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Actors on Acting: Daniel Berini

3/15/2019

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By Ojas Devanathan
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Actor Daniel Berini
For this week’s profile we decided to look at Australian actor Daniel Berini who, through his continuous work in Australian film and television, has carved out quite a name for himself. He now has his sights set internationally after starring in the web-series, ‘Elling & Izzy’, which has gathered steam given its association with Will Ferrell’s company, FUNNY OR DIE and its streaming on American platform Stareable. Berini, who has appeared in a wide range of Australian television favourites, including the ABC series ‘Black Comedy’, Channel Seven’s ‘The Secret Daughter’ and Channel Nine’s ‘Love Child’, gives great insight into balancing comedy with drama.

In ‘Elling & Izzy’, the versatile actor showcases his dry wit playing Elling, a man suffering from OCD and Agoraphobia who struggles to reconcile the battle between his mental illness and deep desire for love and human connection. Berini successfully navigates that fine line between comedy and drama, somehow making the audience simultaneously have the urge to both laugh and burst into tears. Even in the midst of dramatic tension Berini’s inherent sense of comedy shines through in every moment (whether it’s him feverishly cleaning the shower or in the midst of a panic attack), lifting the atmosphere and preventing the series from becoming too weighted in its own drama. It’s this quality that explains why he continues to land roles in beloved Australian comedies.

“Comedy has a way of bringing people together,” he adds, and he’s absolutely right.

Daniel certainly has fans dying of laughter with his hilarious performance in season two of the AACTA award-winning show, ‘Black Comedy’.

The highly praised Aboriginal-Australian sketch features a series of comedic vignettes and skits around fictional Indigenous Australian stories. The series is known to highlight Australian racial politics and its race-relations through an amusing, lighter tone. Berini told us “[he] was both delighted and honoured to be on a show that portrays sensitive crucial political issues in such a unique manner.”

Berini plays the stereotypical, privileged (and aptly named) White Man, who often finds himself to be the butt of the joke. He brings a genuine charm that’s both truthful and effective, elevating the satirical sketch comedy.
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Daniel Berini (left), Holly Fraser ("Packed to the Rafters") and guest on the red carpet
‘The Secret Daughter’, in which Berini plays Andrew, gave the Perth native an opportunity to establish his niche as an Australian with the comedic timing akin to ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’s’ Larry David or any of the cast members of ‘Seinfeld’. In the series, Berini worked on the same set as MTV-award winning Australian singer, Jessica Mauboy, whose character Billie discovers that she is the secret daughter of recently deceased hotel mogul, Jack Norton. The majority of the story unfolds behind the doors of the Norton Hotel, within which Andrew is a crucial member of the staff. The Norton Hotel is a large melting pot of dramatic tension and Andrew can often be found at the centre of the unfolding drama. It’s a hilarious role that’s intricately woven into the popular comedy driven TV drama.

“I am very grateful to have been a part of that show. It was a lot of fun.” Berini offered.

The Casting Director of ‘The Secret Daughter’, Anousha Zarkesh, confidently exclaimed that Daniel especially stood out within the hundreds of applicants she received. Zarkesh stated that Berini’s “unique ability to adapt to any given role makes him the perfect candidate for any comedy or drama.”
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Berini has forged an enviable reputation as a hard working down-to-earth talent, which is all the more refreshing in such a tumultuous industry, known for producing big egos when an actor’s star factor grows.

“I feel very fortunate to be working in this industry. It feels a bit silly sometimes when I take a step back and look at what it is I get to call ‘work’, because it really doesn’t feel like work at all. Being an actor would have to be one of the coolest gigs ever, and I feel like pinching myself when on set sometimes just to remind me how lucky I really am to be doing this. It’s a real privilege to tell these stories, and I’m stoked to know that I’m making people laugh along the way!”

Entertainment LA is definitely laughing, and we look forward to welcoming the Aussie to American shores any day now. Check out ‘Elling & Izzy’ online now.

