WORLD’S APART
Former Offspring heart-throb Matt Le Nevez felt right at home on the Bulgarian set of drama Absentia, writes Holly Byrnes
IF Matt Le Nevez ever wanted to bury the ghost of his beloved
Offspring character Patrick
Reid then his latest character in Amazon thriller Absentia would know just how to do away with the body.
Playing former Navy SEAL turned FBI Special Agent Cal Isaac in the electric international drama starring Castle favourite Stana Katic, the 41-year- old had the time of his life in a role that could not be further – figuratively and geographically – from Dr Patrick if he tried.
Leaving his partner Michelle and their two children, Levi, 6, and Wren, 3, back in their Los Angeles home for four months last year, the Canberra native found himself on an eclectic set in Bulgaria, with a United Nations of cast and crew, making the TV equivalent of what he calls an “indie film”.
“They’ve got Israeli filmmakers, this season we had Polish directors, and it really changes the storytelling from a European perspective, and yet we’re allowed to work fairly autonomously from the Hollywood bubble,” Le Nevez says.
“What’s so amazing is how much creative input Sony has allowed us all to have, and then Amazon has jumped on board as well ... it’s a show that’s special to my heart.”
The plot follows Emily Byrne (Katic), an FBI agent who was abducted during a mission while hunting a serial killer, and later declared ‘dead in absentia’.
Missing for six years, she has flashbacks about the torture she endured, only to return home to find her husband has remarried and her son barely remembers her.
Isaac and Byrne are sent on a mission together in season two, with fans speculating there may also be a romance developing between the two.
After telling Le Nevez about the compliment Katic paid him in a recent interview, he returned the favour – in awe of her leadership on set and grace away from it.
“Stana really leads the way. I know she’s known for Castle and many years on that show, but she’s magical in her creative drive and professionalism, and how she really leads this crew,” he says.
Le Nevez says going the distance to progress his career and move beyond the “boyfriend” role which won him national acclaim on Offspring was both a strategic move and a difficult one to make.
“At the time, like a lot of people, you just try to make the right decision for the time you are living in,” he says.
“I’d just had a kid and I wanted to spend more time with my family. Patrick and Offspring was such a massive part of my life and had such a strong footprint on the industry back then, I think it was a really hard decision to leave the show, but I think it was the right decision.
“You just have to look at the quality of work so many of that cast has gone on to do … it’s been amazing. But I miss it, I miss working in Australia,” he pines.
So much so, and with America under a cloud of racial unrest and uncontrolled coronavirus, Le Nevez says the family are looking to move back here by the end of the year. “Like a lot of Australians, this has really magnified the longing for home,” he says, wearily.
“I do miss it a lot more now. Michelle is from Texas and there’s ways she grew up that she misses too. Now, raising two kids in LA, under the current climate, we’re definitely thinking about moving back at the end of the year. I’d like to do it sooner, but we’ve just got a dog, so there’s quarantine to think about.”
The die-hard Canberra Raiders fan still gets his footy fix every weekend, streaming his favourite NRL team’s games, as he tries to coax his son into supporting the Green Machine.
“Levi has a little Raiders jersey and I scream at the television like a mad man. They watch it with me but they don’t quite get it yet, but I’ve got time,” he laughs.
He’s had better luck with ABC kids favourite Bluey, a regular hit in the Le Nevez household.
“I keep putting on Bluey just to remind the kids what Australia might be like, and try to serve them Vegemite. They love Bluey … you can put it on at any time, day or night, no matter how tired they are, they wake up. They absolutely love it. It’s a great show and I think the dad’s awesome.” ABSENTIA STREAMING, AMAZON PRIME VIDEO