Central
casting ... Roy Billing at his Coogee apartment. Photo: Jacky Ghossein
Rachel Browne, The Sydney Morning Herald, reports
One of the most familiar faces on Australian film and television
screens, this former New Zealander thrives on his work. Which is just as well -
at 65, he has never been busier.
He may be best known for his portrayal of slightly shady characters, but Roy Billing has a soft side.
He may be best known for his portrayal of slightly shady characters, but Roy Billing has a soft side.
While playing drug baron Robert Trimbole on the set of Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities,
he took pity on a stray cat he eventually took home to his Coogee apartment.
He did the right thing, having the animal's microchip scanned in
an attempt to track down the owner, but this proved fruitless.
''So we ended up keeping her. Isn't she a beauty?'' he says of
Minette, a long-haired feline who saunters about the living room with that air
of nonchalance particular to the species.
Billing shares the flat with Minette and his wife, Linda Tizard, a
former entertainment industry executive who runs her own business selling
production music for film and television.
They bought the place 13 years ago before deciding on a whim to
try the sea-change experience, buying a five-bedroom house on 1.6 hectares
overlooking the Shoalhaven River on the south coast in 2001.
''We were going to have our city pad in Coogee and our country
retreat on the south coast, but in the end it just wasn't practical,'' Billing
says, taking a seat on the couch.
''We would find that we would go down there for the weekend and
spend the whole time mowing the lawns or chainsawing trees that had blown over
and it just became like a really expensive holiday house that we weren't
using.''
They sold the house in 2007 and they have been happily ensconced
in their art deco beachside apartment - formerly used as accommodation for
ambulance staff and their families - ever since.
Coogee, he says, is central to his many interests. He loves the
beach (''in summer I can just throw a towel over my shoulder and cross the
road'') and enjoys fishing off the rocks. He's an ambassador for the Australian
Turf Club up the road at Randwick and for the Sydney Swans over at Moore Park.
An avid traveller, he points out that Sydney Airport is also a short drive
away.
''It's all very convenient,'' he says. ''We travel a lot for work
and pleasure, and with this place we can walk out and lock it up. We have a
lady who comes around to look after the cat and we don't have to worry.''
Raised in Ruawai, a country town in the North Island of New
Zealand, Billing likes to get back to his homeland regularly. He and Linda,
also a New Zealander, also like to go to Chile, where his daughter, Kelly,
works as an English teacher in Santiago. His son, Simon, tragically took his
own life in 1995 at the age of 20.
He and Linda are pondering the idea of moving to a house with a
garden for their retirement, but that doesn't seem to be on the horizon any
time soon.
''It's interesting. I find that the older I get, the more work I
get,'' he says. ''There is a certain attrition rate among actors, of course,
but as a character actor, there are all sorts of different roles you can play.
''I seem to be busier now at 65 than I have ever been in my life.
I've always worked regularly but Underbelly
just gave me another huge boost.''
Television audiences have seen a lot of Billing this year, as
Judge Jordan in Rake
and as the archetypal colourful racing identity Harry Strang in the Jack Irish telemovies on
ABC1.
Autographed copies of Peter Temple's Jack Irish books are on the coffee table in
the living room.
''[Temple] is very pleased with the way it turned out,'' Billing
says. ''We have been emailing each other and he was very happy with the
character. That's always nice that you got it right.''
Billing has been ''getting it right'' for about 35 years, as a
small collection of acting trophies on his sideboard attests. His voice-overs
for Crimsafe's radio advertising campaign, which follows the concerns of an
overprotective father with his daughter Kimmy, have lifted sales by 60 per cent
since it started four years ago.
''It's this ongoing soap opera,'' he says. ''When Kimmy had the
baby, I believe people sent flowers to the head office of Crimsafe. It's
extraordinary for a radio ad campaign to have that much effect.''
Voice-overs and film and television work have afforded Billing a
comfortable living, and he clearly enjoys some of the finer things - a painting
by Fred Cress hangs on the wall and his library is extensive, with everything
from Les Carlyon's The Great
War to Harry
Potter on the shelves of his study. An equally impressive collection
of recipe books line the shelf in the kitchen.
Clearly a keen cook and an enthusiastic reader, he also has a
passion for puzzles. A copy of The
Sydney Morning Herald lies open on the kitchen table, where he has
completed half the Target and will tackle the cryptic crossword after we leave.
He's also involved in supporting his industry as a spokesman for
the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft and as a board member for the
equity section of the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance.
''I like doing those because it's putting something back into the
business; I feel like I have got a lot out of it,'' he says.
Billing came to acting later in life, after working in advertising
in New Zealand in his 20s.
''I was 30 when I started. I got offered a full-time job with a
theatre in New Zealand and I jumped at it. A lot of my friends at the time said
you're mad. They don't say that now.
''I took a huge drop in income at the time but it was something
I never regretted because I thought if I don't do this now, I'll
never get another chance. My first professional job was in 1977 and I've never
stopped working.''
Indeed, he has amassed 99 film and television credits in Australia
and New Zealand since 1980, including The
Dish, Rabbit
Proof Fence and The
Chronicles of Narnia. Television appearances include Packed to the Rafters, All Saints and Blue Heelers.
He's currently trying to get his life story down on paper in an
autobiography titled Why
Don't You Get a Proper Job?.
''It goes from New Zealand days right through, but I'm just
wrestling with the dilemma of when it should finish. With an autobiography,
when do you say stop?''
No doubt it will be a colourful read. As he observes, his midlife
career choice has brought many benefits, not to mention the odd stray cat.
''It's a bloody good lifestyle. I get to do a job I really love, I
get paid well for it and I get to have a lot of time off. What's not to like?''
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