MovieChat Forums > Underbelly (2008) Discussion > They need to stop using Neighbours and H...

They need to stop using Neighbours and Home + Away actors


I dont know what the opinion is like in Australia, about neighbours and home & away actors, but in the Uk they have absolutely no creditability and are a laughing stock for their poor acting,

So why does underbelly have so many actors from these shows?

The plots and stories on underbelly are good but using these *beep* actors is making these so-called gangsters look like idiots

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Only thing I can think of is its some lurid form of aussie actors social welfare program/stimulus package :P

Why use established actors with established career paths when you can launch the careers of 10 nobodies who's acting careers will be over in 3 years anyway?

I think there are too many upper middle managers at Ch.9 who want to see the next eric banna or russle crowe come out of the ashes of nothing on their watch. Seriously, only thing it could be. If not for Chopper Reid being a full frontal fan (and earmarking him for his biopic) eric banna would be the same semi-renouned melbourne standup he always was, it was blind luck and good fortune that he got recognised outside of this city let alone by Hollywood.

Problem is, I think they aimed a little to low this time. The acting sucks.

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~~~~~Only thing I can think of is its some lurid form of aussie actors social welfare program/stimulus package :P~~~~~



Marlon, Claudia and Dimby the cats 1989-2005, 2007 and 2010.

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The funny thing is that since moving to Australia five years ago I have far less exposure to either Neighbours or Home & Away than I ever did in the UK.

From what I have seen of the Underbelly series, certainly the first two seasons and the one-off specials, I have been very impressed. Sure, there's crossovers in actors, although the industry is nowhere near as big as it is in the States or UK.

By the same token let's not forget that Michael J. Fox was the star of Family Ties at one point. Tom Hanks appeared as his drunk uncle...
Catherine Zeta Jones was a little Welsh girl in Darling Buds of May and Matt le Blanc advertised ketchup...

I know how to be controlled...

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Um no the only thing it could be is budget. Network execs aren't interested in launching careers, they just want to ride the ratings wave that started at Season 1 until well after it jumps the shark.

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Well actors have to start of somewhere - I still find it funny that big star Will Smith started off as the fresh ****ing prince of bel air!!!!!!!

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The best thing about Will Smith was him being Fresh Prince of Bel Air

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I actually don't see anything wrong with the acting. I actually think some of the soapie actors are good actors. At least they're getting the opportunity to be on something else.

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I've been really impresses with Dieter Brummer and Nat Bassin-whatever (even though I generally hate her).

Meanwhile is that Lance from Neighbours? They just keep popping up and I think I'm imagining it but the actress who plays Debbie almost looks like Lance's old GF from Neighbours. But no - IMDB says different.

And you have to love Harold as a dirty Minister! It's a somewhat hokey series about the un-coolness of Aussie crims - who better to play the part than ex teen-soapie actors with a few lines around their eyes?

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I can furnish you with the reasons for this series having so many *beep* actors:

-Retarded dead-horse-flogging producers

-Horrible screenwriting

*beep* WOEFUL DIRECTORS!

I have never seen such amateurish overuse of strobe and slow mo effects. Annoying and stylistically *beep* in the best cases, scene breaking in the worst.

Just a *beep* horrible show all round. And the first season was so well written/acted.

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I'm just taking a guess here, but perhaps they want AUSTRALIAN actors for an AUSTRALIAN show???

_________________________________
Steven Seagal Fan Club President

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You don't get it. Nothing wrong with using Aussie actors, they just need better ones that haven't been in pathetic soapies

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They are not 'Neighbours' and 'Home and Away' actors, they are 'Australian' actors. Just because they've done gigs on those shows doesn't make them anything less than actors.

_________________________________
Steven Seagal Fan Club President

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actually it does. Some actors can shake off that reputation and become credible actors eg Guy Pearce, but very few.

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How many American actors cut their teeth on rubbish like "Days of Our Lives" and "The Young and the Useless?"

How many British actors started out in "Coronation Street" and "Crossroads"?

No actor starts out at the top.

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What else is there?

This is Australia we don't exactly have a large 300 million population to draw actors/actresses from.

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I haven't seen any Neighbours for 18 years as I'm back in the US now, but I was pleased to see "Harold Bishop" in Golden Mile and surprised to see him as a heavy.

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Yet there is an incredible number of Australian actors on American television shoes and movies. Heh.

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You did just fine, Clarence. Now go git yo'self some hot cornbread!

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And then there was the American actor who pretended to be an Australian actor to stand out from the crowd. Unfortunately, when found out, he didn't say 'I'm an ACTOR' as Jon Lovitz did on SNL. He took his own life.

Fight the FOCA

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Who?

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what you all have forgotten the have also have used three actors form the power rangers series as well one from jungle fury the yellow ranger in season 2 of underbelly as alison dine and the red mystic force ranger as john ibrahim in the golden mile and the green mystic force ranger as guido calletti in razor so stop with this *beep* about why the are using either home and away or neighbours actors so lighten up

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PMSL, what next?

Dizz coughs his last in the arms of Diff after a gangland shootout at the coffeeshop?
Mrs Mangel starts running hoors out of that stripclub?

...or my personal favourite

Ployn Joyn Superbroyn turns up as a librarian or a nun or summat in a pair of utterly improbable jamjar gigs, does & says nothing in particular yet is in every scene for about 40 episodes in a row. Desperate angsty heartstrings tale of unrequited love ensues, before finally a big reveal where she removes said gigs to show the world *gasp* she's actually quite sexy, in a sort of not-really-sexy-at-all type of way.

Still hoping Alf Stewart & Meesta Feesha are gonna turn up at some point too...

"Go on Stanley, stick one in Jayne Russell & win a goldfish"

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Lol. I'm figuring this was written in 2012 without the knowledge of Underbelly Files: Tell Them Lucifer was Here which has Annie Jones in it!

You must be of a similar vintage as me, Finbarr given your love of the Viz and "Ployn Joyn Superbroyn" memories.

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Australia only make shows like Neighbours and Home and Away to send to England as revenge for crapppy English shows like "Coronation Street", "On the Buses" etc.
With a much smaller population than the UK and the USA and the world's thirteenth largest economy how many actors do you think we have?

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We have plenty of actors..I've seen amazing actors at workshops I go to..the problem is they never get a chance because casting directors here keep hiring the same burnouts for every show..I've done extra work on about 10 different shows and people like Vince collosimo would be there every time..

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