Are you as comfortable in that felt hat as you look? Absolutely. I wear hats a fair bit – I go to the races a lot and I always wear one. A panama in summer and a felt hat in winter.
It’s a look you sport in two memorable TV roles, as Robert Trimbole (Underbelly II) and Harry Strang (Jack Irish). What’s the trick to playing those shady characters in a way that makes them relatable? I enjoyed playing them and I’m a big racing fan – I love the whole ambience of the racecourse, which helps. Harry’s tailor-made for me as an actor, and Bob Trimbole was a well-known identity on the track – he was involved in all sorts of dodgy things. I just play them as I would myself.
Harry is a “wealthy racing identity” straight out of Peter Temple’s four Jack Irish novels. Temple died in March – had he given you any feedback? He thought initially I was too tall to be a trainer and ex-jockey – he hadn’t seen me in real life. I’m about five foot seven. But I corresponded with him and he said he really liked what I did with the character.
