Family friends: The special bonds on the set of 800 Words.
Benson Jack Anthony can’t remember how old he was when he first appeared on a TV show. “I think it was Water Rats or
Always Greener or White Collar Blue,” says the teen actor who is the son of E-Street actress Marianne Howard and made his television debut when he was still in nappies. Now aged 18, he’s starring in 800
Words where he plays level-headed high school student Arlo, the son of Erik Thomson’s character George, a columnist whose wife was killed in a road accident.
George and his two teenage children moved from Australia to the fictional New Zealand town of Weld where they are making a new life for themselves.
George’s oldest child and Arlo’s sister, Shay, is played by 23-year-old Melina Vidler.
She says Erik Thomson is, “Just like a big brother” and “Benson’s like my little brother”.
“We just don’t have to work at all for that family dynamic,” Melina says. “We’re always having dinner together and spending as much time as possible together outside of work. He (Erik) is such a sweet man. So generous. I couldn’t have got a better family really.”
Watching Benson and Melina on camera, it’s obvious the pair have a strong bond.
“I don’t know how we get along so well,” says Benson. “It’s a bit random. I haven’t really bonded with someone like this before, apart from my sisters. On and off screen she’s kind of a sis. She’s quite cool.”
Benson has two sisters, aged 14 and 24. When he was growing up, his parents had a dance studio and as a result he learnt tap and ballet.
Melina, who won a Logie award for her 800 Words role, has two older brothers.
“Benson is completely different to my brothers with him being younger
as well as being an actor,” she says.
“My eldest brother is a civil engineer and my other brother was in the army. I have a great relationship with my brothers and they are like my best friends.
“I can talk to them about anything and that’s something similar to Benson because Benson is one of my best friends.
“But if you saw them, physically Benson is quite different. They (my brothers) are tall and muscular with dark hair. And then you have white-skinned, freckly Benson.”
When Benson moved to New Zealand to film the show’s first season, he was accompanied by his mother.
“She came over for the first three weeks because it was my first time living away from home,” Benson says.
“She (Mum) was really cute showing me the local grocery store and where to buy groceries and I was like, ‘Mum! I know how to buy groceries’. She was being all nice and protective.”
Benson says that during the making of that first season, some of the 800 Words’ crew recognised him from his time in the fantasy series Legend Of The Seeker, which was filmed in New Zealand. “Some of them were like, ‘Hold on a minute. I’ve definitely met you except you’re now a lot taller and a lot skinnier and you’re ginger’.” Other TV shows in Benson’s acting career include Underbelly and Cleverman, while Melina cropped up in Rake and the mini-series Brock, about racing car driver Peter Brock, where she played his daughter. When she is back in Australia, Melina bases herself in Sydney but often visits Brisbane where she was raised and where her parents live. It was during a visit to her home city that she attracted the attention of a diehard 800 Words fan. “A lady was running after me in the shopping centre and I’ve never had that before,” Melina says. “I was with my mother and I turned around and was so confused as to why this woman was running after me saying, ‘You! You!’ She was a massive fan of the show and that was nice to see someone that excited to see me.” 800 Words has been a hit in Australia and Melina has a theory on why it has struck a chord with so many. “I think Australian audiences have been waiting for a show to come around that is similar to Packed To The Rafters in that it is a family show with the everyday struggles of a group of everyday people.”