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Aussies on the march

Friday, March 18, 2011

© The Cairns Post

 

There is an Australian invasion happening in Hollywood and it's our youngest stars leading the charge.

While names like Geoffrey Rush, Cate Blanchett, Nicole Kidman and Eric Bana have long been fixtures in Tinseltown, stars like 21-year-old Sebastian Gregory are fast making their name as a new generation of Australian acting talent.

Sebastian plays the lead role in brand new Australian comedy A Heartbeat Away opposite Cairns’ own Hollywood starlet Isabel Lucas.

The film is a hilarious and heart warming tale of a young rock musician forced to take on his father’s marching band for a major competition.

It’s not often Australia produces fun, family-oriented popcorn flicks, let alone aimed at the youth market, so timeOUT thought it was worthy to catch up with Sebastian from his home in Hollywood this week to find out just what A Heartbeat Away is all about.

Sebastian says he’s "loving life" in his new home and thinks Australia’s takeover of Hollywood is all but complete.

"Totally, there are a lot of Aussies taking over LA at the moment," he says with a chuckle.

"There is a whole big group of us and I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not. I can’t tell if the casting directors are getting sick of us or not. You walk in and they are like, ‘where are you from?’ and then you say ‘Australia’, it’s like ‘oh, another one’."

It doesn’t seem to be hurting Sebastian too much, though.

After cutting his teeth on Neighbours and children’s television show The Elephant Princess, Sebastian starred in films like Beautiful and Accidents Happen before landing the role of Kevin in A Heartbeat Away.

He says his own background in rock bands in high school made the role an easy fit.

"I play a character called Kevin and all he wants to do is be a rock guitarist," he says. "His father, Edward, is the complete opposite and is the leader of a marching band. When he gets sick just before a big competition, Kevin has to go step in to make sure the band makes the championships.

Sebastian says the best thing about A Heartbeat Away is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously, making it a great, fun flick to see with your mates.

"I think it’s a refreshing film for Australian cinema," he says. "It’s got a great, feel good story and lots of colourful characters."

>> A Heartbeat Away opens nationally today.

 


Love: Kevin and Mandy share a moment in A Heartbeat Away.





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