Don Christopher: Actors Making A Splash (NIDA News)

Don Christopher was cast in his first film role a week before performing in his final acting showcase at NIDA. He graduated in 2007 and has had remarkable success in his fledging career. Having since been on a 'blind date', mending broken hearts on 'All Saints', breaking others on 'Packed to the Rafters', and indulging in some risky love adventures in Redfern, Don talks about his lucky break.

DC: The Informant was my first line of work straight out of NIDA; I was cast in the role during my very last week before our showcase - our final performance to agents. As Tony Knight, Head of Acting, always told us, "...you audition to get into NIDA, and you audition to get out!" This is such an extremely cutthroat business and no-one can prepare you for the 'real world' and the struggles you face in the acting profession. I was always aware at NIDA of how hard it would be to make a career as a working actor. This film was an amazing start to my career, and perhaps a lucky one.

The film's story centres on a suburban dad who works as a police informant for a federal investigative agency. The character's background is shrouded in mystery, with intelligence officers seeking to uncover the truth about his past by working with him. A strong cast, an AFI award nomination and interest from the Fox network all make this an exciting opportunity for NIDA graduate Don, who plays Jim Sivilich, an Australian Crime Commission agent. The cast includes fellow graduates Colin Friels and Anita Hegh and the film's director is Peter Andrikidis.

DC: I was extremely flattered that I had made such a good first impression on director Peter Andrikidis (East West 101, Underbelly, Water Rats). I have admired Peter's work for a long time and I believe his recent work on East West 101 has set a new benchmark for Australian drama. He is a remarkable director, and I believe he will have a valuable influence on shaping the future of Australian television. I also consider myself very fortunate to have had the opportunity, particularly at such an early stage in my career, to work with fellow actors Colin Friels and William McInnes. I can honestly tell you, to be cast among such amazing actors was both surreal and daunting, particularly as both of them have inspired me since I was a boy.

Since making The Informant, Don has been working in various areas and we could soon be seeing him in another new Australian small-screen blockbuster.

DC: Since The Informant, I was cast in the short film Blind Date, directed by Chris Ramos, Packed to the Rafters (TV Ten) with fellow graduates Jessica Marais and Hugh Sheridan, and All Saints (Seven Network) as Chris Kelloway. I recently starred in the musical comedy Risky Lunar Love at the CarriageWorks theatre in Redfern, directed by John Sheedy (Who's Afraid of the Working Class?, Blasted), choreographed by John O'Connell (Moulin Rouge, Enchanted, Romeo and Juliet) and musically directed by Ross Johnston (of Machine Gun Fellatio).

Don is one of a new wave of NIDA graduates making a splash on the national and international film and television scene. These graduates include:

• Bojana Novakovic (Edge of Darkness, Drag Me to Hell, Seven Pounds, Skinning)
• Jonathan Oldham (The Dossier, A Darker Reality, Bled, Ashley's Ashes)
• Trilby Glover (Righteous Kill, Book Ends, The Starter Wife, Crash)
• Sam Worthington (Terminator Salvation, Avatar, The Debt)
• Claire van der Boom (Rush, The Square, East West 101, Katoomba).

Nida News, Graduate News. Jan 2009.

Don Christopher Stars In The Informant. (The Herald Sun)

IT wasn't long ago Don Christopher was playing tennis with Lleyton Hewitt and dreaming of becoming the next Mark Philippoussis. Now he's a star of a prime-time drama.

Don Christopher says his devoted parents were willing to put everything on the line, including their house, to further his tennis career. But he decided that, unlike his former tennis partner, he didn't have the passion to succeed in the sport. He admits that before getting into the National Institute of Dramatic Art, there was a time -- particularly when he would read about Hewitt's latest victory -- that he wondered whether he made the right decision. Now, on his first major television project alongside William McInnes, Colin Friels and Stephen Curry, he's certain his instincts served him well.

‘‘To get this part is great because I thought it was going to be a long struggle to find work after graduating (from NIDA),'' he says. ‘‘I was ready for some hard yakka before I got anywhere; to spend years doing auditions. ‘‘It's really nice to get this. I have loved movies ever since I was a little kid.'' Christopher says he felt particularly thrilled to find himself co-starring with former Water Rats star Friels, but was very nervous about doing the first scene with him.

