There were a few strange occurrences.
Last year, when holed up in a bunker in Los Angeles, Lincoln Younes realised something. He couldn’t function because the pandemic had shut down most of the productions in the region. The actor, on the other hand, could learn to appreciate simple pleasures.
The 29-year-old tells TV WEEK that she cooks a lot. Being Lebanese, I used to cook insane quantities of food and then give it to friends all over LA, which made me feel linked in some way. Since I couldn’t see my parents, I’d leave food parcels outside their doors to honour my Lebanese relatives.
Lincoln’s culinary abilities were discovered by celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, who sent him an expletive-laden (of course) letter of motivation, which the former Home And Away star later credited to the efforts of his LA-based pal, Dancing With The Stars’ Renee Bargh.
In isolation, there were some really surreal moments for me, Lincoln laughs.
Lincoln put his DIY skills to the test by rebuilding a rusted bird-feeder he found in his backyard, not satisfied with being a foodie (he also grew his own tomatoes).
He remembers thinking, I’d love to see some hummingbirds in my tiny little backyard. I washed it up and tried to attract hummingbirds for three months. They became my friends after that.
Lincoln has been filming the part of hunky jackaroo Tom for season five of Nine Network drama Doctor Doctor since August of last year. Lincoln was so dedicated to the job that he got his motorcycle licence just to perfect his own James Dean impersonation. Tom is a handyman, which Lincoln can understand. In a way.
I’d like to think I’m a handyman, he says, but it’s funny because I got back and did Doctor Doctor and then went back to see my family over Christmas, and life imitated art. My mother had recently purchased a new country house, and I had been assigned to work doing just what I’d seen on TV!
It was an excellent example of cross-promotion. ‘Oh, I just learned this, this is fantastic!’ I exclaimed. It felt good to be back on the farm, in nature, and working with my hands.
Lincoln also expresses his admiration for how present his character Tom is. He emphasises that this is something he sought to focus on during the pandemic. Living in the moment and not overthinking things is important because there is a lot of ambiguity, and it’s important to appreciate the moments when they happen.
Tom is a bit of a nomad, which Lincoln can certainly relate to. He moved around a lot as a kid with his mother and younger brother. They moved to larger cities and regional cities such as Bendigo, Victoria, and smaller country towns like Doctor Doctor’s fictional Whyhope. Lincoln recognises that moving forces shift, and that you must adapt everywhere you go, particularly in places as extreme as Los Angeles.
Lincoln is an easy guy to like, as he was effortlessly engaging and chatty at our exclusive TV WEEK photo shoot. Lincoln arrived in Summer Bay in 2011 after having his start on the Foxtel series Tangle, playing River Boy Casey Braxton in Home And Away.
When Lincoln thinks back on his time in the Bay, he says the show was like family to him for a while. It was a chapter of his life for which he would be eternally thankful, he says.
Since leaving H&A in 2014, he’s had plenty of jobs, starring in local series Hiding, Love Child, and Dead Lucky before landing a lead role in Grand Hotel, a saucy US drama executive-produced by former Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria-Baston.
Despite the fact that the show was cancelled after one season, Lincoln is enthusiastic about his experience working on a US television show.
Then there was the excitement of being cast in a lead role in the pilot for The Lost Boys, a remake of the classic 1980s vampire film. Although that project is still in the works, Lincoln is hopeful that it will be approved.
He says, I have so many friends who are extremely talented, great people who aren’t working. This is a tough business, but you just have to keep learning. You have to remain the kid who is living his dream when you get to shoot in places like Miami and Los Angeles.
It’s important, in my opinion, to be able to stay excited in a world that isn’t always exciting. You can only be yourself. He adds, almost Zen-like, that he wants to be the calm in the midst of the chaos.
Despite his performance, Lincoln is strikingly grounded. He has a mature outlook on life that belies his age. He says, I’ve had a lot of great people in my life who have taught me a lot of life lessons. That’s what I’m going to blame it on.
He admits that he owes a lot to his mother, who instilled in him the importance of loyalty and compassion above all else. He clarifies, What I can say is that she taught me that it’s better to be kind than right.
He considers his mother to be one of the most powerful women he knows. She raised us (Lincoln and his brother) in such a way that I am proud of my identity. She was and continues to be a fantastic support system. It’s probably not easy to learn that your child aspires to be an actor.
But she’s a rock star, and she’s overjoyed that I’m back home.
Lincoln expresses himself romantically as though he were content to ride alone. He says, For the time being, I’m staying in my lane. I’m content with being a good friend, a good son, and a good employee. I’m more concerned about improving myself and allowing things to happen when they’re supposed to.
