It’s been a busy few years for Australian actor Sullivan Stapleton. After spending the first decade of his career playing minor parts on shows likeBlue Heelers,SatisfactionandUnderbelly, the Melbourne-born Stapleton caught the eyes of overseas casting directors courtesy his memorable performance in David Michod’sAnimal Kingdom.
Since then he’s landed a number of high-profile gigs, including leading roles in British/American action series Strike Back, the recent Hollywood blockbuster 300: Rise Of An Empire, and the upcoming NBC procedural Blindspot. Yet for all Stapleton’s recent success, it’s his turn as a charming but violent ex-con in local crime thriller Cut Snake that really demonstrates his versatility.
“It was such a great role to play with,” says Stapleton over the phone from the US, where he’s been living while working on Blindspot. “It read so well off the paper, and the character just stood out. To go in and out of all those layers that make him who he is – that was really fun.”
Written by Blake Ayshford, Cut Snake takes place on the outskirts of Melbourne during the early 1970s, centring on Sparra (Alex Russell) and Paula (Jessica de Gouw), a young couple whose life together is thrown into disarray with the unexpected arrival of Pommie (Stapleton). As it soon becomes clear, the two men did time together in prison – and now Pommie wants to lead his former cellmate back down a dangerous path, whether Sparra is interested or not.
“He’s a brooding, menacing man who’s been in and out of prison for most of his life, and I guess he just can’t get away,” says Stapleton of his character. “He loses his mate who he spent time in prison with, and then when he gets out he tries to bring him back into the criminal world, [which is] really the only world he knows.”
Although Ayshford’s script covers some fairly well-worn ground, Stapleton’s performance is an absolute standout. His humour and charisma mask a violent streak bubbling just beneath the surface, one that lends every scene in which Pommie appears an almost suffocating sense of danger. At the same time, there’s an emotional rawness to Stapleton’s work – especially towards the end of the film – that makes it impossible to view his character as a straight-up villain.
“The challenge was to give the character the menace and the aggressiveness that he needed, but also the vulnerability and the need to be loved and accepted,” explains Stapleton. “It’s too easy to play these types of characters as one note. I hope we pulled it off.” When asked if it was difficult getting inside the head of such an unstable man, he chuckles: “No, not really. Not for me.”
Stapleton is also quick to give credit to his director, Tony Ayres. Best known for the domestic dramas The Home Song Stories and Walking On Water, the award-winning filmmaker arrived to the crime genre afresh, but Stapleton says Ayres was instrumental in helping bring Pommie to life. “I’ve wanted to work with Tony for years,” says the actor. “I love him. He’s a great man and has a true gift as an artist. The collaboration between us, and the support I received from him, it just made the job awesome.”
That’s not to say the shooting process was always easy. One scene in particular, involving Pommie and a prostitute, ends in a moment of absolutely horrifying violence – and while it’s certainly effective, it can’t have been pleasant to film. “That was hard,” admits Stapleton, and for a moment he seems to struggle for words. “Obviously I’ve spent the last few years fighting on Strike Back, but to have to dominate this woman in a physical sense… it’s one thing to throw some punches at another actor, but to do that was difficult.”
Still, despite the occasional rough shooting day, Stapleton clearly had a positive experience on the set of Cut Snake, and says he still relishes the opportunity to work in his native country – not to mention his native accent. “I’m Australian through and through, so it’s great to come home and to speak in your own voice. To fly home, to film in Melbourne – it was just a great job to be a part of. It’s nice to work in that environment, to walk out of your trailer and see a mob of kangaroos. To travel the world and explore different cities is great, but to come home and see that puts a huge smile on your face.”
And it’s not just about getting to come home, either. As Stapleton’s star continues to rise, he’s presented with the chance to give back to the community that helped him get to where he is today. “I think it’s really important to support our industry back home,” he says. “To tell our stories, stories that really matter to us. We tell some great stories and make great films. I can’t wait to work in Australia again.”
Ultimately, however, the most important thing for Stapleton is that he keeps getting to tackle new and exciting characters. “You get to sink your teeth into different roles,” he says. “To me, that’s the fun part of the job.”
Cut Snake (dir. Tony Ayres) is in cinemas Thursday September 24.
