Guy Pearce found it "really full-on" when he shot to fame on ‘Neighbours’.
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 got a taste for fame.
He 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 is grateful to ‘Neighbours’ casting director Jan Russ for appointing him in the role, and believes he managed to handle all the attention of being on a big soap "pretty well".
Speaking to TV Week, he added: "I feel like I managed to handle the fame stuff pretty well.
"At least, I felt I was stable enough to continue on and be patient, and look for other work."
Kylie went on to forge a successful pop career following her two-year stint in the Aussie soap, but recently said she would be a "let-down" if she returned to the programme.
She said: "I don’t think we’re going to get there. I don’t even know how I would be Charlene any more.
"Never say never about anything, but I just think it would be a let-down.
"I think Charlene lives in that time and lives in people’s memories.
"Anything could happen – but no, it’s not happening at this point."
Guy Pearce’s ‘full-on’ Neighbours role
