Heath Braxton (Dan Ewing)
Home and Away's River Boys have been at the centre of a dramatic, action-packed and romantic few months in Summer Bay and have become some of the most talked-about characters since making their on-screen debut at the beginning of the year. The gang's most volatile member Heath Braxton now looks set to play a bigger role in storylines, so when his portrayer Dan Ewing recently paid a promotional visit to the UK, Digital Spy caught up with him for a chat about what's to come for his alter ego over the next few months.
Have you enjoyed your time in the UK?
"Of course - I love the UK! It's extremely different from Australia but it's amazing and everyone here has been really, really friendly. There's certainly been no shortage of people coming up and asking for pictures, so it's been great."
Is this the first time that you've visited the UK?
"No, I dated a lovely Brummie lass for three years or so, so I've visited before. I did the touristy thing last time I was here - I did the tourist tours and took photos of the landmarks. But this is my first time as a work trip, although it's a bit of a social trip too."
You've been part of the Home and Away cast for quite a few months now. How have you found the experience?
"It's been great. It's just such a friendly cast to come into, and we probably had about six or seven 'Welcome to the Bay' drinks - it's the Australian way! It's just non-stop fun - I wake up every day and I really count myself lucky that I'm going off to a beautiful location and working with lovely people. It's fantastic."
Did you ever imagine that the River Boys would make such an impact?
"No! But I knew that they were really trying to grit up the show, and I thought that was great because it would make me, as a 26-year-old bloke, want to watch the show a lot more. I had no idea how huge the response would be, though - it's been massive. I think that's just the way drama and movies are going now - they're a lot more real and intense. I think the more you can do that in an earlier timeslot, the better."
There seemed to be a lot of hype and promotion surrounding the River Boys before they came on screen, so did that put the pressure on slightly?
"I'm not sure what it was like in the UK, but in Australia there was plenty of promotion and lots of excitement months before we even came on air! So of course you feel that pressure, because if it doesn't work you kind of look like a goose! But luckily it did seem to work and that's a team effort - it's thanks to the writers, the producers and right down to the make-up team who do all of the tattoos and things like that. It's really good to see that team effort pay off."
Heath seems to be the baddest of the Braxtons, doesn't he?
"He's certainly the biggest hothead at the moment! But I think each of them takes their turn to do stupid things, and the great thing about playing brothers is that you have that great family dynamic as well."
Would you like the show to explore a nicer side to Heath more often?
"I think with Heath it's going to be one step forward and two steps back. So we will be carrying on with the tough guy thing, as that's what you need to do to keep the character fresh and interesting. But the toughest guys in the world still love their mothers and still love their sisters, unless they're complete sociopaths! You'll see bits and pieces of sensitivity from Heath and you'll see how things affect him, but I don't think he'll ever fully be a caring and understanding type."
At the moment we don't know a great deal about Heath's background and why he is the way he is. Could that be explored in the future?
"For sure! All we know at the moment is that the father figure left - that was when Heath and Brax were very young, and Casey never really knew the old man. And if you watch what's on screen, obviously the mother is not the best mother! There are some things in Brax and Heath's pasts that we haven't discovered yet - that I don't even know. The writers are just starting to delve into it now in the think tank upstairs. It's going to be really exciting and that's the great thing about these sorts of characters - discovering why they are the way they are, and why they make the choices that they do. I'm really looking forward to that."
Do you share any similarities with Heath?
"I think the humorous side is similar. Heath often gets written as a typical tough guy, so I always try to make a few humorous choices in the performance. I think that's what America does very well - they find the humour in drama series, it's not all doom and gloom and they try to inject levity, which is what life's about - people try to hide stress and fear with humour. So that's similar. Heath is also a very active and outdoorsy type of guy, and I'm like that so we're similar in that way too. But obviously dealing with narcotics and having a marijuana crop is not what I'm about in real life, so not the illegal side!"
What have Steve and Lincoln, who play Brax and Casey, been like to work with?
"They've been great. I couldn't have picked two more perfect guys to play my brothers. We hang out, we have steak nights and we're always down the pub watching footie together - it's really great. There is that family dynamic, and we're always bagging on Lincoln because he's the youngest! We call him 'little Lincoln' and he hates it - the kid's the tallest one, he's about 6'3'' and he's got these flippers for feet! And Steve is definitely the older, wiser one - he's 29 and I'm 26. It's funny when the family dynamic seems to slip over into real life as well."