Christopher says working on The Informant took a bit of adjustment after his NIDA training. At NIDA, he says, you are encouraged to learn and refine techniques for stage acting. Just as he was growing accustomed to the grander gestures, overt facial expressions and the loud, clear speaking voice required to make an impression on stage, The Informant role came along and he had to reassess his technique.

The Informant stars McInnes as Richard Button, who, to his children, is just a daggy dad who's trying to navigate his way through family life and financial worries. But Button is enigmatic -- a man whose life is under the microscope every second of every day as a secret informant for the Australian Serious Crime Agency (ASCA). Button is living a double life -- family man one minute, crime-stopper the next. Christopher is ASCA agent Jim Sivilich and the cast also features Curry as ‘‘grumpy copper'' Simon Ford, Anita Hegh as Button's wife Christine, Friels as ‘‘strong, direct, cop'' Doug Lamont and Leeanna Walsman as surveillance agent Heidi Oliver ‘‘For all intents and purposes, Richard Button and his wife Christine have all the hassles of trying to pay off credit cards and make ends meet as well as trying to solve major corporate crime and murders,'' McInnes says. ‘‘As a piece of entertainment, I think it's a terrific concept.''

The Informant, M. Channel 10, Friday, 8.30pm Home-grown drama Duration: 2 hours
Don Christopher and William McInnes in The Informant.

Siobhan Duck
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24645448-5006022,00.html
November 13, 2008 12:00am

An Ongoing Battle (The Advertiser)

Don Christopher, Lucy Durack and Angelo at the Melbourne Cup ASMF charity lunch.

DON Christopher and Rachel Strickland are battling the long-distance relationship blues.
In town for The Advertiser/Sunday Mail Foundation Melbourne Cup lunch, actor Don said the strain of living in Sydney while well-known local model Rachel lives here was an "ongoing battle".
But with his first telemovie, The Informant with William McInnes, to screen this week, and numerous projects in pre-and-post production, it doesn't look like Don will be moving back this way any time soon.

"The ongoing battle that Rachel and I face is spending time together and then not – making decisions based on benefiting our careers and as a consequence suffering in our relationship, but I guess that's what you need to do if you want to get somewhere," he said.

"All I can say right now – and I don't want to speak for Rachel – is that happiness is important, whether it be for selfish reasons or for the benefit of each other and it is a battle we fight together, against each other, and alone.

"We make it work because we understand this and help each other through it. How else can it work? If you have an answer I'd like to know."

Don was cast in The Informant straight after graduating from NIDA and has appeared in Packed to the Rafters, just wrapped musical comedy Risky Lunar Love and will also be the face of the 2008 Grant Burge Wine campaign. It's safe to say he's a bit busy.

"On top of all of that, I teach at NIDA which has surprised me. I initially did it to fill in some time but now I really love it," Don said.

"At the moment I need to be in Sydney but my aim in the next few years is definitely to come back home."

Tune in and check out The Informant next Friday at 8.30pm on Channel 10.

The Advertiser. Nov, 2008.

Don Christopher On A High. (The Sunday Mail)

He’d rather we don’t make a big deal about it but
Adelaide’s own Don Christopher is making a big
splash in Australian acting circles just weeks after
graduating from NIDA.

The 28-year-old is starring opposite legendary
Oz actors Colin Friels, William McInnes and
recent AFI award winner Stephen Curry in Ten’s
new Sydney-based drama The Informant.

While the production is slated as a telemovie set
to go to air mid next-year, producers are hopeful
Ten will commission The Informant as a landmark
Australian series.

Centred on a middle-aged character (played by
McInnes) balancing a life in espionage with usual
family life, Don says the production is based on a
true story.And he reckons his first few days on the
six-week Sydney shoot (which wrapped up yesterday)
were a little nerve-wracking considering the acting
elite he was rubbing shoulders with.

“I just didn’t want to be the third wheel,” says Don.

But The Informant directed by Peter Andrikidis is
confident Don’s got the goods, telling Confidential
during a set visit this week that “Don is a star”.

It’s a big coup for the former Pulteney Gramar student
who admits he really only hit his straps in his third
year of NIDA and, thankfully, scooped the big break.

“I have to admit it was a hard three years (at NIDA)
and I didn’t always enjoy myself, but it has so much
to offer,” he says.

The hunk is planning a short visit back home over
the holiday season, after not having made it back
to Adelaide at all this year.

“I miss how relaxed it is. I miss how I can drive
through the city in five minutes,” Don says.





The Sunday Mail. Jan, 2008.