Ditching the name:
800 Words actor reveals his debt to his sister.
Ditch Davey has his sister to thank for his career. The Australian actor, who is guest starring in drama series 800 Words, was a shy 12 year old when his older sibling encouraged him to join her musical theatre group.
“She spoke to me one day at school,” says Davey, “and said, ‘Look, I think you should audition for it. I think you’ll really enjoy it’ and she kept on at me.
“I went along and I talked a mate into coming with me and I was involved in that theatre company for seven years.
“We did two productions a year and it was outside of school and it was my introduction to the stage. I was never a good singer or dancer so I was just involved in it.
“I went from on stage and then I worked in the art department painting sets. I even ran the make-up department for one or two shows. Being involved in the theatre from that point was just really important to me and I found a home for myself.”
On the New Zealand-Australian co-production 800 Words, Davey, 45, plays Terry, the brother of George Turner (Erik Thomson). Terry and George’s relationship has had its fair share of ups and downs.
Of his character, Davey says, “Terry is a celebrated chef around the Sydney restaurant scene.
“He’s at that point where people get him onboard to establish new restaurants. He’s got to a certain level in his career but personally he is stunted and I guess a little bit of a wild boy.
“The relationship between him and George is that Terry is a bit off the cuff and a shoot-from-the-hip kind of guy and George has always
had to clean up after him. And this is why Terry ends up in lovely Weld. He’s running away from another problem.
“When Terry comes to town, George draws a line in the sand and says, ‘I’m not going to do it any more. You’re actually old enough to start looking after yourself and dealing with the repercussions of your actions’.”
While George, who resides in the fictional town of Weld, has spent much of this season trying to work out which woman – if any – he wants to be with, Terry is captivated by local singleton Hannah (Cian Elyse White).
Whether the romance becomes serious remains to be seen.
This is not the first time Davey has acted in a TV show filmed in New Zealand. He also did two seasons of the swords-and-sandals drama Spartacus, a series which also starred Lucy Lawless and Manu Bennett.
Other acting gigs on his CV include Blue Heelers, Water Rats and The Doctor Blake Mysteries. Although he plays a top chef on
800 Words, Davey says his own kitchen skills are nowhere as good as those of his wife Sophia.
“She is wonderful in the kitchen and I could never cook the way that she does,” he says.
“She’s got a natural flair. I do my own things. Usually the bigger kind of things like risotto, pastas and the heavier kind of winter dishes.
“But my wife, she runs rings around me in the kitchen. I try to give her a run for her money but it will never happen.”
Davey and Sophia have a six-year-old son called Taika and Sophia has a teenage son named Eden from a previous relationship.
Taika has ‘Ditch’ as one of his middle names. While Ditch isn’t a common name, it is a family name.
When he was a baby, Ditch Davey’s slightly older sister couldn’t pronounce Kristian, the name that Davey was given at birth. Instead she called him ‘Ditch’ and the name has since stuck.
Ditch Davey is in the same age bracket as Erik Thomson and while the pair both worked for the same television network in Australia they haven’t been on screen together until now.
“We would see each other at network events and we knew each other socially but we’d never worked together. But this was a fantastic opportunity and a great role,” says Davey.
“Erik is someone I’ve known for a very long time. He’s a wonderful man and a wonderful actor.
“It’s a real pleasure to work alongside him and really spar with him. It’s been great.”
“Terry is a bit off the cuff and a shoot-from-the-hip kind of guy and George has always had to clean up after him.” – Ditch Davey (right) with Erik Thomson