By Dov Kornits
“Acting has always been a part of my life in one shape or another whether it be directly or indirectly,” Ben Chisholm tells FilmInk. “Ever since I can remember, I’ve been fascinated and in awe of film, television, and theatre.” The 33-year-old performer has been effectively plying his trade since 2008, when he made his debut in the acclaimed ABC-TV series, The Hollowmen. Since then, he has cropped up regularly on TV (Underbelly, Neighbours, The Time Of Our Lives, It’s A Date), as well as gaining a foothold in independent film, booking roles in the shorts, Instruments Of Darkness and Daughter.
In his biggest film role yet, Chisholm forms part of the ensemble for the new Aussie horror flick, Red Billabong. The debut feature from experienced costume supervisor, Luke Sparke (Beneath Hill 60, The Pacific), Red Billabong features a wholly CGI villain, as well as an impressive young cast of live-flesh-actors including Home & Away’s Dan Ewing, Dance Academy favourite, Tim Pocock, Sophie Don, Jessica Green (Lightning Point), John Reynolds, Emily Joy, James Straiton, Felix Williamson (Underbelly: Razor, The Great Gatsby) and Gregory Fryer (The Sapphires). Making the terrifying most of its sparse outback locations, Red Billabong is set in a small rural town, where two brothers discover old secrets and family lies. As their friends start to go missing, they fear that they are being stalked by someone or something from their worst nightmares. But is the threat supernatural, or something more real…but just as dangerous?
As the none-too-pleasant BJ, Chisholm challenges the film’s CGI beastie with his own beastly behaviour. “Yeah, BJ is quite an interesting bloke,” the actor laughs. “He was so out of left field compared to the characters that I’ve played before. That was very liberating and also scary at the same time because of the amount of freedom that I was given by Luke. BJ is based on a number of different people that I have known – guys that have been really awesome fun on a night out, but not the types that you would let date your daughter or invite to a family dinner!”
The unexpected role came Chisholm’s way due to an existing connection with director, Luke Sparke. “I’d worked with Luke and the production team on a documentary drama called Yesterday Is History,” the actor explains. “Then a few months later, I received a phone call from Luke letting me know that I was being considered for the role of BJ. We had a chat about the film and the character and then later on that week, he called back and said, ‘Congratulations, you have the job.’ From there, the Red Billabong shoot was a hell of a lot of fun. The cast and crew just made every day and a lot of nights a privilege to be there.”
With the film’s monster added in post-production (“It wasn’t until I saw the artwork that I was able to fathom the extent of Luke’s vision and how terrifying it was,” Chisholm), Red Billabong has since been making the rounds of Australia’s pop culture expos and fan events, booking berths at Supanova and Oz Comic-Con, and allowing genre enthusiasts an early entrée into the creative process of the film, with footage tantalisingly dropped before the film’s completion and an awareness campaign well in gear before the upcoming theatrical release. Ben Chisholm – who will next be seen in the bushranger drama, The Legend Of Ben Hall (“I play Ben’s brother, Bill Hall, which was a far cry from playing BJ”) – was happily there for more than a few of them. “Participating in the pop culture expos has been an absolute blast,” says Chisholm, who attended with many of his cast-mates. “To connect with the audience and have that type of interaction with people was really fun. For those that haven’t been to any of the pop culture events, it is amazing. It’s full of great people having a great time. I’m really looking forward to attending some of the advanced screenings and participating in the upcoming Q&As too. I hope that audiences enjoy the ride and have fun with it. There’s action, comedy, drama and a monster! To quote Ari Gold, ‘It’s Die Hard at Disneyland, what’s not to love?’”
FilmInk Presents will be holding two very special screening and Q&A sessions of Red Billabong in Adelaide (August 15) and Melbourne (August 16). For all details, click here.
