. Surrounding me

(46:39):
is like twelve thousand storyboards, so storyboarders.

Speaker 2 (46:43):
For our listeners or your listeners viewers. It's like an
imagined framing, hand drawn for what they envisaged the shot
to look like at that particular point.

Speaker 3 (46:55):
And he was he'd done a script basically like a
with his with nicol Lethuris and others, that it was
all storyboards like a graphic novel.

Speaker 2 (47:07):
So I'm sitting in there waiting for my hero to arrive,
and I'm looking around. I'm looking around, and he comes in.

Speaker 3 (47:16):
He's like, he says the most complimentary things, things that
I never imagined that he was familiar with, that I
had done work wise, that I was almost embarrassed to
think even you talking about, you know, the late night
podcast or whatever the show was called. Afterwards, I go, wow,
you don't believe anyone.

Speaker 2 (47:37):
Knows these things or familiar with these things. He gave it,
he said, now. He handed me the script and he said, now,
as there's a character in here, i'd love you to
look at see see see, see what you think of it.
I won't tell you.

Speaker 3 (47:52):
Which one and and and come back to me.

Speaker 2 (47:57):
You know, if you go upstairs and read the screenplay,
take you about eighty minutes and come back and we'll
have a chat after you just and so I go stair,
I thank you here, and I'm like wow. And I
start going through the script and there's hardly any.

Speaker 3 (48:13):
Written dialogue and it it's just pictures. And as I'm
reading it, I'm like, I think he wants me to
be mad Max.

Speaker 2 (48:24):
That's life, That's.

Speaker 5 (48:26):
That's how I think you're strutting on it.

Speaker 2 (48:30):
I was like, I don't need to read the rest
of it now because the character I playing infuriy and furious.
There is the organic mechanic. He didn't appear. He appeared
at the start, but it didn't appear until a bit later.
But I was like, it's Max. Max is the only
male white character. I'll do it, like, you know. And

(48:51):
as I'm sort of having this moment, this guy comes
in there. They're making Happy for two at the time, and.

Speaker 1 (48:57):
Great film in itself as well.

Speaker 2 (49:00):
It's the same directive and he knows who I am.

Speaker 3 (49:05):
And uh, and so I end up going back downstairs.
I was like, I cannot wait to tell my friends,
I'm going to be mad Max with me. Just you
know the guy the night riding goes past and instead
of cutting to the putting the gloves on.

Speaker 2 (49:23):
Just just I'll be there.

Speaker 4 (49:30):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (49:30):
And so it was a great lesson for me. I
guess in patience as well.

Speaker 3 (49:37):
I think I was cast in it maybe five years
before we filmed.

Speaker 2 (49:41):
Years before we filmed it.

Speaker 3 (49:44):
They were originally going to do it in in Namibia
with Mel Gibson, and then then nine to eleven happened.

Speaker 2 (49:51):
I couldn't get insurance and what have you.

Speaker 3 (49:54):
Then they were looking at having Heath Ledger and a
bunch of others, but we ended up shooting it in
Namibia because they had two once in a century rains
out at the Monday Monday where they filmed Mad Max two.
And we did Furiosa there as well, which was very

(50:15):
exciting to visit those places where.

Speaker 6 (50:17):
The first one they were going to film it out
the back of Burke Yeah, and suddenly because out there
it is so dry and red Earth suddenly suddenly they
get this, as he said, this once in a lifetime
Downpaurs and it's lush and too.

Speaker 3 (50:36):
Yeah, and so we got to go to Namibia and
South Africa to Cape Town, which is where we shot
Fury Road.

Speaker 2 (50:43):
You know, every film is solving problems.

Speaker 6 (50:46):
Tom Hardy at that point, he wasn't a household name
when he got the role. Members and this English at
Tom Hardy, English guy playing Mell's role. But now he's
just about my favorite act at What was he like
and said, he's in an intense guy?

Speaker 3 (50:59):
I guess, so yeah, I mean I have to be
careful what I say because you know, there's what there's
the stuff that happened, and then there's and there's you know,
the public perception.

Speaker 2 (51:10):
Of it all.

Speaker 3 (51:11):
But fundamentally I had no issues with Tom. There there's
lots of stories, you know. The thing for Tom like this,
I asked him after the film because we were We
caught a plane to Calgary once and we sat next
to each other afterwards. He was doing inception inception inception?
Is that the one where he walked up the mountain

(51:33):
or something? Or what's the snow one?

