From Home And Away heartthrob to a whole new identity: Here’s where former soapie star Beau Brady is now

He found fame on Home And Away playing bad boy heartthrob Noah Lawson from 2000 until 2004.

During his time on the show, Beau Brady raked in four TV WEEK Logie nominations for best actor and was part of several iconic plot lines, including his relationship and marriage to Hayley Smith (played by Noah’s then girlfriend Bec Cartwright) and of course, his brutal murder.

While the show made Beau a household name, these days the 39-year-old’s life couldn’t be more low-key.

The star has since admitted his major regret at being linked to the long-running soap.

“I don’t want anything to do with Home And Away or anything like that,” the actor once explained to TV WEEK.

“Any advice I’d give to an actor who was going on Home And Away is to stay for one year and then get out. I had some fun, but there are a lot of things I’d go back and change if I could. If a soap came up again, I’d probably say no, because I’m just not that way inclined anymore. [But] if it was a series, for sure, because they’re just different. With a soap, they blow your whole private life and everything out, but with a series, you keep a little bit more integrity.”

Indeed Beau’s high-profile relationship with his on-screen Home And Away love interest Bec Cartwright was the stuff of soapie dreams. The young actors dated for four years at the height of their H&A stardom from 2000-2004.

Beau proposed to Bec and the pair were briefly engaged before their fairytale romance came crashing down.

Bec broke off their engagement in 2004 and swiftly moved on to tennis star Lleyton Hewitt and, after six weeks of dating, her now husband got down on one knee.

Years later, a jilted Beau lashed out in a tell-all interview with Woman’s Day, claiming that he regretted proposing to Bec.

“I look back at it now and realise proposing to Bec was one of the biggest mistakes I ever made,” he told the magazine in 2010.

“It was just a stupid, young mistake and if I had my time over, I would never, ever have proposed.”

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In a bid to escape the media attention after his high profile split, Beau changed his stage name to Johnny Brady and relocated in LA to chase his Hollywood dreams.

During his first stint in LA, the Breakers star took an acting course at The Acting Corps but admitted cracking it in La La Land was a lot harder than he had anticipated.

“I’ve found it quite hard to stay in there. I’m doing a bit of building and having a real job. It pays the bills,” the 39-year-old revealed at the time of juggling multiple jobs.

“It’s one of those things – if it happens, it happens and if it doesn’t, it doesn’t,” he added of pursuing his acting dreams.

Over the years, Beau has returned to LA and landed small roles on budget films, such as Voodoo Lagoon and Damaged, and commercials.

His most recent role on Aussie screens was back in 2016, when he landed a guest part on one episode of the Channel Nine series Hyde & Seek, alongside Deborra-Lee Furness.

He’s also had guest roles on other TV shows like Wonderland , Secret City and The Bill.

While Beau has vanished off Instagram, according to his Twitter bio, which is under the handle of @Johnnyboybrady, he describes himself as an “Actor. Artist. PT”, revealing he’s also been working as a personal trainer.

It’s been over a decade since the actor walked a red carpet but in an image shared to his Twitter, Beau’s trademark frosted blonde tips and goatee are no longer. Instead, he rocks some light stubble and a cap.

In another shot, Beau is clean-shaven with his angular jawline and piercing blue eyes reminding us exactly why he was such a heartthrob during the peak of his career.

In a 2015 audition video posted on his YouTube channel, the performer does his best rockstar impression as he sings an acoustic version of Don’t Look Back In Anger.

“I wear glasses cause I get extremely nervous trying to sing and play at the same time… not because its sunny inside,” he admitted.

WATCH IN THE PLAYER BELOW: Beau Brady stars in a fridge commercial

According to screengrabs from his now-deleted Instagram account, he was also back on home turf working for the Australian Army last year.

Sharing a photo holding a joey while clad in his uniform during the bushfires which ravaged the country at the start of 2020, he said: “This little joey was found by another soldier, Cpl Jardine who was scouting ahead down a walking track in a national park where we were clearing trees… managed to get a hold. They named it Bravo after 4/3 Bravo HQ in Wollongong. 📷Pte Routledge & Pte Trindorfer.”

It’s not known if Beau, who was once briefly engaged to Neighbours actress Natalie Hoflin in 2007, is currently in a relationship.