With his happy family life just outside of Adelaide, his name attached to Australia’s biggest TV shows and his slight Ocker twang, you could be forgiven for thinking actor Erik Thomson was born and raised in the land Down Under.
But look past his perfect tan and the Wallaby-loving ways of his next-door neighbours, and you’ll find a good Kiwi bloke from Tauranga who loves nothing more than hitting the waves at Mount Maunganui.
“New Zealand will always be my home,” explains the Packed to the Rafters actor, whose family emigrated from Scotland when he was seven. “It’s where I spent my childhood, my teenage years and most of my 20s. I always love coming back. “My mum and sister still live in Tauranga, so we try to get over to visit at least once a year. I love going for a surf and looking out over the Kaimai Range. All the memories from my childhood just come flooding back.”
After upping sticks from Aotearoa to Aussie when he was 28, the dad-of-two has built himself a reputation as one of the biggest stars across the Ditch, winning awards and critical acclaim for his work in Rafters and medical drama All Saints.
Often claimed as one of their own by our fair-dinkum neighbours, Erik confesses, “For me, it’s always going to be a little bit complicated because my house and my immediate family – my wife and my two children – are in Australia, but whenever I think of home, it’s New Zealand that springs to mind.”
In fact, it was the chance to return to our shores that sealed the deal for Erik when he was toying with the idea of taking on the lead role of widowed writer George Turner in TV One’s hot new drama 800 Words.
“Being able to come back and work for an extended period of time, and hang out at my favourite beaches and get in the water to do some surfing was a huge drawcard,” explains Erik. “And I loved the idea of playing a guy who has lost his wife and has kids to look after, who makes this huge decision to move his life from Sydney to small-town New Zealand.”
Of course, starring as a dad is nothing new to Erik, who became a household name as father-of-four Dave Rafter in the popular series Packed to the Rafters. He laughs, “Playing a dad is really just playing a man who lives in a house with people who are younger than him!
“I’ve got two kids and they’re their own people. They are human beings I have to relate to, who have simply been on the planet for less time than I have – although they think they’ve been here longer!”
He’s now starring in NZ-set drama 800 Words with Bridie Carter.
Also starring with teens Benson Jack Anthony and Melina Vidler (right).
Daddy cool
Speaking of his cute children, daughter Eilish, eight, and son Magnus, four, with his actress wife Caitlin McDougall, the star continues, “For me, being a dad is very much about negotiating, compromise, patience and teaching, but not in a preachy way. I just do the best I can.”
After shifting his life from Australia’s garden city to inner-city Auckland, Erik spent three months flitting between rural Warkworth and the wild west coast beaches to shoot the eight-part series.
“There were long days and we filmed all over the place, so there was driving for an hour at the beginning and end of every day,” he recalls. “In the first week, I had a bit of a freak-out because I wasn’t sure how I was going to do it, but I got into a rhythm and it worked out OK.”
While Erik admits his home-away-from-home in the Auckland suburb of Freemans Bay felt a little too quiet without the hustle and bustle of his family, it ended up being easier for them to remain in Adelaide for most of the shoot. The dedicated dad tells, “They managed to come out for five weeks. We had hoped they might be able to come for longer, but I ended up being so busy, it just made more sense for the kids to stay put and keep their lives as normal as possible. My daughter is at school and my son is about to start, so we didn’t want to complicate that.”
But the handsome actor’s sacrifice is already paying off, with 800 Words a huge ratings winner in Australia and secured for a second season. Smiling, the actor says, “We were a bit nervous about whether or not Australian audiences would want to watch Kiwis on primetime, but they do – they really love it. It’s great to see. I hope it’s breaking down a few of the old traditional trans-Tasman barriers.
“Now I can’t wait to see what New Zealand audiences think of it. It really shows off the country in such a good light and I hope Kiwis are proud of it. I know I certainly am.”
Erik lives in Adelaide with his wife Caitlin and kids Eilish and Magnus.
