By Travis Johnson

Assault allegations from two former partners and a history of drug and alcohol abuse seem to have done actor and director Matthew Newton’s career little harm, with Deadline reporting that his latest directing effort, Who We Are Now, has begun filming in New York.

Starring Julianne Nicholson, Emma Roberts and Zachary Quinto, Who We Are Now concerns “convicted felon Beth (Nicholson), who forms an unlikely alliance with a young public defense lawyer Jess (Roberts), who does everything she can to get Beth’s young son back from her sister after Beth went into prison 10 years earlier for manslaughter.” Quinto plays Nicholson’s love interest, a former soldier who isn’t bothered by her shady background.

Newton, the son of Australian entertainment royalty Bert and Patti Newton, is a familiar face thanks to his acting turns in the likes of Underbelly, Looking for Alibrandi and Stupid Stupid Man. As a director he made the local indies Right Here Right Now (2004) and Three Blind Mice (2008).

In 2006 he pleaded guilty to a charge of common assault against his (by then former) girlfriend, Brooke Satchwell. The charge was later overturned by District Court Judge Joseph Moore after a string of high profile character witnesses came to Newton’s defence, with Moore ultimately describing Newton as “a gentleman”.

In 2010 Newton had an AVO taken out on him by his then-partner, Rachael Taylor, following a number of assaults that, according to court documents, left her with “concussion”, “bruising” and a “sprained jaw”, plus “scarring to her top lip, arm and knee” as well as “neck injuries” in three separate incidents.

Taylor also alleged that Newton threatened to kill her multiple times.

Since that time, Newton has kept a very low local profile, but emerged in the director’s chair for the 2016 US indie, From Nowhere, also starring Julianne Nicholson, which won an audience award at SXSW.

 

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