Erik Thomson had hoped to celebrate a milestone birthday this year without too much fuss. But no such luck. Word has got out that the Australia-based 800 Words star will be turning 50 in April, and since he’ll be in New Zealand filming the hit TV show on the big day, he expects there will some kind of event here to mark the occasion.
“I was hoping to celebrate on the down-low,” admits Erik to the Weekly. “But now everyone knows, that might not be possible. I’m sure I will do something with the cast and crew – now that it’s not a secret!”
And with just three months to go before his birthday, Erik is not panicking about ticking anything off a list of things he’d like to achieve before reaching the big 5-0.
“I don’t have a strong sense of needing to do anything in particular before I hit 50. I guess the age does make you start to think about making the most of every day and living life to the fullest, but I don’t think there is anything in particular that I have a desperate desire to complete before then.”
One thing he would like to do in the next few years is to go travelling with his wife, actress Caitlin McDougall, and their children Eilish (9) and Magnus (5).
“I’d really like to start taking them to intrepid places and explore the world.”
But first Erik – who was born in Scotland, then moved to New Zealand when he was seven and has been based in Australia since the mid 1990s – will be spending quite a bit of time here making the third series of 800 Words.
The second series of the show – in which he plays widower George Turner, who relocates with his teenage children from Sydney to a small Kiwi town, and Erik says he was both thrilled and relieved when it was commissioned.
“The first series was a bit of a risk because it was the first time a New Zealand production had been commissioned by an Australian production company, so we were taking a bit of a gamble, but it paid off.”
Not only is it popular here, but it is one of the highest rating shows on Australian TV, which is why a third series is about to be made.
While filming is underway, Erik does a lot of travelling between Auckland’s west coast beaches and Warkworth, where the show is filmed, and Port Willunga, a small town about an hour from Adelaide, where he lives with his family. Although he misses his wife and children, it’s always nice to come back here.
“When I think about coming to New Zealand, I think of coming home,” he reveals, adding that “home” means lots of things to him.
“But when I am in New Zealand and speaking to my family in Australia, I think about going home. And Scotland is my ancestral home, so they all have different connotations. But obviously wherever my family is, is the most important ‘home’.”
The keen surfer says he’s very lucky to get to spend so much time filming at Piha Beach.
“I’ve always loved north Piha and remember surfing there in the ‘90s. I used to think if I could live anywhere in the world, it would be there. So it has been nice to return there for filming. But I’m also a fan of the far south of Piha, where we shoot the nudie beach scenes.”
Meanwhile, Erik’s co-star Bridie Carter, who plays George’s boss, is looking forward to seeing more of New Zealand when she returns for the next series.
“I am continually in awe of the beauty of New Zealand,” she tells.
“I never spend longer than six nights away from my family. I have been known to finish a night shoot in New Zealand, go back to my hotel for a couple of hours sleep, go to the airport and have one night at home before flying back to start shooting on Monday morning.
“This may seem crazy but, for me, I am always grateful to be working. It’s how I balance my work and family life.”
