Sunday, September 24, 2017

relocates from Sydney with his children Shay ( Melina Vidler) and Arlo (Benson Jack Anthony).

Enter Woody, the comedy to their tragedy.

“I’m quite an optimistic person but he’s next level, I’m nowhere near that,” Donald said.

“He’s incredibly gullible and he’s just an extreme lover of life.

“If he’s got his surfboard and food in his stomach, that’s all he needs.

“I know a lot of people kind of like Woody – the type of guy that will just walk into your house, grab a beer from the fridge and put his feet up and get away with it.

“Everyone knows they’re not doing it out of malice, they just don’t know what they’re doing, so it’s kind of charming.”

Starring in a show from the get-go has helped to strengthen the cast’s bond but Donald, who has appeared in seasons of House Husbands, A Place to Call Home and Home and Away, believes there’s still something to be said for playing the intruder.

In terms of surprise appearances, season three of 800 Words does not disappoint.

“They’re coming in to mess with the family, to mess with the originals,” the 31-year-old said.

This year also marks a dramatic shift in Woody’s narrative arc.

The lovable larrikin has previously set tongues wagging but his innocence quickly falters.

He shocked audiences in episode two when he revealed to George – in the middle of his engagement party – that he can’t wed his fiancée Tracey (Emma Leonard) because he’s already married.

“When he proposes to Tracey, at the end of the second season, he has completely forgotten he was already married,” Donald said.

“So when the town starts to pressure him into having a party and when’s it going to be, he just starts to melt down because he’s such a good person.

“But because she means so much to him he just has to lie.

“So he digs this hole that he can’t get out of but he digs it so deep that he needs to drag George and Smiler (David Fane) and other people from the town into it to help him get out.”

Donald said shifting into this middle ground of drama and comedy is a credit to those working behind the scenes.

“The writers have done a sensational job on this season,” he said.