Lead Actor Luke Arnold from the movie Broken Hill

October 23, 12:27 AMDuPage County Movie ExaminerRegina Fuller

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Luke Arnold from the movie Broken Hill
Audience Alliance Motion Picture Studios

I did an interview with lead actor Luke Arnold from the movie Broken Hill.  He attended the Chicago International Children's Film Festival which runs Oct. 22nd through Nov. 1st.  He is doing promotion tours here in the US and abroad.  He flew in to Chicago from LA after spending about a week there, he will be here for a few more days before heading over to Seoul, Korea.  He plays the character Tommy which is the lead role in the film Broken Hill and is a newcomer to acting in his first feature film.

His Bio

Luke Arnold’s first taste of being on a film set came when he was 18. His sword fighting experience led to him acquiring a job on the set of PJ Hogan’s Peter Pan in the action department. Luke taught the cast how to swordfight and helped to choreograph scenes. When the film was wrapped he immediately set about training himself for a professional career in acting, and was accepted into one of Australia’s leading performance training institutions, WAAPA (The Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts). WAAPA accepts only 9 male and 9 female students from around the country and lists Hugh Jackman as a former student.  Once he graduated he had his first television roles in The Elephant Princess, Channel 9’s McLeod’s Daughters and The Strip, and Steven Spielberg’s Band of Brothers: Pacific, one of the most expensive mini series ever made. For the rest of his bio, go here.

The Interview

DuPage County Movie Examiner: What is the movie about?

Luke Arnold: The movie is about a boy called Tommy, who I play in the film. He lives in a small town called Willyama, just outside of Broken Hill in outback Australia.  He's a football playing, sheep shearing, motor bike riding, farm boy.  But, he has a secret gift and desire to compose music.  Finding musicians to play the kind of music that Tommy is writing is a hard thing to do in outback Australia.  He crosses path with an American girl Kat played by Alexa Vega from the "Spy Kids" films, and she is a bit of a rebel, so they get into the same trouble and have to do some community service.  So, Tommy decides that the best way of passing up the community service, impressing the girl and showing everyone what he can do musically is to start a band at the local prison. So, the story is about him working with this band of inmates, and trying to show his full potential. And for the prisoners, that they're more than just people who made one bad mistake.

DCME: What was it like to work with Timothy Hutton and Alexa Vega?

LA: It was incredible. When I heard that Alexa was coming across to play the role of Kat, I really didn't know what to expect.  You know, obviously this is my first film and so stepping into a lead role is a big jump from stuff I did before.  So doing scenes with actors like Alexa and Timothy was a bit daunting.  But luckily they are two of the nicest people I've ever met.  The first time Alexa came over, she was so bright and bubbly and down to earth that it didn't take very long at all to feel relaxed and have fun working with her.  And Timmy Hutton was fantastic. He was friendly as well but also, acting with Timothy was unlike anything I had done before. Having someone that is so experienced, professional, connected, was a big jump from my previous acting experiences. 

DCME: How will American audiences relate to this film?

LA: In the screenings we had so far, the film's been really well received. While this is made in outback Australia, what we experienced in Italy, America, and in Australian cities, is that you the theme of “following your dreams” is universal.  Especially while people are telling you that either you're not good enough or it's not the most practical thing you could be doing.  I have even experienced children coming up and saying how much they personally relate to Tommy's story.

DCME: How do you personally relate to the character?

LA: Unlike Tommy, I am lucky to have very supportive parents, but deciding to be an actor or anything in the arts is not the most financially secure job to go into.  It's not very practical and it's a competitive industry. So, when you're in your teen years and coming into being a young man it’s easy to doubt whether this is actually something you should get into. I was a couple of years older than Tommy when I was playing him, so it was great going back to that point of being a teenager when you're at that fork in the road of either following the passion that you have or doing what might be more sensible or practical.

DCME: What is his main goal?

LA: In the first scene of the film Tommy is out working the field, suddenly he is surrounded by these classical musicians playing a composition. This is all happening in Tommy’s head.  As an audience, we hear Tommy’s music played perfectly. His first struggle is to get the school band to play it which doesn't go so well. So, his main goal is to show that this music that he hears in his head is as good as he claims it is and to get it out there and let other people experience what he does. 

