Each year, the members of the CGA come together to identify a group of up to 10 extraordinary actors we believe have the potential to break out on the world stage; The CGA Rising Stars.
The Awards have a strong track-record of picking Australian talent who are truly on the cusp of greatness – previous recipients include Milly Alcock (House of Dragon), Eliza Scanlan (Little Women), Katherine Langford (13 Reasons Why), Ayesha Madden (Heartbreak High), Zoe Terakes (Talk To Me) Olivia De-Jonge (Elvis), James Majoos (Heartbreak High), Nathalie Morris (Bump) and Alexander England (Little Monsters).
Starring in Australia’s biggest show of 2024, Boy Swallows Universe, actor Lee Tiger Halley spoke with Nick L’Barrow about his inspirations to start acting, celebrating being named a Rising Star with his co-star, Felix Cameron, and the process behind playing a mute character.
Nick: First and foremost, congratulations on being named a CGA Rising Star! What was your reaction when you saw your name in that group of incredible performers?
Lee Tiger Halley: Oh, it was just wonderful. I mean, it’s always good to get recognition, but I was specifically happy because it’s recognised by people who actually work in the industry. It’s not just awards by lovers of the shows and stuff like that. It’s by the actual people who cast and work in this business. So, it was very good to get that type of recognition.
Nick: And being named alongside Felix [Cameron, Boy Swallows Universe co-star] must’ve felt pretty special…
Lee Tiger Halley: It was wonderful. But we didn’t actually find out—like, when we first found out, you’re not supposed to tell anyone. And I saw him in Sydney, and I wanted to ask him, but we weren’t supposed to ask anybody, or what if he hasn’t [been nominated].
I just hopped into a conversation with his mum, and she mentioned it! And that was great to see each other again. We were both really excited.
Nick: It’s well deserved for you both, man. I’d love to go back to the start. Do you remember the moment you first fell in love with acting?
Lee Tiger Halley: It’s something I’ve done for a very long time. Since I was little, I’ve always enjoyed it. But it was more a sense of having fun doing it, and not thinking of it as much of a career.
There was a specific point when I started on Boy Swallows Universe, and I was working with a dramaturge, going through techniques and things. And it was the first day where I realised, I looked around and saw how many people and how passionate they were to make something. That’s when I was like ‘I want to do this as a job’.
But this was something where I saw the costume designers, to the lighters, everyone was so passionate about creating it.
Nick: Was there someone else on that set who saw that click happen for you? And then you were able to go have conversations with them about the industry and what to expect?
Lee Tiger Halley: Yeah, I mean working with actors like Simon Baker, it’s impossible not to become exhilarated, you know what I mean? You see people working at that high of a level, it pumps you up. It’s like when you play a great game of footy, and all the players on your team are running in, and everyone is just playing crazy good. The whole team gets pumped up.
Just being in all of those scenes, and seeing how well everyone was doing, it’s hard not to have a smile on your face and want to put in that effort to be just as good.
Nick: I’m curious to know where some of your inspiration comes from. Are there performances or movies, or even the way you’ve seen someone behave on set, that you look up to?
Lee Tiger Halley: There’s certainly a lot of actors I love watching. Like, on Boy Swallows Universe, I was inspired by a lot of the movies our dramaturge gave me to watch, you know? Raging Bull, On the Waterfront, There Will Be Blood. I watched all of those. And I got specifically inspired by Daniel Day Lewis, and seeing him just so different in every single performance.
And then, because Simon didn’t come on until later on in the second half of the show, I’d watch everything he did. He was this beautiful, charming, characteristic, leading man. And he came on to set play this blob-like drunk with this beard. And I just realised it’s not about how good or pretty you can look, it’s about diving into these different types of characters. And to see someone like Simon do that, who is known for being gorgeous, was wonderful. This is the thing people do. It’s not just for show. I saw how hard he works behind the scenes, and that really inspired me.
Nick: Do you have a favourite Daniel Day Lewis performance?
Lee Tiger Halley: I love There Will Be Blood. I love Phantom Thread. But my favourite one is In the Name of the Father. That one is pretty haunting. He’s incredible in everything, but I love that one specifically.
Nick: It’s interesting that you mentioned Daniel Day Lewis, and films like Raging Bull, because I can see the parallels that can be drawn between those sorts of performances, and your performance in Boy Swallows Universe. You’re someone who is trying to express there feelings so viscerally, but the ability to actually say those feelings is taken away from you. I’m curious to know what your process was like in conveying so much emotion without being able to talk?
Lee Tiger Halley: Even from when I got the first audition, and there was like two or three lines on the page, I was like ‘What the hell and I supposed to do here?’ And there was a camera just filming me for like 3 minutes. And so I just knew there’s a lot going on internally, not externally.
The more I talked with my director and dramaturge, I began to try things out. I knew the key was to not go over the top. It’s very easy to start making big facial expressions, but it became about what thoughts were going on. And I went out while were filming around Brisbane city, and people probably thought I was weird, but I just watched how people were walking. I watched what they were doing when they’re walking around and they’re not saying anything. More of those observation type reactions. I had a lot of fun with that. You feel like you kind of know something everyone else doesn’t when others are speaking and you’re just observing them.
Nick: Earlier we spoke about your inspirations. But I’d love to know how you wish to inspire people with your career. So many people watched Boy Swallows Universe, and I’m sure there is a young actor out there who was inspired by you and your performance. So, I’d love to know one thing you would like people to take away from your career to inspire the next generation of actor?
Lee Tiger Halley: My big thing, especially for young actors, is just have fun. Have fun doing it and enjoy it. That’s great. But to learn, and to develop, you need to practice and get better at it. Enjoy it because it’s a wonderful thing to do. But also remember that even guys like Daniel Day Lewis and [Robert] De Niro did all that work for a really long time to get where they are. Always have that fire burning, and just keep wanting to learn.
Thank you so much to Lee for his time, and to NixCo PR for organising the interview. The CGA Rising Stars were announced in early November, and they will be presented with their award at the 2024 Casting Guild of Australia awards on November 15.