We've seen that Heath wants to lead the River Boys himself, but do you think he's cut out for that?
"I think Heath certainly thinks he can manage things the way Brax does, but obviously he hasn't had to use any sort of brainpower as of yet. It'll be a learning curve for him - Brax has been in charge for a while and he's one of those characters who would go home and read a book, while Heath would go to the gym or watch the footie. Heath certainly has a lot to learn about leading - leading by example and making smart choices as opposed to the brash, quick-fix or quick-dollar choice. I dare say that Heath would have to learn the hard way."
Heath is currently credited as a guest character in the Home and Away closing titles. Does that mean he's only around for a specific amount of time?
"Initially Heath was only around for a certain amount of time - basically about six months to go in there, do a job and leave. But that was just a technicality and Heath is definitely around for a lot longer. I think as you see the episodes go on, Heath will be listed in the regular cast. But well spotted, that's amazing that you've picked that up as those credits are really quick!"
As there's been such focus on the characters of Brax and Casey, do you think we could see Heath come to the forefront more in the future?
"Oh, definitely! There's a big Heath focus that's about to happen on air. Initially it can be hard with airtime and, like I said, I was supposed to go in, be the tough guy, get the blame for stuff and go to jail. But the Heath swing is about to occur on screen here in the UK. It's been non-stop, so there's definitely going to be a lot more Heath stuff."
You mentioned how great the Home and Away cast were when you joined - is there anyone in particular who really made you feel welcome?
"Luke Jacobz, who played Angelo, was great - he was always taking us out for drinks and making us feel welcome, and it was great to have someone like that on set. We're very fortunate to have such a friendly cast. Everyone was so welcoming, they asked questions to get to know us and they offered their assistance - there was nobody who wasn't lovely."
Do you and the River Boys have any scenes coming up with Alf Stewart?
"That was the one thing I was looking forward to - Heath and Alf having a conversation. I've just shot a scene where Heath is basically repeating some of Alf's choice phrases back to him, and it is the funniest thing that I've ever seen! I was deliberately trying to stir Ray up, because he's a Queenslander and I'm from New South Wales, so there's a bit of a rugby rivalry there! It was one of the most fun scenes that you could ever put together. Alf certainly attempts to let the River Boys know how he feels about the situation, that's for sure."
Do you think Heath could ever find true love in the Bay?
"Heath has certainly found true love in the Bay with his surfboard and with his criminal activities! I think anybody is capable of true love, but Heath needs to learn how to deal with emotions first as that's what he struggles with. He struggles with rejection from Bianca - he's never met anyone like her and he's never felt the way that he does about her. I think that's going to be an interesting thing - to see how Heath deals with real-life situations and emotions. I haven't shot any 'true love' at the moment, but there's certainly going to be more love scenes and more romance."
Have you had a favourite scene so far?
"I think definitely when we were up at the marijuana crop and chasing Angelo around the fields. We were on the back of the truck and even though they were blanks, we were using real rifles to shoot at him. That was amazing - us on the back of a truck, chasing this poor guy around the bush! When you shoot scenes like that, it makes you realise that this isn't just some studio-based soapie - it's a drama and it's fantastic."
Did you enjoy your recent stint on Dancing with the Stars in Australia?
"It was amazing. It broke down a social fear that I'd always had, because I was never a dancer. I was so scared even just dancing in a packed nightclub where people can't even tell what you're doing. It freed up something within me that was amazing. As a performer, 20 years ago you had to be able to sing, dance and act otherwise nobody would look at you, so 'TV chumps' like me get it easy these days! It's really good to add that tool to my box and I've definitely made some life-long friends. And it's a life-long skill now - I'm not afraid of dancing and I'd like to develop my skills further."
What do you get up to in your spare time?
"I'm a huge, huge basketball fanatic so I love to play a bit of that. I'm into the Sydney Kings big-time - they're my team at home. I'm also pretty outdoorsy so I love going to the beach. I'm very social too, so I love going out with mates and having a drink or watching a game. And to be honest with you, just sitting down and watching DVDs or a bit of telly, because you don't get much time to yourself when you're doing a show as big as Home and Away!"
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April and Heath
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