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J
J
ane & Julie's Story
Goodbye David - Hello Brett!
We may have recently said goodbye to dishy doctor David Ratcliffe on screen, but in real life, we managed to say hello on the telephone a couple of times while we were in Sydney to Brett Climo who of course played him. After contacting Brett's theatrical agency, we were told there was a chance that although Brett could not meet us personally because he was busy filming the second series of “Snowy River: The McGregor Sage” in Daylesford, Victoria, he may be able to speak to us on the telephone. On a Saturday evening whilst sitting by our hotel window admiring the view of the city and harbour, the telephone rang. Not thinking anything of it, Jane answered it only to hear it was Brett on the other end! He explained that he had received the message that we wanted to interview him, and that he would be happy to do this but he was just going out and if it was okay with us, could he call back at 11.00 am the following morning? Of course it was all right with us, as you could imagine! We were both absolutely dumb struck and we waited in anticipation until the following morning. At dead on 11.00 am, the telephone rang. Of course it was Brett. Julie spoke to him and this is some of what he had to say to us:
We may have recently said goodbye to dishy doctor David Ratcliffe on screen, but in real life, we managed to say hello on the telephone a couple of times while we were in Sydney to Brett Climo who of course played him. After contacting Brett's theatrical agency, we were told there was a chance that although Brett could not meet us personally because he was busy filming the second series of “Snowy River: The McGregor Sage” in Daylesford, Victoria, he may be able to speak to us on the telephone. On a Saturday evening whilst sitting by our hotel window admiring the view of the city and harbour, the telephone rang. Not thinking anything of it, Jane answered it only to hear it was Brett on the other end! He explained that he had received the message that we wanted to interview him, and that he would be happy to do this but he was just going out and if it was okay with us, could he call back at 11.00 am the following morning? Of course it was all right with us, as you could imagine! We were both absolutely dumb struck and we waited in anticipation until the following morning. At dead on 11.00 am, the telephone rang. Of course it was Brett. Julie spoke to him and this is some of what he had to say to us:
T
T
he interview with Brett Climo
Can you tell us a bit about “Snowy River: The McGregor Saga”?
“It is an American production originally made for an American Christian Network. It is a romantic drama set around 1890. It is about the life of country folk.”
How did you get the part of Colin McGregor in this series?
“The producer Marcus Cole had already worked with me before on a couple of films including 'Tracks of Glory' in 1991. He thought I was right for the role and suggested I audition for it. I did this and got the part.”
Does any part of Colin's character remind you of yourself?
“Snowy River is produced for an American Christian Network, therefore I wasn't able to portray Colin the way I wanted as the Americans had total control over how each chapter would be portrayed. The character was at first very limited and didn't have any real depth.”
Do you believe that the second series is better than the first?
“Yes. Each episode is more self contained and there is much more room for Colin to develop. The second series is much more interesting for the audience with more human contact and emotional scenes. Therefore it presents better values and morals.”
Where are you filming the series?
“In a place called Daylesford in Victoria.”
In this series, you have ride a horse a lot. Were you trained?
“I learned to ride a horse when I was 19. There was a time when I had three consecutive horse riding roles, although I am allergic to horses!”
The first series of “Snowy River: The McGregor Saga” was screened on the satellite television's “The Family Channel” last year, and it has been repeated subsequently. It has yet to be screened in Australia.
Now going on to “The Flying Doctors”. Did you watch it before joining the series?
“Oh and off, I watched it in the early days when Andrew was in it. I enjoy watching TV. Because 'The Flying Doctors' was shot on film, the quality was better and the fact that is was shot on film definitely appealed to me. I moved from 'A Country Practice' straight into 'The Flying Doctors'. The move to Melbourne was worthwhile for me.”
What did you like about David Ratcliffe?
“I really liked playing David. I'm not just saying that for the sake of it. I didn't really like playing Micheal Langley in 'A Country Practice'. He was a bit of an extrovert. I wanted to portray David as a dedicated doctor in the Outback, confident but deadly serious about his job. I also wanted to portray him as a shy and private person.”
Why did you leave 'The Flying Doctors'?
“I always like to move on to other things. After 18 months or so plus towards the end, Crawford did not find the character of David appealing enough for the audience so I left. I was very pleased with my last episode. David was a totally different character in the way that he did not want to pursue a career in medicine anymore. I used some of myself in certain scenes, knowing there's more to life than work etc.”
Was that really you dangling upside down from that rope?
“In the close ups it was me, but in the wide shots they used a stuntman. I really wanted to let the audience know that David knew he was probably about to die. In fact, Robert, Lenore and I wrote that scene.”
If Crawfords asked you to play David all over again, would you?
“Yes, I liked him and I'd play him exactly the same way again.”
In 'The Flying Doctors', David flew a plane. Do you like flying?
“Yes. In fact I've been obsessed with planes since I was young. I thought it was great that David could fly, although I made sure that the medical side of David was his main priority.”
So how did you get involved in acting?
“I wasn't trained. When I was younger I did a couple of commercials and was an extra. It's just gone from there really. I guess I have just made my own breaks.”
How did you get involved with World Vision?
