BRETT CLIMO
INTERVIEW FROM MAGAZINE
The following interview was in a magazine around the time Brett was in The Flying Doctors.

Brett Climo seems to always get that "serious young actor" tag. After chatting to the lad for 10 minutes you realise that he lives up to his reputation. The star of The Flying Doctors is most definitely not at home practicing his autograph or posing in front of the mirror to see which side of his face looks better. He even gets a bit dodgy when I ask him when his birthday might be!

"Why do you need to know that? It's not really important, is it?"

It doesn't sound like Brett fits the mould of the all-singing, all-dancing, all-smiling soap star...

"Well I'm not!" he says. "I realise that it's part of the industry, but I sometimes wish that we'd start informing our audience more than just catering to them. And that goes for whether you're doing a drama or a current affairs show."

Do many other TV actors think the same way?

"All of us on The Flying Doctors. That's why I'm so happy doing this show. They're very strong people and the bottom line is that they're actors as opposed to actor/personalities - who I have nother against - but it's just a different attitude. I prefer to work the the bunch I'm working with now."

So what does Brett think of the whole Craig McLachlan/Rachel Friend cult of personality thing?

"I really respect what they're doing. I just think it's a bit of a scene, that's all. I sometimes wish I could do that, because people seem to get ahead. I'm not saying I'm deep and meaningful or anything like that, but I get something different from doing my work when I'm feeling confident, the trip I get from doing a scene is really satisfying. That's why I do it. To get that buzz from being who I am, from being up on a stage somewhere doing an appearance, I don't understand that. I tried all that stuff when I first started and I was pretty awful at it."

So how did it all start? Well, Brett was born on September 26th, 1964 (yes, he finally did tell me). He decided to become an actor when he was 15. The reason? He was offered his first job on a short film. Since that day he's done nothing but acting work.

"Even when I did that first film, I didn't know what is was all about." Brett admits. "I just hopped on the wagon and thought that if this was going to be it, then I'd see how far I could take it. Basically I had nothing else to do and I really fell into it! Now it's the only thing I know how to do!"

Just as well he knows how to do it well, because the roles started piling in. The full list is as long as one of your upper limbs, from Sons and Daughters to a TV movie called Archer to the the mini-series Vietnam. Then of course came the roles of nurse Michael Langley in A Country Practice and Doctor David Ratcliffe in The Flying Doctors. Surely Brett could almost carry out his own operation now!

"No way!" he laughs. "I guess the one thing I have learned is not to panic and to take instructions and think on your feet. I used to be nervous before about getting my 'doctoring' look right or making my nursing look authentic, but now I trust the fact that I can atually do that."

"What am I saying?" I fake it! Occasionally before a take I'll get tense if I have to give a needle or something like that, but my nerves are getting better now. It's interesting acting because it involves a lot of props. When you're a younger actor you try to avoid them. A lot of things can go wrong and it's hard to concentrate on three different things at once!"

What about the image of the cool, calm, collected medical man? Is that much like the real Brett Climo?

"Well, it's probably Brett Climo at this most confident, but about the only time I'm that confident is when I'm actually doing the part! He's the confident guy that I'd like to be, but he's not as quick to show his weeknesses as I am. Obviously we're dealing with television here and they're not as inclined to show those weeknesses."

Does that ever piss Brett off?

"Definitely!"

Do you want to give David Ratcliffe more depth?

"I think I have! And that's pissed a few people off. The more you do this sort of work, the more you have to believe in what you're doing. You've got to make what you do different from everyone else. I'm not into giving it all away in the first three episodes. I've done two series now and I think there's a really nice platform of the character to jump from. If I'd played David the way that people wanted me to play him. I'd be really bored with doing it by now."

It's doesn't sound like Brett Climo will ever get bored with acting. Does he ever contemplate doing anything else with his life?

"Yeah, at times I think about lots of things late at night. The trouble with this game is that I'm a fairly ordered sort of person and there's not a lot of order to this type of life. At times I'd like a job that's very civilised and ordinary, I guess. Getting up at nine and finishing at 5.30 and leaving your work when you go home. Something where the bottom line isn't you, it's someone else. Mind you, I'm not in that frame of mind at the moment!"

Just when you think you've got Brett pegged as the 'serious young actor', he brings up the subject of Outback Vampires. If you've never heard of this piece of film history, then Brett would love to keep it that way. You see, he was in it. The produces obviously thought that combining the ideas behind Crocodile Dundee and Dracula would be a fantastic idea. Apparently it wasn't.

"Please, I don't ever want to take about it!" Brett chuckles. "Just get it out on video and see how bad an actor can be! It's been on TV a couple of times, and I always turn a strange colour when it does!"

No more vampire parts for Brett. Now he sinks his teeth into different roles, and the only blood he's taking is for transfusions in the operating theatre.