Return to Paradise has fans of all ages, but one of the youngest would have to be Tai Hara’s six-year-old daughter Chi.
“My daughter has just taken a real liking to the show, which has actually been the most beautiful thing to see,” Tai, who plays forensic pathologist Glenn Strong in the comedy crime drama, tells TV WEEK. “I didn’t expect it. You never think that your kids are going to care about what you’re doing too much.
“But it’s so lovely to see this whole world through her eyes, and the excitement she has around the show.”
Return to Paradise is now into its third season, and in the season premiere, viewers will get to see a new-look Glenn. At the end of season two, following his wedding debacle, Glenn left Dolphin Cove to find himself – and he’s returning with a beard.
“Peter Mattessi, our showrunner called me and asked me to stop shaving a few months before we started,” Tai, 36, says. “I had to work it into Colin from Accounts and some other things that I was filming at the time.”
Bearded Glenn is a short-lived look, to the relief of Tai’s wife, former Hi-5 member Fely Irvine.
“I think Fely was happy to have it shaved off in the end!” he laughs.
In season three, Glenn is working as a barman instead of a forensic pathologist – “I have to say, there’s less of a skillset to being a barman, and that’s no shade being thrown,” Tai jokes – but he still loves a surf. That’s not too much of a stretch for Tai, who grew up surfing on the Gold Coast. Dad to three-year-old son Soleil as well as Chi, he still gets into the water as much he can.
“It’s a huge part of my life and my family’s too,” he says. “We’re very much an ocean family.”
Tai spent a lot of time on the beach early in his acting career when he played Andy Barrett on Home And Away. As he points out, it’s now been 10 years since he left the show. But the friendships he made with his castmates have endured.
“I still see Linc [Younes] all the time. He comes over, we cook dinner together for the kids and Fely. Alec Snow is such a dear friend. I saw Charlie Clausen on the weekend for a beer, I still catch up with Pip [Northeast]… It really is a lifelong bond.
“It also feels surreal that we’ve all known each other for so long now. We’re starting to get old!”
Tai has had a run of great roles since Home And Away, appearing in US series such as Madam Secretary, as well as Aussie hits, including Colin from Accounts, Underbelly: Vanishing Act and Austin.
“I don’t take any day for granted,” he says. “I definitely still get excited every day I get to step on set.”
He’s also been busy writing his own shows, some satirical, and has “a few things in development”. If any of them get greenlit, he knows who exactly he’s going to cast: Fely.
“Oh, if one of my shows was to get off the ground, without a doubt, she would definitely, definitely, be in there.”
He says he and Fely “still get very chuffed” when they talk about acting together in Colin from Accounts, where Tai, as doctor James, shared a sneaky kiss with a nurse played by Fely.
“That was a dream to be able to work with Fely. She’s really my best friend and my absolute rock and support.”
With no plans to have any more kids – “I think I’m very content with two, as is Fely” – Tai is open to the idea of taking on some bigger roles overseas.
“I think those are decisions that you have to make as an entire family. But if it’s the right opportunity, then it’s too good not to take it. We’ve always been open to being international.”
Catch Return to Paradise on Sunday at 8.20pm on ABC or ABC iview.