Speaker 2 (51:35):
Is that? Is that it?

Speaker 1 (51:37):
I think there is amount.

Speaker 2 (51:38):
There with the bear Bear tax leave. That's what he
was He was doing Revenue Inception.

Speaker 4 (51:44):
That's a that's with goes inside of his dreams.

Speaker 2 (51:47):
I love that one.

Speaker 1 (51:48):
That's a great movie.

Speaker 2 (51:49):
He was doing The Revenant were I was doing Fargo,
and I asked him about about it all. It was
after after my vaccine.

Speaker 3 (51:57):
He really talked about the weight of expectations of being
stepping into Mel's role.

Speaker 2 (52:06):
And I spoke to George at the premiere of Few
Road and he said he sat in between.

Speaker 3 (52:14):
Tom and Melt at Grandma's Chinese in Hollywood, and he
said that Mel loved it, was like elbowing him throughout.
And Tom got a lovely compliment from from Mel afterwards.
So I thought, you know, Cet Charlaise was the hero
in that film. She really was the leader for us,

(52:37):
and you know, she'd sort of have a week off
and give her house to her make up assistance. The
tough thing for Tom that I don't think we'll ever
but was that during that filming. So there was an
unfortunate incident in a cinema I think in Colorado with
some people who were shot, Yes, unfortunately, and in a

(52:59):
session of the Dark Knight Rises or something whatever, the
one he's in.

Speaker 2 (53:02):
Yeah, and so I believe it was Warner Brothers.

Speaker 3 (53:06):
The movie studio sent security guards to everyone, everyone in
the cast, m.

Speaker 2 (53:13):
Wherever they were on the planet.

Speaker 3 (53:14):
And we were in Schwockman, which is a town in Namibia.

Speaker 2 (53:23):
The least populated country for that per site for that
size respects to Malta. And once that happened, things sort
of seemed to change a bit on set, you know,
having to security guards with him at all time seemed
to things seemed to you know, it sort of added
to the intensity on those jobs, even for Furio. So

(53:48):
I don't think anyone can imagine the weight that happens.
It's very the minuture of it.

Speaker 3 (53:54):
But the thing that back to George is that here
is this gentleman that inspire is inspiring hundreds of us.
We had over a thousand crew on Fury Road, eight
hundred visas I believe from.

Speaker 2 (54:07):
People from over this way.

Speaker 3 (54:08):
He went to Africa, all get behind one one man
and he's producing partner, and I just I think that's
the greatest thing. Yeah, you know you actually I actually
don't want to share it, like I don't want to
share not not don't want to share it, but it
becomes something else when other people see it, they go nice.

Speaker 2 (54:28):
It didn't do well at the box office. Yeah, you're like,
are you? Are you saying that my experience wasn't it?

Speaker 5 (54:34):
Can?

Speaker 4 (54:34):
I ask you Furiosa and few like which one was
your favorite of the modern too?

Speaker 2 (54:39):
Well?

Speaker 3 (54:40):
I enjoyed Fury Road more with all due respect to
my cast in Furiosa, there were too many Australians.

Speaker 2 (54:46):
And for me to feel special.

Speaker 3 (54:49):
Yeah, I loved the first one because I never thought
it would happen or not. I say the first my
first film with George, I never thought it would happen.

Speaker 2 (54:59):
And Fury Road middle of nowhere.

Speaker 3 (55:02):
I got to work with the great Hugh keyes Burn,
who played the toe cutter in the original, and I
spent a lot of time with him, asking him a
lot of questions. And then when Furiosa came about which
the quick I'll try and tell it quickly. The quick

(55:23):
story of Furiosa was when Fury Road happened, what was happening.

Speaker 2 (55:29):
George has been trying to encourage the South Wales government,
in Australian government to sort of follow this Sir Peter
Jackson model from New Zealand, which was it identified the
great cost for them is to find.

Speaker 3 (55:45):
Artisans and helpers to make a film and then they
have to stand down while he goes into editorial mode.

Speaker 2 (55:56):
What they did in New Zealand was they were able
to roll like you know, Lord of.

Speaker 3 (56:03):
The Rings into zena Warrior Princess into Hercules into King Kong.
They didn't lose any of those film practitioners and so
then it attracted other people, and so they were trying
to He was trying to get the New South Wales
government to do that and Happy Feet two was taking
a bit longer than expected, and so he got the

(56:23):
Happy Feet two people. The idea was to make Furiosa
as like an anime to explain who Charlie's Charlie's.

