Entertainment · Celebrity · 2 hrs ago
John Waters reflects on the bluff that launched his acting career
John Waters built a 50-year career in acting after arriving in Australia from Britain at 19.
He had been playing music in London and came with a relative’s lead to a job on a station in central Queensland.
The remote work did not suit him, so he decided to try performing instead.
He saw that a film was being made on the NSW south coast and went to meet its director in Sydney, claiming he had an appointment.
That cheeky bluff became part of his career story, though the account does not say what happened at the meeting.
Waters is now in Melbourne, preparing for technical rehearsals of Fiddler on the Roof.
The production is due to open next week at Her Majesty’s Theatre.
John Waters says a bluff helped him pursue acting after he arrived in Australia with no contacts in the industry.
At 19, he came to Australia from London with a lead from a relative for work in Queensland.
He decided jackarooing was not for him and looked for a chance in the performing arts.
After seeing that the film Adam’s Woman was being made in New South Wales, he went to meet its director, Philip Leacock, at a Sydney hotel.
Waters is preparing to perform in Fiddler on the Roof in Melbourne.
- Who
- John Waters, an Australian stage and screen actor.
- What
- He recalled bluffing his way into an attempt to meet film director Philip Leacock.
- When
- Not stated.
- Where
- At the Sebel Town House in Sydney.
- Why
- Waters wanted to pursue the performing arts after deciding that jackarooing was not for him.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Waters arrived in Australia after spending a few years playing music in London.
He travelled by train to a job in central Queensland.
After seeing a newspaper item about Adam’s Woman, Waters went to the Sebel Town House in Sydney to seek a meeting with director Philip Leacock.
- Age on arrival
- 19
- Film
- Adam’s Woman
- Director
- Philip Leacock
- Hotel
- Sebel Town House, Sydney
- Current production
- Fiddler on the Roof, in Melbourne
What people are saying
I said, ‘Oh, I’ve got an appointment to see Philip Leacock,’
I arrived in Australia with only one name scrawled on the back of an envelope that my uncle Tom had given me
I haven’t been home for more than about four days this year