Damon Herriman Talks About Waiting 14 Years To Sorta ‘Break’ Into Hollywood

Damon Herriman is one of Australia’s most in-demand actors.

In June, Perpetual Grace, LTD launched on Stan, Herriman part of an ensemble cast including Ben Kingsley, Jimmi Simpson and fellow Australian Jacki Weaver. 

In the same month, three of his projects featured at Sydney Film Festival: Judy & Punch, in which he stars opposite Mia Wasikowska; The Nightingale by The Babadook director Jennifer Kent; and Foxtel miniseries Lambs Of God. 

By the end of the month, Stan had also revealed that Herriman is set to feature in their new biotech/climate change drama The Commons, due out in 2020.

He plays Charles Manson in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood. Next month, the flick – much loved at its premiere at the prestigious Cannes – finally releases in theatres, almost 50 years to the date after the Tate murders.  

Back in August last year, Collider broke the news that Herriman was also cast as Manson in the eagerly awaited second season of Netflix criminal profiling drama Mindhunter.  

But, Herriman insists, while he might seem to be prolific, it’s actually “very rare” to jump from project to project. He says for actors there’s “normally weeks or months or occasional years when you’re not working”. 

“It's funny – the thing happens with actors a lot where people assume that you're working all the time if a couple things happen to be coming out around the same time," he shares. "I'm certainly blessed in terms of having fairly regular work lately, but you still do have lots of gaps.” 

Herriman describes his career in the US at the moment as “a little surreal”. He says he’s grateful for all the opportunities he “never would’ve dreamt of” that have come his way in the 14 years since he first started travelling there for work. 

“I didn't work at all for the first few, and then I worked a tiny bit in the next few,” Herriman says. “If someone had told me 14 years ago, 'Just wait 14 years and you'll get a couple of decent jobs,' I probably would've said, 'No way I'm waiting 14 years, that's ridiculous.'”

Now that it is happening, he says, “I'm more than happy to have waited that long.”

Herriman struggles to pinpoint the moment at which he 'broke’ overseas, because ‘breaking’ seems relative. Compared to what he’d done before, his role from 2010 to 2015 as Dewey Crowe in Justified is the one he says started “opening some other doors”. 

"A lot of the time, I think, actors get credit for what is actually just good writing.”

“I think there are different ways you can define what a ‘break’ is,” Herriman explains. “I think there's certainly a version where I haven't had one at all.”

He cites the example of Chris Hemsworth being cast in Thor. “Now there's no break I've had that is remotely like that – that's a massive break. Using the term 'break' to define that as a break definitely means I haven't had a break yet.”

So would he be keen to take on a role in a big budget blockbuster? Herriman’s answer comes tinged with self-deprecation.

“Look, I don't think anyone would ever be casting me as the superhero in that movie. It'd be a pretty weird superhero. It might be fun to do something like that playing something – playing a villain or something would probably be fun.”  

Success begets success; when you’re gaining traction you tend to be offered more and more work. For Herriman, choosing between roles comes down simply to the writing, and in particular, the story, the characters and the dialogue. 

“When dialogue is well written it elevates an actor. I give all credit to good writers because a lot of the time, I think, actors get credit for what is actually just good writing,” Herriman says. 

Perpetual Grace, LTD is a kind of neo-noir comedy thriller hybrid about an oddly well-meaning con man (Simpson) attempting to swindle an unexpectedly formidable pastor (Kingsley) and his wife (Weaver), under the guidance of their son (Herriman). 

Herriman points to the show as being a perfect example of good writing.

“The writing in that show is such a delight. You just read it and it's so clear what the tone is. It's an unusual tone in that show, it's somewhere between a drama and a comedy, it's got slightly absurd elements to it. I certainly read that and went, 'Oh, I kinda get what this.' I get what Steve Conrad – who is the writer and creator of the show – wants this to be.”

In a time when so much quality television is being made – and so much television in general – Herriman notes that, with more demand for something totally different, creators can “be a bit more adventurous and original”. “How do you make something that’s not something that’s gone before?” he muses. 

“I think the appeal of this show is that it doesn't feel like anything else, but also that it has a few hints of other stuff that we've seen that we've liked. There's a bit of a Coen Brothers sort of thing to it, there's a bit of a Western vibe, there's a bit of a Breaking Bad sort of vibe. It also doesn't feel like any of those things entirely. It feels like it's its own thing.” 

Herriman’s role in Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood is certainly that of a villain, although he stresses the part is not a large one. While Zac Efron has said that playing Ted Bundy in Netflix’s Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil And Vile was emotionally taxing, Herriman says he didn’t have a similar experience – because of both the size of the role and Manson’s distance from his crimes. 

“The Manson role is not a big element of the Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood story at all,” Herriman reasons. “It was certainly incredibly disturbing doing research on Charles Manson. I watched every interview that is available to watch and I read everything I could.

“Unlike Charles Manson, Ted Bundy did actually commit the crimes. Manson was the kind of orchestrator but he didn't take part. It's creepy watching him speak sometimes and it's horrific knowing what took place under his instruction, but for me, and what I had to do in the film, it certainly wasn't something where I was taking that home at night or anything. Thankfully.” 

Instead, Herriman’s experience working on Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood was a remarkably joyful one, where he was constantly reminding himself to “take it all in": "Don't forget anything, just soak this in because this is not one of those experiences that comes along too often," Herriman enthuses.

“It was the best fun I've ever had shooting anything, I think. It was just like being a kid in a candy store. It's like Actor Disneyland to be on that set. It almost feels like you're in a Tarantino film when you walk onto set. There's '60s music playing, there's this amazing design…”

He describes Tarantino as “incredibly enthusiastic” and able to give a “ten-minute, detailed, very encyclopaedic” discourse on basically anything. 

“He’s like a kid in a candy store himself being on set – he just loves doing what he does and he does it so incredibly well. He was just a very charming, friendly guy who would chat to you about any topic you wanted to bring up.” 

While Herriman may seem to be generating momentum in the US, he emphasises that he has no interest in moving stateside. Even if flying back and forth every few months and all that engenders – customs, jet lag, baggage claim – can get ”boring and exhausting”. 

“I've never had the desire to move to America to live,” he insists. “It seems like there is a way to do it where you can spend half your time in each place. As long as you're not away from one for too long – I'm rarely away from either place for more than about five months. I think it is possible to try to make a career happen in both places.” 

And it’s important for Herriman to stay active in the Australian screen industry, because, to put it simply, Australia is home.   

“I love working here,” Herriman stresses. “I love living here too. Most of my friends are here. I love the Australian way of life. I love the Australian sense of humour. I love my life here and I love working here.

“I love working at home. Some of the best stuff I've had the chance to work on has been made here. I don't want to give that up.”

Perpetual Grace, LTD is now streaming on Stan.