Speaker 2 (56:31):
Character was before Fury Road.

Speaker 3 (56:34):
They were like, we'll give you Furiosa and Fury Road.
And when you read Furiosa, everyone was like, this is
a much more traditional script.

Speaker 2 (56:44):
This is this is.

Speaker 3 (56:45):
Absolutely compelling, and so people were pushing George to make Furiosa.

Speaker 2 (56:51):
First then Fury Road.

Speaker 3 (56:53):
So I enjoyed Fury Road more because I guess I
know I was in our freaker. I was doing something
I never thought I'd get to do in a in
a film franchise or a film uber that I never
thought would be possible the second time, you know, I

(57:14):
was like, oh, there's the dickhead from Underbelly.

Speaker 6 (57:16):
You know, like it's it's too local, not not too local.

Speaker 2 (57:22):
But it just didn't feel as I didn't feel as
you know, sort of remote.

Speaker 3 (57:28):
And I wrote some questions down that I wanted to
ask you no, because you know I often you often
asked like what's your favorite and all this sort of stuff.
First of all, I was I just went and watched
The State of Origin at Andrew Ditton's house. I said,
you've got any questions for them? He said, I've got one.

(57:48):
You asked them was there a player that they saw.

Speaker 2 (57:53):
That they were afraid of? You saw you were? Were
you ever afraid playing football? That's from.

Speaker 5 (58:03):
Yeah, it was revolving door that night.

Speaker 6 (58:05):
But you know what, Angus I, When you play, fear
is a really important part of it, because it's fear
of letting your teammates down, Like when you're out there,
when you've got such close bond. I would literally I
swear to God's standing in front of a car coming
at me for my teammates. I would rather do that

(58:26):
than let my teammates down. When you sort of state
of origin and all the guys running. When you see
homoli Oli Kawatu in your suit going in there, that like,
I respect that.

Speaker 5 (58:36):
People go, oh, that's.

Speaker 6 (58:37):
Undisciplined, mate, that is standing up being part of your mates.

Speaker 5 (58:41):
Like you know.

Speaker 6 (58:42):
For me, have I ever feared rather than fear? Not
physical fear. But I remember really one of the first
first games I ever played, when you played the Raiders
in the early to mid nineties. It was a fate
worse than death. They just beat you up so bad.
They were the ninety four Raiders. I back against any side,
they're incredible, but I remember we might have been ninety

(59:06):
two or ninety three. I ran on the field and
I'm a young greenhorn and I'm looking around at the
camera stadium. It's freezing cold, and I look as we're
about to kick off, I look and I go, fuck
me dead. It's Melviourninger, you know what I mean, And
you're going lands.

Speaker 5 (59:25):
It was.

Speaker 6 (59:26):
And I looked at mal and I just went, oh shit.
And I remember the first time I tackled him. I
said this to Mau and he sort of half took
offense and said it was Mal was like you know
when you're a kid and you tackle your dad in
the lound room and you feel that strength and he
goes all right, So comparing me to your old man,
said no, no, no, I didn't hit it dispersionally, but yeah,
that's what.

Speaker 5 (59:44):
It was like.

Speaker 6 (59:45):
And there was a time in the game I'm standing
up a short side and there's me and the winger
and I'm out of position. I'm caught up a short
side and it's about a third of the field and
I look and they've got no one andrewco on the
wing and Mal and I'm sitting there and I think
to myself, oh, please, please don't call the ball, Please
don't call the ball.

Speaker 5 (01:00:05):
And he just looked at me and the ball the
other way. He looked at me. He winked and smiled.

Speaker 2 (01:00:10):
Yeah, yeah he knew.

Speaker 1 (01:00:13):
I got There's been a few. I'm not gonna lie gussy.

Speaker 4 (01:00:16):
But when I went to Manly after Melbourne, Nelson said, Solomon,
I remember we played him at the Battle of Brookvale.
Here we beat him, but geez, like we I spent
five years avoiding Nelson at training, like whenever contacted come around,
Like there's a large group of us that used to
see what they break into two groups for defense, and
whatever group Nelson would walk into, you would.

Speaker 1 (01:00:37):
See seven blokes to the other group.

