Overlooked by Australian Idol, Cairns musician Justin Wellington has forged his own way to success in the Pacific.

He’s on the cusp of the rest of his life but he’s waited more than half his lifetime to get here. It sounds obscure but it’s an apt description of Shane Jolley and where he’s at right now. Shane has been acting, modelling and presenting since the age of 12 and now that he’s 32, he hopes his dreams are about to come true. He has come close several times but this time he thinks he might be on the right track.  Looking at his face, you are probably sure you know him from somewhere. And you may, from countless ads he has appeared in from the Cairns region since moving here about five years ago. Laughing, Shane says he’s possibly on the verge of being overexposed in the local market, so if his aspirations come true, that will no longer be a problem.You also may know his face from The Mole, in which he featured up until episode six; a children’s television show in Melbourne with Plucka Duck called Plucka’s Place; presenting at Movieworld on the Gold Coast; and even six weeks in a guest role on Neighbours, as Natalie Imbruglia’s boyfriend.As a youngster, he started out modelling for fashion catalogues, took acting lessons at the Academy of Television and appeared in a pilot for a children’s show for Channel 9.He went to university, got a business degree, then headed to Brisbane where he spent more than two years looking to get into TV and theatre. “I did some kids’ shows there but then finished up back in Melbourne working in advertising,” he says. The experience only reinforced his desire to break into television. “I told Dad I was going to quit the agency and give myself six months to a year to break into the business.“Mum and Dad were very supportive but I found when I came away from the show, I had a totally different outlook as to where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do.“It also reinforced to me how much you’ve got to pursue your goals and follow your dreams. The Mole was a great thing to do and, hopefully, it will help open a door for me somewhere to get a break into television.”Shane was cast in Fool’s Gold and Sea Patrol, only to discover the shooting schedule conflicted with his job as an airline attendant with Qantas. His most recent role was in the television ads for Queensland Catch, promoting locally-caught seafood which went to air in October.Being pulled up on the street is not uncommon for this well-known adopted local. “The guys at work are always giving me a hard time about spotting me in new ads, but I love it,” he says. But his days of jet-setting around Australia and the world as a Qantas employee may well be about to end.He has been shortlisted for a lifestyle show in Melbourne. When we spoke to him last week, Shane confirmed he had a second meeting with the production company so was playing the waiting game. “This could definitely be it. If not this role, then they have something else in mind for me,” he says.Shane knows you have to take opportunities when they come, as you never know where they may lead. “I was in the shower one day and heard them calling for contestants for The Mole. So I applied,” Shane says. “Being on the show was a wake-up call for me because you would get calls from the radio stations and newspaper for interviews.”From that appearance he received a call from the producers of The Great Outdoors who were on the lookout for a new presenter.“I got close, but once again no cigar,” he says. “The job went to Tom Williams and look at what it did for him. That was shattering. I thought I had it. I had two auditions and I was part of the short-list but then to lose it to someone of his calibre is probably not such a bad thing.” This acting/modelling/presenting passion started by accident but once he started, there was no turning back. As a 12 year old Shane attended a casting with a cousin who was keen on the job. Organisers asked if he was interested, he said: “Why not” and ended up scoring a Smarties commercial.“At 17 I was shy so enrolled in an acting course with the Academy of Television’s David Armstrong who now operates his business from Cairns,” Shane says. “Now it has come to crunch time, the
interest is there and I am talking to the networks so it is only a matter of time before I will be giving up my day job.”He attributes the current interest to a Great Outdoors-style promo he undertook on his own, that he has passed around the networks. While he may be about to become “an overnight star”, Shane says for him it’s been a long time coming.“It does feel like it’s been a long time. I’m just itching to get out there and do it,” he says. About the likely move south, he is resigned to the fact it is only a matter of time.“I love it up here but if you’re going to be serious about a career (like this) you need to be in one of the big cities.”

Watch this face.

 

 

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