Hollywood beckons Home and Away heartthrob Stephen Peacocke to the silver screen.
If success is the best revenge, then Hollywood-bound Stephen Peacocke has all the ammunition he needs, with a role in a Summer blockbuster.
“To be honest, I’m not entirely sure who he is,” said Adam Hills of Peacocke when presenting him with the most popular actor award at the Australian TV Awards, th Logies this year, prompting a hiss or two from the audience.
The light-hearted dig was taken with good grace by Peacocke – “everyone in Dubbo knows who I am and there are 40,000 of them” he quipped – possibly because he knew anonymity was unlikely to be a problem for long as he was on his way to Hollywood.
Channel Seven have today confirmed that Peacocke has been cast in Brett Ratner’s Hercules: The Thracian Wars.
“This is an incredible opportunity for me to experience film on a massive scale, work with a world-class director, actors and two of the biggest studios in the world,” says Peacocke who looks forward to getting “a taste of that world.”
The silver Logie winner, who has played Darryl “Brax” Braxton on Home and Away since 2011, has the role of Stephanos in the film and joins a star-studded cast. G.I. Joe and Fast and Furious star Dwayne Johnson has the title role of Hercules alongside John Hurt, Ian McShane, Joseph Fiennes and Rufus Sewell.
The film, which will be shot over the coming months in Budapest, Hungary, is an adaptation of a five-issue comicbook series by Steve Moore from 2008.
It’s story follows Hercules, son of Zeus, who turns his back on the gods and joins a cabal of six similar mercenary warriors hired by the King of Thrace to train his army, however Hercules soon begins to question the righteousness of both the King and his army.
Johnson has been the driving force behind the project. “Hercules is something that I have been chasing and developing for over a decade,” he told Inquirer Entertainment.
“When I first got into Hollywood, one of my first thoughts was ‘where is Hercules and who’s doing it’ I was in a different position at that time than I am today. But I always had Hercules in the back of my mind. My on-screen heroes are Arnold Schwarzenegger as Conan, Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones and Hercules. Hercules is essentially the world’s first superhero.”
Seven assures fans that Peacocke will return to Home and Away in September. “Steve is a truly great actor so it is no surprise that Hollywood has come calling,” said producer Lucy Addario.
“We are thrilled to be able to give Steve this short break from Home and Away and support him as he takes up this amazing opportunity.”
At the Logies, Peacocke made sure to thank his agent who “got me the job when I was unloading freight trucks. That’s probably why you didn’t know me.” She’s probably due another bunch of flowers.
In other good news for Summer Bay alumni, The Tomorrow People, a U.S. remake of a U.K. series has been picked up for a series on free-to-air network CW. The show stars former Home and Away actor Luke Mitchell as John Young.
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Hercules: The Thracian Wars is scheduled for release in July 2014.
– Sydney Morning Herald
