BLAST FROM THE PAST
IT’S 15 YEARS SINCE MARK FURZE STARRED AS RIC DALBY IN HOME AND AWAY
WHO IS HE?
Mark Furze was just a teenager from the NSW country town of Orange when he was cast as a bad boy with a good heart, Eric ‘Ric’ Dalby, in Channel Seven’s Home and Away, in 2004.
WHAT WAS IT LIKE IN THE SHOW?
“It was crazy,” Mark, 33, tells New Idea. “There is not really any handbook on how to deal with [fame] and how to carry yourself.”
At the time, the show was in the midst of a ‘golden era’. Mark’s co-stars included Sharni Vinson, Chris Hemsworth, Isabel Lucas and Todd Lasance.
“People loved that show, and I realised people will love you whether you like it or not. It’s [the show] a real monster.”
Mark says the then inexperienced cast bonded over their shared experiences on the show.
“We were all thrown into it,” Mark says. “So, you become friends on and off screen as you’re trying to figure out how to do things.”
Mark and his co-stars became household names and would be recognised by fans wherever they went. Then he left the show, and Mark says it took some time to adjust to life outside the Summer Bay bubble.
“It’s a tricky thing realising the world doesn’t revolve around you – that’s been hard,” he says.
WHAT HAPPENED AFTERWARDS?
After four years in H&A, Mark moved on from the show in 2008. He appeared in the TV series Underbelly and in the film A Heartbeat Away before leaving for the US.
While he has made five independent films, Hollywood is, to state the obvious, a tough nut to crack.
“I haven’t worked over here anywhere near as much as I’d have liked to,” he admits.
“I’ve got five films under my belt since coming here [to LA]. It’s a wonderful experience. I’d just love to be doing it more.”
DOES HE STILL SEE THE CAST?
At least once a year, he will catch up with his former Home and Away co-stars. “It’s usually at a Hemsworth party that I will see most of the usual Home and Away suspects,” Mark says. “The Hemsy boys are good at bringing the crew together.”
WHAT ELSE IS HE DOING?
Mark, who is also a musician, moved to New Zealand and joined rock band Shotgun Alley. There he met his now wife, Kiwi Laural Barrett.
After leaving the band, Mark and Laural moved back to LA. This year, the couple plan to relocate to Sydney. Mark has also written two screenplays he hopes to see made into movies.