Melissa George may not want to talk about her time on Home and Away but there are many who don’t mind acknowledging where they got their start.
Melissa isn’t the first soap star to go from the Bay or Ramsay St to Hollywood, nor will she be the last. Most have decided that it is better to embrace and celebrate their past, rather than try to run from it. So, based on that, here are some other stars whose careers started in either Summer Bay or Ramsay Street.
Kylie Minogue
The most famous, and successful, of all Aussie soap stars is Kylie Minogue. She has found more success in music than she has in acting. This year Kylie is celebrating her 25th year in the music industry.
Before all of the glitz and glamour, Kylie was playing tom boy, mechanic, Charlene Mitchell-Robinson on Neighbours (1986 – 88).
Here’s Kylie’s first ever scene on Neighbours
Dannii Minogue
Kylie isn’t the only Minogue who starred in an Aussie soap. From 1989-90, younger sister, Dannii starred as ‘rebel’ Emma Jackson on Home and Away. Dannii has moved away from the acting and is now more known for her judging abilities (on XFactor and Australia’s Got Talent) and her new fashion line Project D.
Russell Crowe
In January, Russell can be seen in the big screen version of Les Misérables but back in 1986, he had a guest role on Neighbours. He played the nasty character of Kenny.
Check him out sharing a scene with Kylie and getting into a fight with her onscreen brother ‘Henry’ (Craig McLachlan).
Heath Ledger
Heath had a guest role on Home and Away in 1997. He was Summer Bay’s favourite resident, Sally Fletcher’s, first boyfriend and went on to break her heart.
Guy Pearce
Guy Pearce who has just wrapped filming on Iron Man 3, used to hang out in Ramsay St with Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan. He played the loveable Mike Young from 1986 – 89. Guy was also one of the first to cross over from Neighbours to Home and Away.
While he was the lovely boy next door, Mike Young, in Neighbours, when Guy went over to Summer Bay he was David Croft, Donald Fisher’s nephew, who casued scandal when he fell in love with 16 year old Sophie and got her pregnant. He never got to meet his child as he was killed in a car accident, caused by Sophie’s best friend Karen.
This clip is from his time on Ramsay Street. For a while Mike was involved in a love triangle with Jane (Annie Jones) and Nikki. Here’s how it played out (he even shares a scene with Kylie in this clip)
Chris Hemsworth
Chris Hemsworth who is currently filming the Thor sequel, Thor: The Dark World, spent 3 years in the Bay playing Kim Hyde (2004 – 2007).
Here’s a clip of Chris hanging out with his onscreen best friend ‘Robbie’ (Jason Smith)
Delta Goodrem
Delta Goodrem is now known more for her singing than her acting but she got her start on Neighbours, as the shy, but very musically talented Nina Tucker (2002-2004)
Other Hollywood stars who started off in Summer Bay and/or Ramsay St include Naomi Watts, Isla Fisher and Liam Hemsworth.
It’s great to see Aussies doing so well on the world stage and not being afraid to embrace (and sometimes even laugh about) where they started!
That’s Entertainment!
Sarina 🙂