“World Vision approached me. I was aware of them through Rebecca Gibney. At first I saw it as just a job, but now I actually sponsor a child. I went to the Sudan where the civil war created lots of homeless people. The women and their children go searching for miles looking for food. I visited feeding centers. It was horrifying to see the malnourishment and the sad plight of individuals. The people learn to live with the hardship, but the World Vision sponsorship program really helps the children and their families improve their standard of life. I speak for a lot of people who are very cynical about World Vision, but I have seen the difference they can make for myself.”
So what does the future hold in store for Brett Climo?
“At the moment I am contracted to doing Snowy River, but there is a series on TV called 'Heartland'. I know the guy who produces this well. I hope to do some work on this next year.”
Finally Brett, have you ever been to the UK?
“No, but I'd love to come over sometimes in the future and do some work, preferably when Wimbledon is on and of course when it is likely to be warm.”
Again we would like to thank Brett for speaking to us and all of us at “VCC Calling!” wish him ever success with the second series of “Snowy River: The McGregor Saga”.
April 1994
By: Jane Bridgman and Julie Antonsen, VCC Calling Editorial Team
“It is an American production originally made for an American Christian Network. It is a romantic drama set around 1890. It is about the life of country folk.”
How did you get the part of Colin McGregor in this series?
“The producer Marcus Cole had already worked with me before on a couple of films including 'Tracks of Glory' in 1991. He thought I was right for the role and suggested I audition for it. I did this and got the part.”
Does any part of Colin's character remind you of yourself?
“Snowy River is produced for an American Christian Network, therefore I wasn't able to portray Colin the way I wanted as the Americans had total control over how each chapter would be portrayed. The character was at first very limited and didn't have any real depth.”
Do you believe that the second series is better than the first?
“Yes. Each episode is more self contained and there is much more room for Colin to develop. The second series is much more interesting for the audience with more human contact and emotional scenes. Therefore it presents better values and morals.”
Where are you filming the series?
“In a place called Daylesford in Victoria.”
In this series, you have ride a horse a lot. Were you trained?
“I learned to ride a horse when I was 19. There was a time when I had three consecutive horse riding roles, although I am allergic to horses!”
The first series of “Snowy River: The McGregor Saga” was screened on the satellite television's “The Family Channel” last year, and it has been repeated subsequently. It has yet to be screened in Australia.
Now going on to “The Flying Doctors”. Did you watch it before joining the series?
“Oh and off, I watched it in the early days when Andrew was in it. I enjoy watching TV. Because 'The Flying Doctors' was shot on film, the quality was better and the fact that is was shot on film definitely appealed to me. I moved from 'A Country Practice' straight into 'The Flying Doctors'. The move to Melbourne was worthwhile for me.”
What did you like about David Ratcliffe?
“I really liked playing David. I'm not just saying that for the sake of it. I didn't really like playing Micheal Langley in 'A Country Practice'. He was a bit of an extrovert. I wanted to portray David as a dedicated doctor in the Outback, confident but deadly serious about his job. I also wanted to portray him as a shy and private person.”
Why did you leave 'The Flying Doctors'?
“I always like to move on to other things. After 18 months or so plus towards the end, Crawford did not find the character of David appealing enough for the audience so I left. I was very pleased with my last episode. David was a totally different character in the way that he did not want to pursue a career in medicine anymore. I used some of myself in certain scenes, knowing there's more to life than work etc.”
Was that really you dangling upside down from that rope?
“In the close ups it was me, but in the wide shots they used a stuntman. I really wanted to let the audience know that David knew he was probably about to die. In fact, Robert, Lenore and I wrote that scene.”
If Crawfords asked you to play David all over again, would you?
“Yes, I liked him and I'd play him exactly the same way again.”
In 'The Flying Doctors', David flew a plane. Do you like flying?
“Yes. In fact I've been obsessed with planes since I was young. I thought it was great that David could fly, although I made sure that the medical side of David was his main priority.”
So how did you get involved in acting?
“I wasn't trained. When I was younger I did a couple of commercials and was an extra. It's just gone from there really. I guess I have just made my own breaks.”
How did you get involved with World Vision?
“World Vision approached me. I was aware of them through Rebecca Gibney. At first I saw it as just a job, but now I actually sponsor a child. I went to the Sudan where the civil war created lots of homeless people. The women and their children go searching for miles looking for food. I visited feeding centers. It was horrifying to see the malnourishment and the sad plight of individuals. The people learn to live with the hardship, but the World Vision sponsorship program really helps the children and their families improve their standard of life. I speak for a lot of people who are very cynical about World Vision, but I have seen the difference they can make for myself.”
So what does the future hold in store for Brett Climo?
“At the moment I am contracted to doing Snowy River, but there is a series on TV called 'Heartland'. I know the guy who produces this well. I hope to do some work on this next year.”
Finally Brett, have you ever been to the UK?
“No, but I'd love to come over sometimes in the future and do some work, preferably when Wimbledon is on and of course when it is likely to be warm.”
Again we would like to thank Brett for speaking to us and all of us at “VCC Calling!” wish him ever success with the second series of “Snowy River: The McGregor Saga”.
April 1994
By: Jane Bridgman and Julie Antonsen, VCC Calling Editorial Team