New Stuff

A little feature I was in, written and directed by Mick Connolly. Filmed entirely on a phone camera, which might be difficult to believe considering how beautiful it looks, but Mick is a wizard. He had a vision and he executed it without letting the usual financial limitations of making a feature film hold him back. As an actor I loved working with Mick because he wasn't interested in an end result from the actors. He just wanted to see people honestly talking and listening to each other without any affectation. But moreso, as a filmmaker, I was inspired by his ingenuity. It wasn't a film with big budget set-pieces or an extravagent production design so why shouldn't we be able to film the whole thing on an iPhone in mostly his own home and surrounding areas? It just showed me that there isn't a right way to make a film, you can just go out and do it.

Hands Up Who'd Like A Hug follows Thomas, a socially awkward millionaire (played by Kyle McCallion) who retires young and is learning how to make friends for the first time. Along the way he finds connection in the most unlikely faces including Deacon, a local homeless man (played by Don Bridges). I played Alejandro, Deacon's flamenco guitar teacher and, while I am a reasonably experienced guitarist, Don's experience with the guitar far eclipses my own, dating back to before I was even born. He certainly din't need me to teach him. And yet, we both came in as novices to flamenco which is a vastly different style than either of us had ever played and required a complete relearning of how to even hold a guitar. 

The film will have it's premier at Cinema Nova in April of 2026 as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.