The Miseducation
of Charlton Hill
(TV Week, April '03)
with the growing success of his music career, charlton hill's view is set on the future, but he remembers the crazy times in summer bay.
recognise the face? rising australian singer-songwriter charlton hill was once better known as actor andrew hill, one of the hottest young stars of home and away.
from 1991-94, he played rebellious teen haydn ross, son of pippa's second husband michael and love interest for sophie simpson (rebekah elmaloglou).
he rejoined the show in 1996, before dropping his first name and pursuing a music career. charlton recently released his debut album waterline.
was acting your first love?
no, i just like performing in general. i was an attention seeker then, and still am now.
acting was also something to do for school break. i'd hang out at a local drama school. it was a great way to meet girls, and performing came easily to me. before i knew it i was doing castings - turning up and earning lots of pocket money.
do you look back on home and away as a fun, learning experience?
totally, yeah. that's exactly what it was. it was a lot of fun. it's kinda weird cos it's come up here and there, but it was such a long time ago and i wasn't really that famous for it then, so why now?
did you drop your first name so you wouldn't be recognised from the show?
to be honest, it did help, but that wasn't the reason for it. charlton is my middle name and it's my father's name as well. i've always liked it, and lots of friends found it quite amusing to use it as a nickname. so for a long time i've been called charlton.
would you ever consider a return to life in summer bay?
no chance. as i left home and away, i was offered three years to stay, but i was like, "no way, forget it." i had an option to release an album then as well, but my choice was not to do it... and that's something i've always stood by. it would've maybe been in the top 10 one week and then see you later.
are you still getting recognised from the show?
not anymore. for a short period afterwards - people thought i'd cleaned their house or their pool or something. they kinda knew the face, but didn't know where from... except the diehard people who know the total ins and outs of the show.
did you know that you're still on the internet as haydn ross?
you can look me up on the internet? there you go...
describe your time on the set of home and away.
there was always crazy stuff going on. it was like going out to play. i had friends of the same age on the show. i would go and act on the set for a couple of days, get into as much trouble as i could and have a ball.
ok, you can tell us. were there any home and away romances?
of course there were... no names, but i was 15, so it was a high priority. instead of having to go searching, there were these girls that have been cast for the role.
would you ever make a return to acting on television?
people ask, "will you act again?", and i just say, "i haven't even started." i do have an agent who keeps in contact with me and says, "well, you know, this is going on... and they would pay you this amount of money." i'm like, "shut up! shut up!"
that stuff is always there, but it doesn't really excite me. if i decided to do anything, it would be something i consider to be acting and challenging. nothing like that has been appearing.
and now you have this great album waterline out, anyway...
yeah, it's great, and i'm really proud. i've been in so may failed bands trying to figure out what i want to say. and this is it.
how did you feel when you first held your own cd?
it was so full-steam ahead at the time that i had to be reminded to take a few deep breaths, stop and realise i had achieved a goal that i had set myself many many years ago. it was awesome to be holding the album and realise that i got here. i'm still smiling.
what's ahead for the rest of this year with your music?
i'm really focused on touring and playing. i got a taste last year with support tours with john mayer. it was like, "yeah, i can do this... times it by 10, bring it on!"
with the album out, i don't want to race away from australia while there's so much happening here. but when the time is right, i hope to get back to the uk and states.
under one arm will be the album,,, under the other arm, a guitar.
- pip harry