‘I almost missed the birth of my first child’: Luke Jacobz’s biggest on-set fear

Luke Jacobz is no stranger to Australian drama, having starred in two of this country’s best-loved shows: Home and Away and McLeod’s Daughters. But he had a potential real-life drama on his hands while making his first feature film, The Birthday Trip.

The Australian movie is set among the rolling green hills of the NSW Southern Highlands, about two hours south of Sydney. At the time it was filmed in 2023, Luke’s wife, Raychel, was heavily pregnant with their first child, Maisie.

“My biggest fear was that I’d get down there [to film] and Raychel’s waters would break and I would miss the birth of my first child,” Luke, 45, tells TV WEEK.

“Raychel was extremely supportive of me and said, ‘If you can come back, that’d be great. But otherwise, get down there and do what you love doing.’”

Three weeks after the film wrapped, Raychel gave birth to their daughter. Since then, they’ve had a second child, a boy named John James Scott, born in 2025.

Luke says parenthood is “wonderful” and “bloody hard”. At the time of our interview, his eight-month-old son had slept through the night for the first time.

“We almost cried because it was just an amazing feeling,” he shares.

The Birthday Trip centres on three entitled millennial couples – Clare (Nicola Frew) and Jim (David Quirk), Isabel (Annelise Hall) and Mark (Ben Gerrard), and Angie (Josephine Starte) and Lars (played by Luke) – who descend on the luxurious Lothian Gate farmstay for the weekend.

Clare, Isabel and Angie are friends from high school and are celebrating their 30th birthdays together with their partners, who are meeting each other for the first time.

The movie examines the shifting nature of friendships as emotions bubble to the surface. For example, Clare, an artist, is combative with her own partner, Jim. But she lets down her guard around Lars.

“They have a conversation in the kitchen when he’s playing around with a crab, and she laughs and thinks he’s fantastic,” Luke says.

Lars is a stockbroker and perhaps the friendliest of the group.

“He loves his partner, he loves his job and he loves his mates,” Luke says of Lars. “He’s just that happy-go-lucky guy.”

Luke won Dancing with the Stars with dance partner Luda Kroiter in 2008 and hosted The X Factor from 2010 to 2015. He also has fond memories of his HAA days, where he’s played a few characters, most notably Angelo Rosetta.

“I’ve played a few guest roles that didn’t have names and Angelo has been on the show a couple of times,“ he says. “I keep saying none of my characters have ever died. So, there’s always a chance to come back.”

Although he knows the detective is likely a character fans loved to hate. After all, Angelo accidentally shot and killed Jack Holden (Paul O’Brien) and was the one who put away Colby Thorne (Tim Franklin) for murdering his stepfather.

“They were two very beloved characters,” Luke says. “I’ve had some interesting experiences in shopping centres with some people who believe Summer Bay is real.”

He adds he’d welcome an opportunity to revisit his character in the Bay again.

“I absolutely miss [HAA],” he says. “I hope I get to keep [acting] because I’d love for my kids to grow up and say, ‘That’s my dad doing that.’

“It just gives you another reason to try harder and to do better.”

The Birthday Trip is in cinemas July 30.