by Dov Kornits
A swirling, kaleidoscopic mix of magical realism and gritty childhood remembrance, the acclaimed novel Boy Swallows Universe – journalist Trent Dalton’s semi-autobiographical tale of crooks, bikies, drug dealers, prison break-ins, fractured families, saints, sinners and childhood innocence lost – has been beautifully served by streamer Netflix with an excellent eight-part series adaptation. Amongst a strong cast of vets and newcomers, young Aussie actor Zachary Wan is a true standout, bringing genuine menace and brilliantly timed dark humour to the role of Darren Dang, a school bully and son to small but imposing drug dealer Bich Dang (HaiHa Le), who eventually becomes an unlikely friend and ally to young Eli Bell (Felix Cameron), who is desperately trying to find his way in life. Following on from his eye-catching supporting role in Never Too Late opposite Jacki Weaver, Dennis Waterman, Jack Thompson, Roy Billing and James Cromwell, Zachary Wan again proves himself a major scene-stealer in Boy Swallows Universe.
When/how did the acting bug bite?
“My love for acting started at school. I was always involved in the school’s drama productions. My first school production was a role as a comedic resurrection of Napoleon. It received such positive responses that I was totally hooked after that! To me, drama is my form of expression. I find it fascinating to be able to bring a character to life, especially characters that are so different to me. Doing a deep dive into characters is an escape for me. I am completely drawn to being able to give dimension to every character I portray. It’s also a lot of fun being able to bring these characters to life and pay homage to the writers who create them. It is awesome when I get a character that is completely opposite to me too!”
Where are you at right now?
“I’m in uni studying Commerce Law, as well as refining my skills with acting courses. Performing Arts is a challenging industry to be in, but I absolutely love it. I am continuing to build my platform to represent a new wave of Asian influence within media and entertainment. I want to represent my culture and my experiences to a wider audience, and I love that I’m able to do that through the stage and screen. I will be continuing to share my story, and to champion a pathway for other Australian actors from diverse backgrounds for stage/screen/drama.”
Do you have any acting/performance heroes?
“There are so many great actors out there! My heroes are all the artists who can use their voice and platform to influence others about a great idea or cause. In this sense, there are too many to count. However, I think actors of a diverse background who are cast in roles outside of their stereotype are what I am drawn to most because it breaks the cultural norm. I’m really lucky to have parents who have not asked me to uphold a typical Asian kid’s life of academia [Laughs], and allowed me to pursue performing arts as a career. One of my heroes at the moment would be Steven Yeun because he is a very talented and diverse actor. With TIK TOK and IG, there is definitely a space there for creators and artists because I am a believer that our profession as actors is about telling stories. Platforms that allow these stories to influence the world with ideas and a cause should not be discounted.”
What sort of study do you do with regards to acting?
“I have done lots of courses with NIDA and ATYP. They are amazing institutions with so many professionals who are dedicated to the craft. Of course, I am always refining my skills!”
Had you read the book Boy Swallows Universe?
“I have! However, during the audition process, I was in the middle of studying for my HSC exams. Leading up to the confirmation of my role, my head space was all about doing well in my exams, so there wasn’t a lot of time for leisurely reading. I did a deep dive into the book because I was going to play one of the most iconic roles created by Trent Dalton. I wanted to portray Trent’s vision of Darren Dang and Trent’s experience growing up in Darra. The book was amazing, so it was going to make it onto my reading list eventually, so I am glad that it was sooner rather than later.”
With your character Darren Dang, was the role in the series compressed from the book? Were there scenes left on the cutting room floor?
“I was super happy and very humbled to find out that all my scenes made it into the final cut! Having said that, a lot of Darren’s backstory was left out, and his development from a schoolyard bully to running drug operations could have drawn more empathy from the audience. Reading Darren’s character from the book, there is a parallel to Eli and Gus Bell’s characters – that Darren’s menacing exterior and erratic behaviour in fact hid a fierce sense of family protection, especially for his mum. Darren and Bich’s mother-son dynamic was translated via Eli’s relationship with his mum, Frankie. So, more backstory would have captured the chemistry and connection about the idea of family as an overarching common theme, regardless of background or history.”
You interact beautifully with young actor Felix Cameron, who plays Eli Bell as a boy…
“Felix and I had most of our scenes together, so it was such a fantastic and natural chemistry for us to portray the idea of family. We hit it off on the first day of shooting. So, despite our characters coming from such different worlds, the similarity in their motives to protect their mum drew them together. When I spoke to Trent about my role and the inspiration behind who Darren Dang was in his own life, Trent said that I had really captured the character as he imagined – as a collective of the people he met growing up. So yes, the key moments from the book translated well on screen.”
Netflix is a global platform…what has the response to your role/performance been like?
“Nothing short of amazing! Whilst I was in a supporting role, I have had so many positive responses about my contribution to this project. The response to the Darren character has been fantastic – some people really thought I was a menacing drug dealer, so it tells me that my portrayal of the character was successful! I have received a lot of love for this role. People were able to appreciate his underlying motives. I loved the fact that I could break down every aspect of who Darren was as imagined by Trent, so that was invaluable feedback for me! I love hearing about audiences’ reactions to my character from all over the world, especially from other Asian migrants who lived through that 1980s era. I had a chat to Que Minh Luu, Director of Content ANZ Netflix, about my character, and the portrayal of Asian migrants. Their experience was not far from the truth. Whilst it was a dark history of drugs and violence in Australia, it is still a unique part of history like many other aspects of the book.”
Compared to your other experiences working for the screen, how was Boy Swallows Universe?
“Given the size and scale of the production, it was such a professional, yet wholesome and enriching experience. Being around such talented cast and crew members who are so good at what they do, and approach the set with such a high level of expertise, was great. Everyone was able to come together to create such an amazing product, yet treat each other with respect and camaraderie…it was like one big family. There was so much support, from Trent, through to the directors and every single cast and crew member. Watching each person work so hard on their craft and be so good at it, was really inspiring. There were such invaluable lessons for me. I was learning something new every day either in pre-production with costume fittings, shooting days or post production with ADR. Every experience was something new to learn, especially given my love for the entire process. It was such an amazing experience to be a part of. I have been so lucky because my experiences with all my other projects have been equally supportive, holistic and enjoyable!”
Boy Swallows Universe is screening now on Netflix. For more information, head to the official website.
