Guy Pearce is often asked if he has "done any other acting" since being in ‘Neighbours’.
The 50-year-old actor has become a Hollywood hit since appearing as Mike Young in the Australian soap in the late 80s, starring in the likes of ‘L.A. Confidential’, ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’, ‘The King’s Speech’, ‘Prometheus’ and ‘Iron Man 3’ – but he is still recognised for his days Down Under.
Speaking about the soap, he said: "I probably love it because I’ve had the chance to do other things. I’m sure if I’d not …
"Although I have had situations here where I’ve walked down the street and people have said, ‘Have you done any other acting since ‘Neighbours’?’
"’No. Just waiting to go back to Ramsay Street.’ "
Guy is glad ‘Neighbours’ acted as a superb springboard for him to carve out a Hollywood career, and while he looks back on the show with fond memories, he admits the programme wasn’t quite as "cutting edge" as some of the TV around nowadays.
Speaking to The Guardian newspaper, he added: "Well, it was great, but it wasn’t the highly innovative, cutting-edge stuff we see now."
The ‘Hurt Locker’ actor made nearly 500 appearances as Mike Young in the Australian soap between 1986 and 1989, and while he didn’t get as much press attention as the show’s bigger stars Kylie Minogue (Charlene Robinson) and Jason Donovan (Scott Robinson), he still found it "really full-on" when he shot to fame.
He recently said: "I had grown up as a kid doing theatre in Geelong, and I suddenly got this opportunity to go to Melbourne and work on this professional show. Not only that, but the show took off, as we know.
"I wasn’t in the spotlight like Kylie and Jason. But it was enough to go, ‘Whoa, this is really full-on.’ I was hovering behind them, in a way."
Guy Pearce still asked if he has ‘done other acting’ since Neighbours
