Dan Macpherson - Hollywood actor, Television presenter, award show host, and Triathlete.
Episode 41: Dan Macpherson - Hollywood actor, Television presenter, award show host, and Triathlete.
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Show notes (please see Timestamps below for more detail)
In this episode of BE with Champions, Greg Bennett chats with, Dan Macpherson - Hollywood actor, Television presenter, award show host, and Triathlete.
Dan Macpherson describes his journey from wannabe Professional Triathlete to Hollywood actor, Television presenter, and award-show host.
He describes the mental strength he gained from Ironman training and racing and how he was able to transfer that into his pursuit of roles in Hollywood and then optimizing those characters once he got them.
Dan discusses the difficulties of coming out of character after months and years immersed in these roles, and the grounding tools he uses to help himself adjust back into his life. Greg and Dan discuss his family, and living life with intent and so much more.
His work ethic is truly inspirational… he’s been known to work as an actor for 6 days of the week, and then host television shows like “Dancing with the stars” and “x-factor” on his day off, and train for Ironmans in between.
He’s someone that is doing everything he can to uncover his potential. And as a friend of his, it’s been a real joy to watch him pursue his talents both as an actor and athlete.
He knows what he wants, he’s taken control of his life and he’s living with purpose, and I for one take great motivation from watching this man work.
Incredible insights and remarkable stories. See the timestamps below for more detail.
Timestamps
0.0 - Introduction to show
1.35 - Sponsors
6.10 - Start to show – Introduction
6.55 - General chit-chat
7.40 - Leaving Australia to take on the world
8.50 - Growing up in Cronulla - Rugby to Triathlon - around the Australian Triathlon legends
10.00 - Kurnell Triathlon - "The Kurnell World Championships" - It was at the Kurnell Triathlon that Dan got his start to his acting career
12.00 - GPS school system - Greg went to Newington and Dan Sydney Boys High
12.40 - Finding Acting - At 14, Dan was training for the NSW Institute of Sport Triathlon team -but then Dan got Chickenpox and then glandular fever for months, he fought one illness after another and was left on the sideline as his mates went off to NSWis camps - Dan went to be an official at the Kurnell Triathlon and met a man (Steven) on the course - He asked if Dan had any interest in acting, the arts, modeling. He met Mark Morrisey and did an audition and got a job at the TV show Neighbors - a part was written for him to be a Triathlete in the show and he was offered an 18-month part in the show
17.30 - Synchronicity - Sport and health have complimented his acting career - "It was never about Triathlon - that was just the gun powder to fire me off on this crazy journey"
18.30 - Neighbors Television show - Kylie Minogue, Guy Pierce, Russel Crow all had stints on the show
19.40 - TV shows - Neighbors verse "Home and Away" - First experience in moving to Melbourne - Dan did 4 years at Neighbors -
21.00 - Dan moved to the UK on the back of Neighbors - Dan had no formal training in acting - The move to Melbourne and into acting was comedic. "I just turned up onto set and kind of winged it" - Dan went to the UK and worked on stage in pantomimes to learn his craft
23.50 - First acting experience - "It was an attitude of getting in and having a go and do your best" - "I knew so little about it, I didn't even know I had nothing to lose"
25.00 - Dan had to take the next step and leave Neighbors - move to England to act on stage and to sing - "Scaring the absolute crap out of myself has been a general kind of recurring theme in my life"
26.30 - Hosting live shows in Australia - the most similar thing to pantomime - Dan did 3 years at Pantomime (3 months over Christmas each year) - Dan did 3 years on the TV show the Bill in the UK - Dan did the first season of X-Factor and 7 seasons of dancing with the Stars - "I look back at my 20s, and I was just paddling really hard, saying yes to everything" - "The work ethic I had is because I came from a sport where you have to work 3 disciplines and put them together on the one day" - "My strength was in my mental discipline and my work ethic as much as it was in my talent"
29.30 - Taking the mental strength into the acting world - "being the analytical athlete only allowed me to go so far in my acting" - "What I struggled with in my first 10 years of acting is there wasn't a finite unit of measurement for success or failure like there was in sport" - "I had to cut ties with that measurement mindset and dive right into the arts" - Dan had to let go of what he learned in his 20s, being professional, being employable and just get down and dirty and go deeper into emotions - this was a very interesting time for him to get to know himself. "I couldn't get a job in America unless I improved as an actor" - "The discipline it (Triathlon) gave me was the self-belief to keep going when no one would give you a job" - Coming to America, Dan was at the bottom of the pile again
34.50 - How much of acting is luck, who you know, and timing? "A lot of its timing, sometimes who you know - but who you know opens the door but it doesn't get you the job" - "Luck, the harder you work, the luckier you get" "Continually repeated luck, if its continually repeated, is it still luck?"
