Aaron Glenane Channelled 'A Bull In A China Shop' To Play Michael Gudinski In Molly

His IMDb filmography is looking mighty impressive these days (hello, he was in Truth alongside Cate Blanchett, Robert Redford and Elisabeth Moss) and Aaron Glenane enthuses, "I've been workin' away for ten years and we're doin' it, you know? It's happening. It's really exciting." You don't get where he is without putting in the hard yards though, hey? "That's it. That's exactly what I believe. One hundred per cent." There's a tendency for Australian actors to move Stateside when their star is on the rise, but Glenane opines, "I just wanna tell great stories and there are so many great Australian stories so, you know, when Australian film and TV is getting better and better every year, it's tempting to be here — and stay here and tell these stories. So it's a very exciting time being an actor at the minute."

"When Australian film and TV is getting better and better every year, it's tempting to be here."

Given that Glenane's career is gaining traction, have there been times when he's had to knock back a job he aches for because he's already committed to another project? "I'm starting to get into the position where I'm able to be really sort of selective about what I choose to do because, like you said, something else might come along," he acknowledges. "I guess that's just where you work with your agent and your management. And you have those discussions where you decide what you really want to do and you just kind of keep a dialogue going with all the productions that are happening at once, and just try and work out what's the best plan of attack because, yeah! Every job I do I wanna make sure I'm incredibly passionate about, and feel like I have something to offer the story, so that's kind of the key to selecting jobs and picking the stories you wanna tell. But obviously Molly was one that you kind of say 'yes' to straight away."

He's too young to have watched Countdown ("I was probably a thought in my parent's heads just when Countdown was wrapping up"), but Glenane, who plays Michael Gudinski in the two-part series, enlightens, "Molly [Meldrum] to me is Hey Hey It's Saturday. He was hilarious! Like, every time Molly's segment would come on — I probably didn't understand all the digs that were being shot his way at the time, but I always thought his segment was just hilarious... He had a pretty quick wit so he could definitely counter what they were saying to him and, being as influential as he is, I don't think people would wanna dig too deep with Molly, either."

Glenane grew up in Ballarat and found his calling somewhat accidentally. "I only got into it in high school," he tells, "and the way I got into it was: I wanted to be an NBA basketball player and mum convinced me, she goes, 'You know when you become a massive basketball player? You're gonna have to do interviews after the game, and you're gonna have to learn how to articulate yourself properly,' and I was like, 'Oh, yeah, you're probably right, mum.' So she took me to this acting teacher [laughs]. I think, like, secretly she had another plan, 'cause I was really shy and she was just trying to bring me out of my shell, but she used good tactics to get me there by saying it was for my basketball and I'd be an NBA superstar. Unbeknownst to her, I was only scrawny and five foot 11 so it was never gonna happen, hahaha."

Drama classes led to musicals in his local area and then Glenane "moved up to Sydney and went to Brent Street, which is a dance school". He studied "singing, dancing and acting" at Brent Street and chuckles, "It was some serious culture shock coming to Sydney from Ballarat. The whole world just opened up to me." He then landed his first professional gig in Tap Dogs. "Tap dancing seemed to come somewhat natural," he confesses. "I dunno how that worked out, but I remember seeing Bootmen as a kid and not really being interested in dancing, overly, but just being fascinated by the rhythm and the whole style of it." On Tap Dogs, Glenane adds, "It was the highest grossing Australian show that's toured around the world and you're kind of like, 'Wow!' you know? It's really sort of put Australian dance on the map, that show." 

"He goes to me, 'You know why you got the role?' and I go, 'Oh, nah,' and he goes, ''Cause you've got the same nose as me, that's 'cause I've broken my nose twice'."

When asked how much time he spent with Gudinski researching his role, Glenane explains, "He was pretty flat out just leading up to shooting because he was doing The Stones tour at the time. So to lock him down before the shoot was pretty tough." The aforementioned ill-fated Australian leg of The Rolling Stones' 14 On Fire tour was initially postponed and then the Hanging Rock show of the rescheduled tour was cancelled after Mick Jagger developed a throat infection. "The way [Gudinski] pulled that all together again was just amazing," Glenane commends. Glenane did eventually get to hang out with Gudinski when Alt-J played Enmore Theatre, however. "He watched the show and we hung out there for about an hour — and we talked about music and gigs — and he goes to me, 'You know why you got the role?' and I go, 'Oh, nah,' and he goes, ''Cause you've got the same nose as me, that's 'cause I've broken my nose twice'," he laughs. "Oh, it was hilarious!" (For the record, Glenane has only broken his nose once.)