Speaker 4 (01:00:40):
So Mate and just and I knew the whole week
their game plan always was trying to put Nelson one
on one with the halves. So I just knew it
was coming, and it was And he was just into
me the whole time because he knew I hated tackling.

Speaker 2 (01:00:54):
Mate.

Speaker 6 (01:00:55):
The most scared I've ever been before a game, and scared.

Speaker 2 (01:01:01):
It's to not let your teammates down.

Speaker 6 (01:01:04):
But adrenaline and fear is really really important thing. It's like,
you know, adrenaline covers a lot of things. It's a painkiller,
but it's appetite suppress and all those things. You know,
but it's so important makes you it gets you up emotionally.
I always look at Dane gag guy, right, gay guy,
that he would he could play a game and he'd
be seven out of ten for the team, like South

(01:01:27):
when he was there and he played Origin, he'd be
nine out of ten, nine half out of ten. And
that's being able to use adrenaline to elevate yourself.

Speaker 5 (01:01:33):
Emotionally.

Speaker 6 (01:01:34):
The most terrifying thing I've ever experienced was right at
the end of my career. I'm playing for Wigan in
the North of England and we're playing Wakefield Trinity at
Wakefield and it's a and I reckon. There's fifteen hundred
people at the game and I'm staring. I'm standing at
the urinal and I'm standing there and I haven't got

(01:01:56):
an ounce I'm not one bit nervous, and I've got
Noah adrenaline And it was fucking terrifying.

Speaker 2 (01:02:03):
Wow.

Speaker 6 (01:02:03):
And every time I got hit in that game, it
was like it hurt. I felt every blow and I
just couldn't wait for the game to be over.

Speaker 5 (01:02:11):
And it was like, yeah, that that that that's scary.
That that was.

Speaker 6 (01:02:15):
That's probably the most fear I've felt.

Speaker 2 (01:02:18):
I wanted to ask your favorite team growing up in
the NRL.

Speaker 6 (01:02:22):
I I was Newtown Jets originally because Cessno Goanna's my
dad's team, and they had they had a sister club
agreements traveled back and forwards, and I was Newtown. Unfortunately,
when they when they were dissolved, I become Balmonte Tigers.
Even my first year of playing at the Knights when

(01:02:43):
I was playing President President's Cup under twenty one, I
was still a Tigers fan. I'd play for the Knights
and games going on the.

Speaker 5 (01:02:50):
Hill and cheer for the Balmain.

Speaker 2 (01:02:52):
You know Arthur Lornd is a Tiger's fan, is he? Yeah?
His dad his first pub is in balm And So
I asked you because I was in Vegas for the NRL.
I didn't see you, guys. I just I just felt
you and I had a couple.

Speaker 5 (01:03:15):
They tell me it was a good trip.

Speaker 2 (01:03:18):
I wanted to ask you both if you were a
head coach, if you were appointed head coach tomorrow, who
would be your assistant coaches? That's a that's a good question.
I mean, you need the club. Do you want a
club or doesn't It doesn't matter.

Speaker 1 (01:03:33):
But I tell you who I A team i'd love
to have my hands on because they're they're young and
they're so talented.

Speaker 4 (01:03:41):
Broncos. I'd love to have the like that Broncos squad
because they're so they're so still so young. Assistant coach
you just got appointed head coach of eels. Jason Ryles
had him at Melbourne and he's just everything I'm not.
He's very good, he's very he's just he's very good
at defense, and he's very good at being serious but

(01:04:04):
also not serious to the point where people like don't
like there's a lot of coaches that can get so
stuck up on being serious and like almost trying to
be not belittle players, but they want to be the
dominant figure that after a while people just go fucking
sick of that coach, like he's annoying. But he knows
the right time of when to be that dominant, but
then when to be one of the boys as well.

(01:04:26):
So he's just so loved by the playing group.

Speaker 6 (01:04:29):
I'd go the three guys, I'd get on board. I'd
go one my producer on the radio show that I
do and also the TV everywhere I go. I take
Himhill called Ben Hogarth. You used to work for Al
Jazeera years ago. He's just I can do unbelievable and
the reason I'd get him to all the editing and cuts.
How would I use him parf from that? I don't know.
But anytime I say hey, Ben with a difficult question,

(01:04:52):
he just goes done. He's like the mcguiver, he just
goes done.

Speaker 2 (01:04:56):
No problem's first note.

Speaker 5 (01:04:58):
No angus really Henry Winkler made my.

Speaker 2 (01:05:08):
Mate James One who's in Australian rebooted it.

