New arrival makes waves

Rick Donald relished going head-to-head with a Summer Bay stalwart, writes Holly Byrnes

IF Rick Donald was playing Australian acting bingo, ‘going toe-to-toe with Alf Stewart on Home and Away’ would now be in the bag. Joining the cast of Seven’s acclaimed drama series recently, as Kieran Baldivis – the troubled son of Stewart’s wife Martha (Belinda Giblin) – saw the 800

favourite get his chance to face off with the TV icon, played by Ray Meagher and famed for his flamin’ hilarious ockerisms.

“To be honest, I knew that I was going to be going toe-to-toe with Ray and that’s like a huge part of why I wanted to do it ... get ripped a new one by Alf Stewart,” he laughs. “I loved it.”

All jokes aside, the 35-yearold was also drawn to the complex character he would play, who is battling alcohol addiction and has a dark history of mental illness.

He arrives unexpectedly in Summer Bay after years of estrangement from his mother, who last saw her son when she was forced to call in the police to deal with one of his violent outbursts.

It puts the wayward son on a collision course with Alf, the over-protective good guy who has long ruled the Bay with a stern hand and a loving heart.

Donald was impressed by the show’s commitment to delving deeply into the issues – setting up the clash with Alf, and all the social media backlash that is expected to bring him.

“It’s always nice coming on a show and sort of being a bit of a tornado and stirring things up,” he says.

Researching the role, Donald found the issue of addiction terrifying for those battling the disease. “The grip that has on people is just scary, I’ve never been a very big drinker, so it’s hard for me to understand, but hearing and reading stories about it ... what people go through ... it’s just really sad. Sad and tragic.”

Contracted until early next year, Donald is grateful the storyline will be given time to play out authentically, rather than “rushing the story.”

“This guy is not going to come in, be drunk for a week and then he’s going to be magically fixed.

The writers were really keen to explore it and let it breathe and try to get a true representation of the struggle,” he explains.

Donald was most excited to work opposite Georgie Parker (who plays Alf’s daughter Roo).

“She’s just awesome, I think she’s such a great actor and I grew up watching her,” he says.

Townsville-born Donald fondly remembers the family sitting down to watch her and his 800 Words co-star Erik Thomson in All Saints.

“We watched it every Tuesday night, or whenever it [was] on and their relationship had me so engaged. I remember being so wound up and frustrated they couldn’t be together.”

“I remember looking back and thinking, ‘ Well, they really did their job because they had me,’” he says, with a laugh.

He’ll need that sense of humour when Alf Stewart’s rabid fan base activates against him as the new episodes roll out, but a stint on Wentworth in season seven as corrupt prison guard Sean Brody has him hardened to deal with trolls.

“They were fierce,” he says. “The letters they’d write me like ... ‘ You don’t deserve to be on this show’ ... believing it was real. So yeah, I can imagine Alf is going to spur the haters to come out of the woodwork and light it up.”

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