MAT STEVENSON ‘GRACE WILL BE A STAR'
THE FORMER HOME AND AWAY ACTOR’S DAUGHTER IS DESTINED FOR GREAT THINGS
Best known for his role as the loveable Adam Cameron on Home and Away, Mat Stevenson put his successful acting career on the backburner to focus on raising his family.
Now, the actor is back in the spotlight – and it’s all thanks to his daughter, Grace Hyland, who recently opened up about her transgender journey. In a joint interview with New Idea, Mat reveals he has been blown away by the courage Grace, 20, has showed by sharing her story and says his daughter’s bravery has inspired him to chase his acting dream once again.
“Since I was 5, I always wanted to be an actor,” says Mat, who also has a second daughter, Madison. “I parked those ambitions when the kids came along, but now Grace has taught me to connect with my ambitions again.”
He’s not the only one with big TV plans. In fact, Grace reveals she would love to follow in her dad’s footsteps and star on Home and Away.
“A dream of mine would be to play a transgender character on a series,” she says. “Dad was on [Home and Away] for three years and it’s nice to look back on and watch my dad’s journey.
“It’s a show about real
‘GRACE HAS TAUGHT ME TO RECONNECT WITH MY AMBITIONS AGAIN’
people, and I think it would be good for shows like that to reflect trans stories.” What’s more, Mat, 52, reveals that the pair will “definitely look at working on a project together” in the future.
In the meantime, Grace is busy shining a light on transgender issues by sharing her experiences. Grace knew from an early age that she was a girl. After consulting with doctors and psychologists,
she began her transition at the age of 12 – but it wasn’t always an easy time for her.
“All my teen years were spent as a trans woman and, at that age, it’s a confusing time when you just want to fit in,” she shares.
“I think that’s why embracing my journey has been so powerful. I started to develop a sense of self and become happy.”
And, she couldn’t be more grateful to have her father’s support through every step of the journey.
“People praise me for showing support, but I’m just a father who loves his daughters,” says Mat.
“Support is key because Grace has a tough enough journey, so if I can alleviate some of that by stepping in and being supportive, I’m doing my bit.”
In fact, Mat is so supportive of his child that he also symbolically adopted one of Grace’s transgender friends, Belle Bambi, earlier this year.
“In my support of Grace, I’m just willing to embrace and celebrate these courageous adolescents,” says Mat.
“[Belle Bambi] is just a great girl and I said to her, ‘Well, now I have another daughter.’ She knows that I am a support person for her.
“Any friend of Grace’s is a friend of mine.”