Alex Williams has made a name for himself playing real people on TV. Straight after graduating from drama school in Perth, he was cast as WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in Underground: The Julian Assange Story in 2012.
Julian’s mother, Christine Hawkins, declared Alex was so convincing that “at times, I actually felt I was looking at my son”.
“His mum gave a really nice quote about my performance, which was lovely – one of the nicest things anyone’s ever said to me,” Alex, 32, tells TV WEEK.
Later, he played musician Kirk Pengilly in 2014’s INXS: Never Tear Us Apart.
“Kirk was on set, helping me learn guitar and saxophone,” Alex remembers. “I think he was pretty happy with his portrayal.”
Now, Alex is in the news for playing another real person, legendary spin bowler Shane Warne, in two-part biographical drama Warnie.
It’s been just over a year since Shane died, aged just 52. More than 50,000 people attended his memorial service at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Alex played Kirk (top right) in INXS: Never Tear Us Apart.
(Image: Supplied)“There was a fair bit of pressure going into it, knowing he’s an icon and loved not only in Melbourne, but Australia-wide, India, England,” Alex admits. “But I guess that pressure helps motivate you to work as hard as you can to make it as authentic as possible.”
Alex spent eight weeks preparing to play Shane. One of the things he did was gain about 8kg.
“He had a body like a discus thrower – strong through the core, arms and shoulders,” he says. “He was powerful, so I felt I needed to put on a bit of size.”
The actor declares gaining the weight was “surprisingly easy”.
“I just started ordering two of everything: two Guinness, two doughnuts… You can do it over six months and feel quite good, but if you do it over eight weeks, you don’t.”
Alex felt the “pressure” when retelling Shane’s story.
(Image: Supplied)Alex grew up playing backyard cricket and has been playing “just socially” for the past three years. Learning to bowl leg spin for Warnie, though, was something else.
“It’s the hardest thing to do in the game,” he says. “There’s a reason why, before Shane Warne, it was dead.”
In Sydney, Alex worked with spin bowler Steve O’Keefe, before going to Melbourne to learn from Bryce McGain, a Test bowler from Shane’s era.
“He not only helped me get the action right – he’d trained with [Shane’s coach] Terry Jenner and Shane for a long time – but to also understand the mentality behind how he bowled and how he’d stare down a batsman, how he’d sledge and those sorts of things.”
On top of that, Alex spent a lot of time reading everything he could find about Shane and watching him play.
“My girlfriend was pretty sick of Shane Warne highlights on YouTube by the end of it, I can tell you that much for free!”
Alex’s girlfriend is actress Indiana Evans, who played Matilda Hunter in Home And Away and, more recently, appeared in the film Thor: Love And Thunder.
“We work together on self-tapes and auditions,” he says. “She helped me a lot with the Warnie audition.”
“It was a great experience working in Home And Away“.
(Image: Supplied)Alex did a stint in H&A himself recently, playing Jacob, the abusive husband of Dr Bree Cameron (Juliet Godwin). Playing such a manipulative person was “awful”.
“It was a great experience working in Home And Away, but I couldn’t say I enjoyed playing that character.”
Up next, Alex wants to keep working in Australia – “Indy loves it in Sydney” – and has been thinking of some other real people he’d like to play on TV.
“I’ve actually got a couple in the back pocket,” he says. “But I’m not going to share who they are yet!”