DCME: Why is this so important to him?

LA: It is important to Tommy because music is the only place where he is really free and really himself.  He's still kind of awkward at school; he's really awkward around his Dad, and the girl he likes. There is no place where he feels that he can really express himself.  So, expressing his music to other people and showing that out, I think, is important to Tommy.  Because, that is probably where he's most himself.

DCME: Who is trying to stop him from achieving his goal?

LA: His father is one of the main people who he has to kind of work against.  Cause in doing so, he still has to overcome a kind of guilt surrounding his Father’s expectation that Tommy would take over the farm.  There is also the warden at the prison where he sets up the band that isn't so fond of having Tommy coming in there working with the inmates.  And also Kat, the girl he's got a crush on, who goes along with this plan because she has to.  But, at the beginning isn't very open to this idea of creating a classical choir and orchestra.

DCME: Why did you decide to become an actor?

LA: Um, I guess I’m like Tommy, in that it's what I had to do and what I felt more comfortable and more myself doing.  I started in high school, doing drama classes and mucking around, and then we started doing plays and making some short films.  Working in film and talking about film and theater had all the aspects of this kind of performing creative art, that's my passion. It’s what gets me up in the morning and that's what I want to keep doing.  So, I don't think I ever made that choice of whether I think I'll become an actor.  It's just where my passion and the things I was going after kept pulling me into it.

DCME: Who inspired you?

LA: I think, probably my family, like I got a really creative family.  I have cousins who are dancers, and grandparents who have always played in the arts.  So, they're the ones who are my inspiration and I always felt I had their support no matter what I had decided to do.  And they have been behind me 100%.  And if I decided I didn't want to do it anymore that would be fine as well.  In Australia, we have many great actors and filmmakers that have come out of our county.  I think the whole Australian industry has paved the way for all of us down under to think that acting is worthwhile and a fun career.

DCME: If it was a requirement for you to move to America to continue your acting, would you do it?

LA: That's one of the other reasons I'm here at the moment.  I was taking some meetings while I was in LA and had a couple of weeks there to get a feel for it.  And while I always want to work in Australia, as far as the many job opportunities and the people you can work with, America is really the heart of the film and TV industry.  I'm planning to be back here in America early next year and try to have a chance to do some work out here. 

DCME: I understand that you like to write.  What do you write about?

LA: All kinds of things but at the moment, the main thing I'm focusing on writing is a number of different screenplays just to have in the back pocket.  It's what I do at the moment while I'm searching for the next role.  I'm also trying to write the next roles, so I'm not looking to do a particular genre but a mix of genres.  I'm trying to write some films that I would like to see, but also the scripts I'd like to see come forward to possibly play a part in.

DCME: Do you think that finding a really good script to do is getting harder and harder?

LA: Yeah, I think it is. There are so many great people out there as far as directors and actors.  It really does come down to the content.  You have to begin with scripts at the start that everyone gets to work with which is sometimes, I think is a let down in the film industry in recent years.  That sometimes the right scripts haven't been developed enough or the right scripts aren't being chosen to be made or just maybe there isn't enough support for writers out there. There's always room for more writers and good scripts coming through that are not only entertaining but have something to say, with good characters, a good story, and would look after the things that the artist will want to work with and also the audience would like.

DCME: Would you be willing to collaborate with other unknown screenwriters?

LA: Yes, of course.  Collaboration is what I love most about this industry.  The most exciting part about this trip to America is to maybe have more people to actually work with in the future.

DCME: What is your next project coming up?

LA: At the moment it is a little uncertain. I'll probably have some time off around Christmas and then I'm not quite sure yet.  There are a couple things in Australia coming up but at the moment, I'm enjoying promoting Broken Hill and taking that to as many audiences as we can.

My Thoughts

I found Luke Arnold to be very pleasant to speak with and his Australian accent was charming.  I encourage everyone to go see his film Broken Hill playing in Chicago on Oct. 28th.  For more info, go here.