Speaker 6 (01:05:13):
Yeah, yeah, yeah again, I go Okay.

Speaker 3 (01:05:17):
Usually there's a defensive coach, have an attacking coach.

Speaker 6 (01:05:21):
And so and the next guy I do I get
would be Brian Fletcher, because Fletcher is very intelligent as
far as football hides it, very well like, but just
a great guy to have around. Players are absolutely love him,
you know, A terrific guy. Third, third guy I get

(01:05:41):
is an old coach. You coached Northern Neagles for a while.
He's always been a great made of mine. He's at
the Bulldogs now in recruitment, guy called Peter Sharp.

Speaker 5 (01:05:49):
Now.

Speaker 6 (01:05:50):
The mistake that a lot of coaches make these days, Angus,
is they get too many like minded people, and they
get too many like they'd get too many ex's and
those guys. I don't need x's and those guys I
can look after that. What I need is guys who
number one I trust and number two can look after
the players and can be a bit of cartleage between
me and the players, right so that I don't you know,

(01:06:13):
I can pull out the big stick when I need it.

Speaker 5 (01:06:15):
But these guys are going to look at look after
the rest. And that's a big mistake.

Speaker 6 (01:06:19):
I've told a couple of coaches in the last five
years when they get a job a point, don't appoint
young coaches like you A point, older guys who have
lived a life and can look after the players like
they're their kids. And then the thing I admire most
about Sharpe's a great people person. But in his life

(01:06:39):
he's written the last fifteen to twenty he's endured a
lot of tragedy, and so he has that natural empathy.
So he's the first guy at a point.

Speaker 3 (01:06:49):
You mentioned before origin, Can you explain the difference between
state of origin football as a player and club.

Speaker 2 (01:07:01):
Football, first grade football, and perhaps maybe using train I
mean if I said trains, you might go bullet train. Yeah. Yeah,
but what why can't Why can't Why can't we have
state of origin every week?

Speaker 6 (01:07:17):
Yeah, it's just it's apart from being physically demanding, mentally
it's so it's so demanding. It's just like I remember,
it takes you a little bit sometimes to understand state
of origin football. What it was the first time I
was picked. We went in in ninety five. We had
a young side as me and Andrew and a few
of the guys. It was long camp. Ten day camp.

(01:07:39):
By day four we're still drinking and I'm going, what
am I doing? And we were heavy favorites nearly all
the camp.

Speaker 5 (01:07:46):
I assume we're going to win this, you know.

Speaker 6 (01:07:48):
And I remember running onto the field the Sydney Football
Stadium and standing there I feel all right, and looking
over as Coensland burst out of the tunnel and my
teammate Robbie Davis was running an old ant and I
looked in him and I've never seen him hold himself
like before, and I went, we're in trouble.

Speaker 2 (01:08:06):
You know.

Speaker 6 (01:08:06):
That's it's it's state of origin football, if it makes sense,
isn't about the football. It's what's inside you. Like I said,
it's your ability to elevate yourself emotionally.

Speaker 3 (01:08:17):
Yeah, okay, moving away from footy, but I can ask
those questions later.

Speaker 2 (01:08:23):
What was your first gig that you went to? Music gig?

Speaker 1 (01:08:26):
First music gig album.

Speaker 2 (01:08:29):
I don't suspect you've ever bought an album.

Speaker 4 (01:08:32):
I've bought a vinyl still in the plus jack miles
of collected he.

Speaker 1 (01:08:37):
I think the first one, uh, And I don't know.

Speaker 2 (01:08:41):
Actually we didn't go to he maybe it.

Speaker 4 (01:08:44):
Was Dickie Clapton, Richard Clapton. We went and watched him
at Rudy Hill Rsel No, No, it.

Speaker 2 (01:08:50):
Was North City.

Speaker 1 (01:08:52):
Yeah, yeah, don't worry he it was awesome.

Speaker 4 (01:08:55):
Yeah, Dicky was off. He looked like he had a
big day by the time he got on stage, big month.

Speaker 2 (01:09:00):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (01:09:01):
He had the sunglasses on and he was basically using
the mic stand to hold himself up.

Speaker 5 (01:09:06):
He's awesome, one of the best.

Speaker 6 (01:09:08):
The first gag I ever went to I remember seeing
Jimmy Barnes might have been holding Vim but the first
key I went I was Iness, not boy. Traveled down
to Newcastle on the bus and went to the sixteen
went to the Palais Royale in and watched Spy versus Spy.

