Guy Pearce has provided further information regarding his unexpected Mike Young comeback to Neighbours.
Along with other ’80s favourites like Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, and Shane Ramsay, the actor is making his first trip back to Erinsborough in more than 30 years to bid farewell to Neighbours.
The renowned Australian soap’s set has been “surreal,” according to Golden Globe-nominated actor Mike, who will soon make his screen comeback.
It’s wonderful to be collaborating once more with people like Paul Keane, Annie Jones, Stefan [Dennis] of course, Geoff Paine, and Peter O’Brien, she remarked. “I’ve always wanted to return to the show because I’m an extremely sentimental person, and of course, now that the show is ending, it seemed like the right time.
Fortunately, I was already planning a vacation back home, so it just worked.
The background information on Mike’s whereabouts, including a teaching career in Perth, will be filled in by these new episodes. He has now made the decision to bring his daughter back to Erinsborough.
Pearce was unable to spend much time with Neighbours’ younger characters because of how busy these episodes were.
Henrietta Graham, who plays Sam Ellis, was the only actor he admitted to having seen. “To be honest, [I saw] not many at all,” he said. “I’ve been watching these amazing young performers and had been thinking it would be lovely to work with them in some situations, but no, mostly us seniors!
However, since I’ve known Henrietta’s family for a very long time and when I learned that she had been cast in the play, I did suggest that perhaps we might work on some sequences together, and it ended up working out.
Pearce also reflected on his lengthy affiliation with Neighbours, which started during the end of the serial opera’s debut season.
It began at Channel 10 on December 2, 1985, which was his first day there and a few days after his final high school exam, he recalled. “Just turned 18, I was. It was quite crazy having to leave Geelong to begin this television show.”
He continued: “There are some events in your life that serve as true milestones. The confidence I gained from getting cast in Neighbours, as well as the lessons I learned while working on the programme, were incalculable traits and advantages.
“I’ve had other opportunities to audition for jobs and receive them, of course, but I’ll never forget this. As we all know, the show just took off and became huge, so I always consider myself quite lucky to have been cast at that time.”
Even though Pearce has achieved great success in Hollywood, including playing an MCU villain and receiving an Emmy for his work in Mildred Pierce opposite Kate Winslet, he still keeps in touch with his Neighbours co-stars.
He said, “Jason and I see each other frequently, and we still address each other as Scott and Mike, which is a little sad.” “When I’m in London, I usually run into Jason and, if Kylie is nearby, she as well. When I’m in Melbourne, I also catch up with a few other people, including Stefan Dennis and Annie Jones, who has obviously been on Jack Irish with me.
“Also a major admirer of the programme, Kate Winslet is practically peeing herself over my return. In the past, she was completely smitten with Mike. Our shared birthday was the best news ever to her. She was shocked when I told her I was returning.”
