Gang fans: Home And
Home And Away actor Jake Ryan finds some surprising fans of the show in New Zealand’s gang community. Kerry Harvey reports.
Away’s Jake Ryan finds unexpected support.
Forget the River Boys. Home And Away’s Jake Ryan has a gang of his own – and a Kiwi one at that.
The 35-year-old Melbourne native – who plays Summer Bay’s Robbo – spent September and October in Wellington filming Savage, a movie about New Zealand street gangs.
“I had a big beard and had put on a lot of weight, about 15 kilos, for the role so I didn’t think anyone would recognise me. But it was good to see that Home And Away is strongly supported in New Zealand,” he says, adding he was even more surprised to discover how popular the show was with the gang members he met while researching the movie.
“I was shocked to find these Mongrel Mob and Black Power guys, these hardened ex-criminals, all watched Home And Away,” he says.
Ryan, a former champion martial artist for Australia who missed a place at the Beijing Olympics because of a knee injury, has made a name for himself playing villains and hard men on screen.
One of his more memorable roles was in Wentworth, as Harry, the abusive husband who was murdered by Bea Smith (Danielle Cormack).
He joined Home And Away in 2017, as a John Doe suffering amnesia who had some connection to Summer Bay cop Kat (Pia Miller).
It was later revealed Robbo was really Ryan Shaw, a former federal police officer who went undercover as Beckett Reid to track down the people who killed his family.
After his name was finally cleared, Robbo decided to stay in Summer Bay and he is now engaged to Jasmine (Sam Frost) and facing up to the news that local doctor Tori Morgan (Penny McNamee) is pregnant with his baby.
“He’s a whole new person,” Ryan says of Robbo, who these days spends more time fighting emotional battles than physical ones.
“I’ve had like five characters now but I think that’s probably partly due to me extending my contract and storylines having to change a bit. Initially I was only meant to be here for six months and Robbo was going to be a genuine, bona fide villain by the end of it but with my extension they turned it around.
“It’s been a hell of a journey as a character but I’m so lucky to have that journey as an actor as, usually in a soap opera, (characters) are purely one dimensional. I’ve definitely got really lucky with this character.”
However, incredible as his Summer Bay experience has been, his time in New Zealand has surpassed it.
“Savage was the most incredible acting experience I’ve ever had,” Ryan says.
“Your film crews are the best I’ve ever worked with. They are just such professionals and get on with it. Everyone works as a team and I think everyone had the feeling we were creating something quite special so it was a really good buzz on set. If I could work in New Zealand for the rest of my career, I would do that.”
Inspired by real-life stories of New Zealand’s street gangs of the 60s, 70s, and 80s, Savage tells the story of gang member Danny (Ryan) at three different ages and critical moments in his life.
Each of the chapters is set at a defining moment in New Zealand’s gang culture, from their emergence to them becoming more organised and focused on crime.
The movie – which has already found international buyers at the Berlin Film Festival – also stars John Tui (Solo: A Star Wars Story) and Chelsie Preston Crayford (What We Do In The Shadows) and is expected to have a cinema release in New Zealand and Australia this year.
“The good thing about this story is it’s very brutal but there’s so much heart in it. It confronts a lot of issues I think have been overlooked for a long time, especially with the young kids in the borstals in the 60s and 70s and the mistreatment that they’ve had from the system over there,” Ryan says.
Ryan, who feels he’s not good at romantic comedies because he’s “just not very funny”, says playing Danny is a dream role.
“It feels like my Chopper or Animal Kingdom or Once Were Warriors kind of thing. You just don’t get roles like that very often so I was very fortunate to get it,” he says.
“I really like playing those guys that are so far from what I am in real life. You have to do your work and do your research and talk to people and put yourself in another person’s shoes and view the world from other people’s eyes and I find that really interesting.
“I would be happy to play those roles for a long time. As long as I’m getting work I’m happy. I’d come back and do another film in New Zealand in a heart beat.”
“If I could work in New Zealand for the rest of my career, I would do that.”
– Jake Ryan