Speaker 5 (01:09:25):
Three piece Newcastle bands.

Speaker 6 (01:09:27):
Newcastle very good at producing three piece bands, Silver Chair,
so on and so forth, Scream and Jets four.

Speaker 3 (01:09:37):
One of them was a small contributor, more Pie than four.
Who would play you in your biopic?

Speaker 2 (01:09:46):
Oh?

Speaker 1 (01:09:46):
Good question, Dad? Do you know yours?

Speaker 4 (01:09:50):
You always say yours, Dudley Moore, you always say Mark Woolberg.

Speaker 5 (01:09:57):
Oh wow, do what have I ever said this? We
asked me?

Speaker 4 (01:10:00):
He said it earlier and you you you've tossed up
Tom Hardy and Mark Wilberg both times up.

Speaker 1 (01:10:04):
We've asked you that before.

Speaker 6 (01:10:07):
Yeah, Mark Woburg's a little earnest. He's one of those
guys I've said. We've used this example for me. Were
at Paula Quarry, just said, you know, I like that
Mark Wilbur is one of those guys to hear his action,
but he never hears cut.

Speaker 4 (01:10:22):
My my one. I know that you've said this to
me before. The actor from The Bear.

Speaker 6 (01:10:27):
The lead actor Carmie, Yeah, I forgot his name, and
he was in The Iron Claw too.

Speaker 3 (01:10:33):
You could be the guy what's his name, Josh O'Connor,
he could play you the is he from the Crown.

Speaker 4 (01:10:42):
Sean Penn, Yes, it's see they picking. Do you see
the theme that they're going with The guy from The Bear?

Speaker 5 (01:10:49):
Sean Penn.

Speaker 1 (01:10:50):
Two dudes with huge.

Speaker 2 (01:10:52):
Noses and he has to breathe in once a day.

Speaker 6 (01:10:57):
He remember one saying, Trush goes he got hit and
she goes, oh, I think he's broken his nose. Broken
that nose, it'll mean major surgery, definitely.

Speaker 3 (01:11:07):
General Speaking of each other, what what's your favorite quality
in Cooper qualities.

Speaker 2 (01:11:15):
And what about you for math?

Speaker 1 (01:11:17):
This is a psychiatrist coming, This is yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:11:21):
Because the thing is I've got a good mate in
mel t Bone who.

Speaker 3 (01:11:26):
He He's said to me, I can't believe that they're
a family. I can't believe what they talk about as
a family. He reminded me that you guys are related
and Trisha as well for the family podcasts. And I
was like, you know what that's I don't know if
that's testament to you or or when you know, when

(01:11:48):
you call your dad Matthew or Jack will text me
and revert you as Matthew or something, you forget that
you're you're related. And it's testament to any I guess
family that a you communicate, but you communicate well. I'm curious,
as you know all the jokes aside and I haven't
given you any notice what some of the qualities.

Speaker 6 (01:12:10):
I think the qualities that I both admire and my
two boys is that he.

Speaker 1 (01:12:17):
Said Cooper, he said, just Cooper.

Speaker 6 (01:12:20):
It gets projected from other people. People will say I
run into Cooper, I run into Jack, I run into
your two boys.

Speaker 5 (01:12:29):
The other day. Cheers their good blokes.

Speaker 6 (01:12:31):
Cheers there you know, and for me, that's you know,
and there's lots of things that make up that you know.
And both of them got integrity. Both of them are
honest and that's what I admire, and both of them
the thing, and they both got strength of character. That's
probably I think the thing I love most. Their strength

(01:12:53):
of character to the point that they will drag me
aside sometimes and say, like Jack said to me the
other day, he said, you know, Dad, he said, you know,
for blokes your age, he said, I really might. I
think you've got the wood on a lot of people
your age. You know, things you do, he said, but
twenty percent of the time you really let yourself down.

(01:13:13):
Ye And I went, okay, yep, no worries, And I
just totally ignored.

Speaker 2 (01:13:17):
It and then asked to borrow the car.

Speaker 5 (01:13:22):
Yeah, thanks, sad, you want to get me vig.

Speaker 4 (01:13:26):
Okay, this is actually the easy one for me. Me
and Jack were telling we're talking about this yesterday. I
like in Matthew as a person of power, somebody who
especially in rugby league, has his shows, somebody who is
high in the media.

