Legendary actor Guy Pearce of Neighbours agreed to play Mike Young again under one condition: that his character would be revealed to be Sam’s biological father at the conclusion.
The actor for Iron Man 3 and LA Confidential recently revealed on the soap’s Twitter page that Henrietta Graham, who plays Sam, is a “very good friend” of his and that he wanted to work with her on screen before the curtain dropped forever.
I was thrilled for her to join the show because she had been chosen for the role some months earlier at the start of the year. I couldn’t believe it; I was truly ecstatic.
Sadly and weirdly, Henrietta’s 18th birthday in February was the day I saw the report that the show was ending. I’ve known their family since before Henry was even born. I was shouting, “No! I can’t believe it, this is dreadful. remembered Pearce.
“My initial step was to check in and ask, ‘Well, is she going to get to film anything at all? Will she be able to appear on the programme? And I learned that the show will at least continue filming through June, allowing her to at least participate in certain activities.
The Hollywood celebrity immediately reasoned that Mike and Sam’s unexpected bond should be highlighted because otherwise, his reappearance could seem a little strange.
As a result, it was a genuine pleasure to work with Henrietta once more, and playing her father in particular, was something that producer Jason Herbison and the other authors, I believe, were immediately pleased with. So, we all agreed to do that,” he grinned.
Herbison expanded on this in an exclusive interview with Digital Spy: “Guy was great. We had a general outline for the narrative, which naturally included a return to Mike and “simple” Jane. But he added so much more than that. We all agreed that the revelation that Mike is Sam’s father was one of the most heartwarming aspects of the conclusion, and it was his idea.
