Like most Aussie actors chasing their dreams, Ben Lawson has found a second home in the US. When we sit down to chat with him, he’s in Brooklyn, New York, where he’s based. The move abroad has paid dividends with roles in high-profile productions such as Designated Survivor, Firefly Lane and Bombshell, in which Ben played Lachlan Murdoch alongside his real-life brother, Josh.
His latest project, Mix Tape – which follows the lives of Alison (Teresa Palmer) and Daniel (Jim Sturgess), who were involved as teens and reconnect decades later – not only brought him back to Australia, but is the first of many local productions Ben’s set to star in, including upcoming Stan series Love Divided By Eleven and Hollywood blockbuster Anaconda, which was filmed in Queensland.
“I try to come back once a year if I can. But it’s been 10 years since I was in a production in Australia,” Ben, 45, tells TV WEEK. “So, it was wonderful to be able to be part of Mix Tape.”
Despite the time away, the actor says it’s always a familiar feeling.
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“There’s always a shorthand,” he says of being on an Aussie set, adding that the complex role of Michael, a successful surgeon and husband to Alison, was a huge drawcard.
“There were lots of ways to portray both sides of him,” Ben says. “Michael seems a great fit for Alison but there are moments where we’re unsure of what we think about him.”
Mix Tape sees Ben work with fellow Aussie – and friend – Teresa.
“I attended a Friendsgiving Teresa hosted in LA, around 2012,” he recalls. “So, we’ve known each other for a long time but we’ve never worked together. Now we have, I can say how much of a fan I am. She’s a gem.”
The series also has poignant elements of nostalgia for the Brisbane native, especially its soundtrack.
“I love the era and the music – it was the soundtrack to my childhood,” he says. “There are songs that remind me of my adolescence and having feelings for a girl for the first time.”
It would seem that, like his character, Ben is on an upward trajectory. When we talk to him, he has just finished filming Anaconda, a comedic take on the iconic monster film, alongside Hollywood stars Paul Rudd and Jack Black.
“You’re in the big leagues with Paul and Jack, so you have to make the performance land,” he says. “I was very nervous because you walk a tightrope of trying to do a good job and not thinking about it too much. It’s also strange to have watched these people and then be opposite them as they do their stuff.”
While Ben would never claim to have “made it”, he does recognise pinch-me moments in his career, sometimes thinking, “How is this even happening?”
“I’m grateful, but I never feel I can relax,” he says. “This career is always up and down. But everything you do leads to the next thing. I’m just putting on block after block to build the house.
And I hope that feeling of excitement or nervousness never goes away!”
Mix Tape is available from June 12 on Binge.