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Stunt Psychology

3/7/2019

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By Giles Westleigh
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Stuntman Casey Wright
What kind of mindset do you need to throw yourself off a 60-foot high tower into an airbag? What about to dust yourself off and do it again? And again? All day?
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Casey Wright, SAG-award winning stuntman, understands the particular psychological skill-set necessary for his high-octane job.

“It’s not about having no fear. It’s about recognising that fear, acknowledging it, and using it. Fear is your safety net.”

Casey is quick to point out that stuntmen and women - “stunties”, as they call themselves - aren’t all rabid adrenaline junkies chasing that next high.

“It’s a job, most important part of the job is safety. If you show up on set hoping to just fling yourself off a building, you’re going to get yourself and other people injured. That’s not what the industry is about. We’re not reckless cowboys, hurling ourselves about, Jackass-style. It’s about doing in things in a controlled, safe manner.”

With nearly a decade of experience in the industry and credits on such blockbusters as San Andreas and Hacksaw Ridge, Casey has had plenty of time to develop the physical resilience required to keep performing in such a demanding job.

“The physical stunt is hard enough – you’ve got to hit your mark exactly on every take, be it throwing the exact same punch in a fist fight or landing in just the right spot after a car hit. If you don’t, the camera will miss it, the take is ruined, and you’ve just cost production money. Do that too often, and you’ll be looking for a new job.”

But as Casey explains, there is more to stunts than just the physical aspect.

“There’s a big psychological element to stunt performing. You’re taking a fall onto cold, unpadded concrete at 2am, and you’ve already done it 7 times for camera. The director would like another angle. You’ve got to be able to pick yourself back up and ready yourself mentally to do it all over again. You need to switch off the little voice inside that says, “I can’t do it”, and show it that you can.

The most challenging part for new performers, Casey continued, is how a film shoot works.

“Most days are at least 10 hours long, and that’s on a quick day. I’ve known productions that have had 28-hour shoot days. And you need to be able to switch into game mode very quickly. Stunts rarely happen first thing in the day - you might sit around for the first 8 hours waiting. But when it’s game time, you need to be on. You’ve got to stay focused for every minute that the camera is rolling, otherwise people get hurt.”

And it’s not just the job itself that requires resilience. Like any performer, work comes in waves of feast and famine, and weathering the storm takes a certain amount of drive. But for stunties, they also have to contend with something most other on-screen presences don’t need to have - humility.

“Stunties are still kind of unsung in the film industry. Most notably, and despite a lot of petitioning from major players, the Academy Awards refuses to acknowledge our work. It’s a little annoying, but ironically, exactly how stunt performing works. You’re doing all the flashy action work, but if anyone notices that it’s you and not the person you’re doubling, then you haven’t done your job right. To do this job you kind of have to accept that you’re in the shadows a bit, and that your job, a lot of the time, is to make other people look good.”

All this isn’t to say that the job isn’t a rush, and Casey lights up with energy as he describes some of the amazing set piece moments he was involved with in filming Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.

“...watching a team of men on horseback drag a building through the streets does make you wonder how the hell you ended up here. I love that part of the job.”

But Casey wants to make sure that newcomers to the industry understand what they’re getting into. With several years of experience under his belt teaching stunts to up-and-coming performers, he has seen plenty of bright-eyed hopefuls with unrealistic expectations about what the work entails.

“I’ve seen people show up on set and say ‘so can we do a car hit today?’, and they don’t understand that not only is that not what the film needs, but that there’s so much preparation and planning that goes into doing a stunt like that safely. You don’t just rock up and do whatever you want.”

In order to make sure people are prepared for the rigors of the industry, Casey is planning a deeper study into the particular psychology of stunts. He is preparing to study a Masters in Film Production and plans to explore this misperception of the industry as part of his thesis.

“People just don’t understand that it’s not about the explosions and the fire and the high falls. It’s an art, a collaboration between the whole film crew, performers, everyone. At its core, stunt work is about executing the directors’ vision, doing it safely, and being able to come back tomorrow and do it all again.” 

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