By Dov Kornits & Travis Johnson
Red Billabong sees Dan Ewing take the leading role that has been waiting on him for years. And it fits like a glove. From featured extra roles in the likes of Superman Returns – “I just needed to push a girl out of the way in one of the scenes where debris is falling” – to the almost mandatory Aussie soap apprenticeship, including multiple stints on Home and Away, Ewing has always exceeded expectations. He does it again in Red Billabong, playing the action man role as one of two brothers (the other played by Tim Pocock) who come up against an ancient supernatural threat when they inherit their grandfather’s remote bush property.
What was it about Red Billabong that appealed to you?
The appeal for me was mainly how unique it was. I hadn’t read an Australian film that I thought was quite like that. I’m a big fan of Greg McLean and what he did with Wolf Creek and even his crocodile movie, Rogue. When I read the script I just thought there were so many layers to it, and then speaking with [writer and director] Luke Sparke, there was a connection – he and I grew up on the Predator movies and all that stuff, when it was about suspense rather than showing things too early. And there were so many different layers – I couldn’t classify it as a horror, I couldn’t classify it as a monster flick – it just really leaped off the page, and that’s why I jumped at the chance.
How did you find the transition from Home and Away to indie filmmaking? How do they compare in terms of on-set comforts and resources?
Well, it’s funny you say that. You do get looked after very well on Home and Away, but even then, the budget for Home and Away isn’t crazy and it’s not like you’re getting individual trailers or anything like that. For an Australian film the budget on Red Billabong was quite decent. Obviously, a big portion of that budget goes to the big star of the film, the eight-foot-tall monster. I think the biggest difference for me was the toys were bigger and better. On Home & Away for a bigger episode we’ll have camera cranes and Steadicams and all that kind of stuff. The production value of Red Billabong, you know, for all those playing at home, you turn up to work and there’s a crane the size of a T-Rex looking at you. The production value was much higher and the speed with which we set up shots on a feature film was a lot slower than it is for TV, and I really enjoyed it.
You have a brilliant chemistry with Tim Pocock in the film? How did you arrive at that?
Timmy and I have known each other for a very long time. It’s a very small industry. I’m so glad we got the opportunity to work together at last. I always thought he was about ten years younger than me because he’s such a handsome devil and he looks so young. He’s actually my age – I just look ten years older than him. I don’t know what the secret is – Nivea or something, drinking lots of water – he won’t tell me, the bastard. We hit it off right away, and the bond is so strong. We made up a lot of stuff on the spot – we really wanted to sell the brother relationship because if that doesn’t work then the audience won’t care if they’re in peril, obviously. I was so very fortunate to work with Timmy and even more fortunate to get along with him so well.
As an Australian actor, do you feel the need to make the jump overseas and try your luck in, for example, Los Angeles?
The guys I look up to, the Chris Hemsworths and what have you, very rarely are they based in LA, and isn’t it interesting that when people start having families they start coming back here? And I think, not to be political, now that Mr Trump is going to be in charge of that country, I’m in no mad rush to have myself or my two-year-old boy living there. The world is a small place. We can audition with a blank wall and camera these days – it’s not like you have to be there. I’m definitely an Aussie at heart, so I’m in no rush. And there are so many good things going on in the Australian film industry. I’m so lucky to have been offered so many great Australian projects, I’ve got more coming up next year, so it’s not abut a paycheck for me. And I kind of like that we have to do such good character work here and we can’t rely on a $200 million dollar budgets and big explosions and bright-coloured suits to sell the movie. I think the Aussie industry is on the climb, well and truly, and I’m glad to be a part of that.
Are you happy with the outcome on Red Billabong?
I think coming off Home and Away where I was playing the middle brother for so long, to have the opportunity to come in and be the lead, it was much more suited to me as a man, who I am as a person, and I’m very grateful for the opportunity. I think there’s always things you wish you could do better and you wish you had more time, but at the end of the day it’s an Australian film and you’re not gonna have seventeen takes and all that sort of stuff. I was really happy with myself and everyone else, what we got in the time we were given, and we shot it so long ago now and the stuff I’ve been doing recently, I think I’ve taken my game to a new level now. I was very glad over the opportunity to take the reins and be the leading man on that one.
Red Billabong is out on home release now.