He also referred to "a bit of video stuff online" to get Gudinski's voice down pat and Glenane says, "It was just about getting his rhythm and the gruffness and the conviction behind his voice... because he's got a very specific way that he speaks." Although Glenane reckons he's about the same height as the man labelled The Godfather Of Australian Rock'N'Roll, he adds, "but he feels taller, that's for sure". "He's got that straight back and that sort of big stride and he's kind of like: if he's coming through, you're gonna know about him. Like, I remember [Kevin Carlin], the director, in the audition describing Gudinski as, 'A bull in a china shop', and this image was something that we kept referring to for the show 'cause, yeah! Well, a lot of the scenes are me and Molly going head to head, hahaha, which was really fun — to get into that persona." 

After his initial audition, Glenane "didn't hear back for a little while and then just got a call out of nowhere" offering him the Gudinski role. "You have that amazing moment when you're ecstatic for the night," he recalls, "and then you wake up the next day kinda terrified [laughs] going, 'How am I gonna portray The Godfather Of [Australian] Rock'N'Roll?'"   

We discuss how much Samuel Johnson (who plays Meldrum in the miniseries) is a spitting image of his character, particularly during one scene that features in the commercials where he's climbing a ladder. "Oh, doesn't he? Oh, god yeah. I mean, Sam has done an amazing job in the show. Just Sam alone; like, the way he's been able to manipulate his body and his face and everything to capture Molly was amazing. And then the makeup and prosthetic team - what they've done is so subtle but, yeah! It just really helped as well; it's amazing how much he looks like him." Johnson's commitment to his portrayal of the legendary Countdown host was infectious, Glenane tells. "When we had the table read, Sam's gone around to everyone — and, you know, the producers and Channel Seven are there and everything — and he's gone, 'Let's give this the best fuckin' read we can and make a really great impression'. And it was from day one, from that table read; no one just turned up and kind of just got the job done, everyone was giving their one hundred per cent investment, and that was led by Sam and Kevin, the director. Yeah, 'cause Kevin said — well the brief for every scene was to have as much fun as we can and I really feel that comes across in the show."

"It was a moment that I won't forget: to be doin' the first table read and with the guy you're playing in the room [laughs]."  

Glenane shares some memories from that first table read: "You've got the whole cast there and all the head of departments, the crew, the producers, Channel Seven and then everyone's already there. And in perfect Gudinski fashion he rocks up just before we get going. And he comes in. Everyone goes, 'Oh, that's Gudinski,' and everyone started whispering. And all their eyes go from Gudinski — once he sits down — and everyone's eyes just slowly start turning to me, and I'm like, 'Oh, god!' John Molloy, the producer, goes, 'Welcome, everyone. We've got the first table read of Molly. Michael Gudinski's here.' And then he turns to me and he says, 'Don't stuff it up, Aaron! Right. Here we go.' Oh god, yeah, it was a moment that I won't forget: to be doin' the first table read and with the guy you're playing in the room [laughs]."  

When asked how much of his life this project took up, Glenane shares, "There was about four or five months of growing a huge beard and then the shoot went for seven or eight weeks. So, yeah! Gudinski was in my headspace for about five months and still is. Still is. I learnt so much from the way he operates and I try and use it with my acting. And I'm still really inspired by the guy and hope to be able to create more stuff with him." So how did Glenane enjoy sporting a beard? "Oh, well, like, I was in with the hipster scene," he chuckles. "But the thing was, I kept going to the makeup department and I kept saying, 'Do you wanna trim this up and make it look a little bit, like, presentable?' And they were like, 'Nah, we want it nice and wild.'" Glenane reveals they went for "the big head of hair"-era Gudinski for the miniseries. "It was so much fun having that crazy head of hair," he points out. "It helps you get into the character because... it's a formidable head coming at you."

We discuss Meldrum leaving the country to avoid the hype surrounding Molly. "When I was chatting to Michael, he'd just gotten three missed calls from Molly," Glenane shares. "He's over in Thailand, and Michael was like, 'Oh, he's left the country because he can't handle it, but yet he's still callin' me three times a day [laughs]'." Details of Meldrum's fall were just coming in at the time of our chat and Glenane expresses his concern. "I heard about that. I'm not one hundred per cent sure what the story was there, whether that's the case or not, but I wish him all the best if that's what's happened."

So has Glenane watched the finished product? "No, I haven't seen it. I'll watch it when you guys see it."