Speaker 1 (01:13:39):
He could very.

Speaker 4 (01:13:40):
Easily bag a lot of people if you wanted to,
But he never has, and even if you know he
might have personal difference with someone. He never has a
bad He never likes putting people on show on a
public forum like there was. We use the example yesterday
Jack didn't with Paul Vaughan in twenty twenty in COVID.

Speaker 1 (01:13:57):
I don't know if you remember this. He had a
barber and everyone all week smashing him in the media going,
how could you break.

Speaker 4 (01:14:04):
The rule of COVID. You're putting people's lives in danger?
And Dad's show come on on a Thursday night after
everyon been bagging him on from Monday to Wednesday, and
he come on and he said, Okay, I gos just
off the top. I want to talk about the Paul
Vaughan incident. You know, I don't want to speak too
much of the incident. He knows he's done the wrong thing.
He's been getting ham it all week. Just want everyone

(01:14:25):
out there to remember Vaughn is a champion bloke. He's
been on here multiple times. I never judged someone of
how they treat me or the boys on the couch,
but how they treat the people behind the cameras, the
producers and the makeup artist. And no one has ever
treated them as nice as Paul Vaughan has, so everyone
remember he's a good bloke. He just made a mistake.
And apparently Paul Vaughn texted Jack straight away and said,

(01:14:46):
thank your old man so much. That's done so much
for me and my family. Like we've been under the
pump for a week and I've always and a lot.
Nicko Hines has said a very similar thing the last
month earlier in the y was getting under the pump,
and he's always vouched. Matthew's always got his just doesn't
like kicking people when they're down. And I love that
quality and I love you, mate, I'm proud of it.

Speaker 5 (01:15:05):
Thank you.

Speaker 6 (01:15:06):
I remember once that there was one one thing which
you know, I'm really sorry about now, and I apologize
to him. I remember Robbie Farrer and I was sort
of rebuilding my life and I reckon, you know, And
I guess at the time, I was suffering a bit
of PTSD, and you know, I was sort of not
well in myself, and I'd been critical of the Tigers,

(01:15:27):
and rightfully so, because they weren't playing good. They were
a great team on paper, but they weren't fulfilling their potential.
And I use the word soft. Now, Robbi didn't play
in the game. I said, I saw the game against
against the Dragons. Just are better than that. You're just
playing soft, you know. And Robbie irked and things went
from there and he was like, you know, well come on,

(01:15:49):
you know, you know, and we sort of went back
and forwards and he said, is there anything else you
want to ask me? And I went, yeah, I hear
that young Benji don't like each other. Is that any
truth in that?

Speaker 5 (01:15:57):
Anyway?

Speaker 6 (01:15:58):
Just went from there and afterwards went away, and for me,
it was a turn a turning point in that part
of my life. I just went away and I went
and I run into someone and they went, maybe, what
was hell of that's not your really, it's not your goal.
And I went, I know, you know, I don't you know,
I don't know. It was just where my headspace was
at the moment. And I was over in the super Bowl,

(01:16:18):
you know, about three years later, and I run into him. Yeah,
I said, Robbie, I just want to say this mate,
is that you know, I wasn't in a good place
at that time, and I just want to apologize you anyway.

Speaker 5 (01:16:30):
Yep, yep, understand. Yeah, it's it's.

Speaker 3 (01:16:35):
It requires we need people to you know, to stop pylons,
don't we Yes, that's the reality.

Speaker 6 (01:16:42):
You know, the cancel culture. You know you get throse days, Angus,
you know with people, and I get some of it.

Speaker 2 (01:16:48):
But you know, you know, I just.

Speaker 5 (01:16:52):
Yeah, he hasn't sinned as they say. You know.

Speaker 6 (01:16:56):
Well, I tell what, Angus, I've loved that today. It's fantastic.
I've gotta I've gotta ask you something. Finally, have you
ever been to the calro Beach services?

Speaker 3 (01:17:05):
I have?

Speaker 2 (01:17:05):
Actually?

Speaker 5 (01:17:06):
Have you with dad? No, he's about to. Let's do it.

Speaker 2 (01:17:13):
I did my I did my what do you call it?
Problem with medallion here at Coloroi.

Speaker 5 (01:17:20):
That was that was a year record drownings.

Speaker 2 (01:17:30):
H

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#25 | Angus Sampson

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}#25 | Angus Sampson