36.45 - Getting the role at "Strike Back" - The process of being on and off shortlists for roles for various shows, combing with working on one show, and trying to get to another.
39.45 - Australians in LA - The Aussies that stay are all similar. they all are built for the rigors of Hollywood casting - bit, not all stay and not all thrive in those situations.
41.10 - Australians that have come before - Nicole Kidman, Naomi Watts, Guy Pearce, Russel Crow, Hugh Jackman, Simon Baker (The Mentalist), Jesse Spencer (House) - Dan got there by 2011 - Hemsworth brothers - Luke Hemsworth started with Dan in Neighbors, they are best buddies. Chris Hemsworth and Dan were meant to go to Hollywood together in 2007 but Dan decided to stay in Australia, Chris became action superhero Thor in the movie series "The Avengers". "They (Hemsworth) are the greatest family and lovely guys"
45.15 - Being grounded - "Dolly's (magazine) most dateable guy" - "Never believe your own publicity" - "Sport fitness and family and sticking with good people that will fulfill you in any profession"
48.30 - Casting in LA - "You walk in and there are 30 guys that are all exactly like you"
50.00 - Taking hits - "It's not personal"
55.00 - American accent - The importance of the accent - "It's much like Triathlon, you have so many disciplines you have to master" - "You have to master what you can control" - "You have to do everything you could in your power to be as good as you possibly could"
58.00 - Being more Intent - "Where does this role, the part, this performance fit in the priority of your life?" - "The professionalism from sport, I'm still applying to this current job"
1.01.30 - New Job - 10 part TV series - Science fiction series - shooting in multiple locations around the world - got the job the night of the Strike back rap party "Synchronicity"
1.03.30 - Synchronicity - The universe does align - "How cool is this" - Gratitude effects attitude
1.05.10 - Being a father - Dan's tweet - 'Five months in and I've learned that 90 percent of fatherhood is yelling "which bag is it in?" from the other room.' - "The sheer blessing of Corona shut down, the universe stopped me to be there for every moment" - "I'd been working at such a velocity, I needed the grounding" - "It's the greatest gift I've ever been given, and it's the greatest honor to be this boys Dad" - "It gives you a great galvanization of your intent when you're away doing the job to provide for your family" - "So if I have to be away, then I'm going to do a great job because I'm providing and also because when he's old enough he's going to say, that's really cool Dad" - A love as there that we didn't know was within us. "Zoe did an incredible job"
1.13.30 - Coming out of roles - Living on sets for months - The movie - "Infini" - "If you're going to go down the rabbit hole that deeply, then you better have the toolset to pull yourself back out"
1.16.40 - What are the tools to get backgrounding? Dan uses running, cycling, and meditation which is daily discipline + Coldwater and saltwater. Turning the negative noise down, being present. Cold therapy. stepping into the ocean, and running in the forest. Dan describes his time in Zagreb, Croatia, and his hike and adventure in nature. This type of adventure restores Dan's battery. "Turning my phone off is a really great thing to do" - "Just be where you are, stay present"
1.27.10 - Physical shape - Crossfit Santa Monica - "I'd spent my life trying to make my body smaller as an endurance athlete" - "I started lifting heavy weights and eating as much as I could" - For Dan to get the FBI, special ops roles he needed to look the part - "I have body dysmorphia, maybe its a fat kid thing" - Dans doing mobility, stability and yoga and then heavyweights - Working on longevity and youthfulness -
1.33.40 - What's next? - "I want to start telling my own stories" "I'm at the bottom of the ladder, but I'm on the ladder" - Dans working on a show for the 20th anniversary of the Bali bombings in 2022 and the federal police's involvement.
1.37.00 - Do you miss not having a normal life? "It might be time to base myself in Sydney now"
1.40.00 - Conclude - When Greg and Dan first met
Links
Be sure and check out bennettendurance.com
Find Greg on social media:
Twitter @GregBennett1
Instagram @GregBennettWorld
Find Dan on social media
Instagram: @DanMacpherson
Twitter: @DanMacPherson
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