seven articles > blue heelers: martin sacks

Martin Sacks seemed destined to spend the rest of his life in a 'hot, sweaty kitchen' as a chef until his brother pushed him into acting.

Born in Sydney in 1959, Martin plodded through school with 'no desire at all to do acting'. He happily didn't appear in any school plays or amateur theatre company productions. In fact, he confesses to being more sporty than arty.

After dropping out of his chef apprenticeship, Martin's older brother persuaded him to audition for an Australian episode of The Love Boat. Martin agreed 'for a lark', got the part and spent four weeks cruising the Pacific Ocean. 'I got cut out of it, so I didn't even appear in the episode – but I had a free holiday, so I didn't really care,' Martin recalls.

But, pushed by his persistent brother, and suntanned on his return from the cruise, Martin fronted up to the Grundy Organisation. At 20, 'with no concept of acting, no desire to act and possibly no talent', he scored a role in the hit 1970s soapie The Restless Years.

Martin played the role of Adam Lee, an illiterate country boy, alongside other young Australian actors Sigrid Thornton, Tom Burlinson and Peter Mochrie. For 12 months he says, 'I bluffed my way through', sometimes shaking so much at the knees they had to film him above the waist!

'I was scared witless! I used to mumble all the other actors' lines, too, so when they cut to me I'd be muttering away their lines.'

Martin headed to America, where he spent the next 18 months doing analysis classes at Stella Adler's drama school in New York City and 'started taking acting a bit more seriously'.

Back in Sydney in 1981, he signed up with an agent and started winning guest roles on popular shows like A Country Practice and Cop Shop. 'I used to play a lot of "nuffies", crazy people,' says Martin. 'Here I was, supposedly an actor. I hadn't paid any dues. I was embarrassed that I was getting paid for it! And you live in fear of being found out.'

His big break came in 1985 with the lead role of bus driver Des Tunkley in the film Emoh Ruo ('Our Home' spelt backwards), starring Max Phipps, Phillip Quast and Joy Smithers. It was directed by Denny Lawrence.

The following year he scored the co-lead, opposite Sigrid Thornton, in the movie Slate, Wyn and Me.

Lying on the beach on the Greek Island of Santorini in 1987 'with just 100 drachmas left', Martin phoned his agent to get some money wired to him. His agent said, 'I can do better than that – there's a French film that wants an Aussie. Will you do it?'.

'I thought even if I don't get the part, at least they're flying me to Paris for the audition,' says Martin. But he got the role of an English writer in La Tricheuse and spent four months filming in Paris opposite Academy Award winner Kristin Scott Thomas.

He returned to Sydney to star in the mini-series All The Way, Fields of Fire and Stocksquad. It wasn't long before he got offers for guest roles in the hit American shows thirtysomething and Jake and the Fat Man, both filmed in 1989.

Determined not to spend the next few years 'making cappuccinos and parking cars', Martin headed home once again. 'I guess my ambitious streak wasn't strong enough,' he says. But the offers came in constantly, with roles in Police Rescue III and the film Love In Limbo (opposite Russell Crowe and Aden Young) from 1990 to 1992.

Martin was preparing to fly overseas on a holiday in 1993 when he was approached to film the pilot for Blue Heelers. He was due to fly out on the Sunday, so producers quickly organised for him to do a screen test on Saturday. Weeks later Martin was in the middle of Europe when he discovered they wanted him to return early to play the role of Detective PJ Hasham.

'I was in two minds at the time,' he reveals. 'I wasn't sure that I wanted to return from Europe to make a pilot that may not ever go ahead. But it's probably one of the best decisions I've ever made.'

Martin now describes his Blue Heelers experience as 'the best six years of my life'.

'To have one Blue Heelers-type experience in an actor's career is to consider yourself lucky,' Martin says.

Martin's enormous popularity was recognised in 1997, 1998 and 1999 when he was awarded the Silver Logie for Most Popular Actor on television.

Martin, who lives in Melbourne, married Kate Allen in January 1999.