IF YOU see a man in Winton growing a beard, chances are he’s either telling you his wife is having a baby or he’s preparing to audition for a movie role.
Richard Searle, known to his friends as Pee Wee, was picked to play a supporting role in the movie The Proposition, much of which was shot on location in the outback town in 2004, because of his gloriously bushy beard at the time.
“That’s what I do when my wife gets pregnant – I grow a beard,” he said.
As well as roles as a crowd member at a whipping and singing a song in a bar, it got producers looking him up when they returned to town for the filming of Mystery Road last year.
Cast as the Bearded Bikie in that movie, the make-up department had an easy time with him, just giving his locks a small trim before sending him out.
Outback Motel owner Geoff Potter gave make-up staff a more difficult task when he was asked to grow a beard for his role as Ted, the nosy neighbour in Mystery Road.
“That was a feat in itself – my facial hair’s like a cricket game, only 11 each side,” he laughed.
He said it had been a great buzz to have a speaking role, which meant his name would now be listed alongside actors such as Hugo Weaving, Jack Thompson and Bruce Spence.
“Who else gets a chance to do something like this,” he asked, commenting on how good the fledgling movie business had been for Winton.
“Every town’s got to have a niche and movies are it for Winton – they didn’t have to recreate much, and they’ve been very good to us.”
Mystery Road director Ivan Sen stayed at Geoff’s motel when scouting around for locations prior to filming, and Geoff was able to help out with suggestions for ideal places and directions.
He’s a natural for the acting life, having 11 years as a stock and station agent with Dalgetys before going into the retail game as a service station then grocery shop owner.
He said it had been fascinating to realise how long it took to shoot a simple scene, with so many takes from different angles.
“I was surprised to see even the biggest names struggling to remember their lines – Tony Barry was walking up and down the Hughenden Road practising for ages.”
Pee Wee enjoyed watching the stunt people at work, and said it had been good to get to know the people behind some of Australia’s biggest film names.
“I was telling my wife I’d been working with Rob. I don’t know who any of these people are but Home and Away was on TV and I saw him on screen, and pointed to him.
“She said, ‘You mean Sid the doctor’ but to me he was Rob.”
He’s been sharing photos of his kids with Ivan Sen and says they’re “just normal people”.
Producer and director Bill Leimbach was in Winton on the weekend to promote his plans for Banjo and Matilda, a movie about Banjo Paterson and the writing of Waltzing Matilda, but will have to cross Pee Wee off his list of prospective actors for the lead role.
According to Pee Wee, his wife has said he’s not allowed to act in the next movie that’s shot in Winton and he will have to decline any offers that might come his way.
“She said I’m not a movie star and I’m getting a big head.”
He also said his car wasn’t big enough for any more children and so any future beard growing exercises wouldn’t be a barometer for future developments in his family.
