Actor hailing from regional WA reflects on journey from bush childhood to Shakespearean plays
It was the 'quiet confidence that you get from getting lost in the bush, falling down and dusting yourself off and having another crack,' he told the 2025 Leadership Conference, hosted by Bunbury-Geographe Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
At the conference, Pollard shared his journey of how a kid from rural Australia got to be on stage for Shakespearean plays and then on the big screen, before taking to the director's chair.
Growing up in Port Hedland, Karratha and Onslow honed that confidence, a value he said was 'more about presence and consistencies than about your title'.
'They are built not in theory, but they are forged in the fire of lived experience, of falling down, dusting yourself off and having another crack,' Pollard said.
After finishing high school and then completing a bachelors degree in teaching, he worked as a teacher before working in the mines.
Pollard soon realised his career was definitely not in drilling.
'My theory was, I did not want to be tied down to one predictable career path and I wanted to play everything, and an actor gets to do that,' Mr Pollard said.
He then finished an acting degree at Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, and soon got into theatre.
If what he learnt from the bush was confidence that came with a lot of freedom, being in a Shakespearean play in theatre he found something different.
'The type of pressure and unpredictability, every single night and sometimes twice a day, you've got 800 people staring at you, and they are all scrutinising you, they are all judging you, and you have to stay sharp, you have got to recall a lot of content,' he said.
'There are so many words and so many ideas and so many discoveries, and you're having to do that all in flow, publicly with all that scrutiny and it takes a lot of rehearsal, and it takes a lot of self-management.'
Despite his many successes, Pollard shared an audition mishap he said should be used as an example of what not to do when selected as one of the 10 people shortlisted for a franchise like Lord of the Rings.
'I was up against actors like Val Kilmer, Ethan Hawke, Ewan McGregor, Richard Roxburgh and David Wenham,' he said.
'I rocked up, I am in this casting room and there is Peter Jackson, who is the writer, director and producer of the franchise and another reader. Then he said, 'So Myles, what do you think about the books?''
Pollard's response was: 'I have not read it mate, but if I get the gig, I will give it a crack for sure.'
Pollard said he knew right away he was not getting a call back.
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West Australian
a day ago
- West Australian
Actor hailing from regional WA reflects on journey from bush childhood to Shakespearean plays
Spending his childhood in regional Australia gave actor-turned-director Myles Pollard the confidence to succeed in the industry. It was the 'quiet confidence that you get from getting lost in the bush, falling down and dusting yourself off and having another crack,' he told the 2025 Leadership Conference, hosted by Bunbury-Geographe Chamber of Commerce and Industry. At the conference, Pollard shared his journey of how a kid from rural Australia got to be on stage for Shakespearean plays and then on the big screen, before taking to the director's chair. Growing up in Port Hedland, Karratha and Onslow honed that confidence, a value he said was 'more about presence and consistencies than about your title'. 'They are built not in theory, but they are forged in the fire of lived experience, of falling down, dusting yourself off and having another crack,' Pollard said. After finishing high school and then completing a bachelors degree in teaching, he worked as a teacher before working in the mines. Pollard soon realised his career was definitely not in drilling. 'My theory was, I did not want to be tied down to one predictable career path and I wanted to play everything, and an actor gets to do that,' Mr Pollard said. He then finished an acting degree at Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, and soon got into theatre. If what he learnt from the bush was confidence that came with a lot of freedom, being in a Shakespearean play in theatre he found something different. 'The type of pressure and unpredictability, every single night and sometimes twice a day, you've got 800 people staring at you, and they are all scrutinising you, they are all judging you, and you have to stay sharp, you have got to recall a lot of content,' he said. 'There are so many words and so many ideas and so many discoveries, and you're having to do that all in flow, publicly with all that scrutiny and it takes a lot of rehearsal, and it takes a lot of self-management.' Despite his many successes, Pollard shared an audition mishap he said should be used as an example of what not to do when selected as one of the 10 people shortlisted for a franchise like Lord of the Rings. 'I was up against actors like Val Kilmer, Ethan Hawke, Ewan McGregor, Richard Roxburgh and David Wenham,' he said. 'I rocked up, I am in this casting room and there is Peter Jackson, who is the writer, director and producer of the franchise and another reader. Then he said, 'So Myles, what do you think about the books?'' Pollard's response was: 'I have not read it mate, but if I get the gig, I will give it a crack for sure.' Pollard said he knew right away he was not getting a call back.
Sydney Morning Herald
24-07-2025
- Sydney Morning Herald
Why exploring this Sydney home is like finding an unplayed Mozart
Turning 89 on Friday, the Pritzker Prize-winning Australian architect Glenn Murcutt is still surprising fans who thought they knew all or most of his work. Another home in Sydney's St Ives by one of the world's most internationally recognised and important architects, but the least 'starchitecty' in style, has come to light. Discovering an unseen Murcutt was like hearing an unplayed Mozart, said one Sydney devotee. Architect Nick Sissons said it was like finding an unknown Shakespearean sonnet. Once found, the family home seems to disappear back into the steep bush block. That was Murcutt's intention, he said, visiting the home he designed 30 years ago for Dr Judith Preston and her husband, Brian Preston, the chief judge of the NSW Land and Environment Court. 'It's always been my view that you design buildings that you go past, and every now and again, one might say, 'Oh, better go back and have another look at that'. And I like that idea that there's that privacy to the street, and then you bite the apple and you have all the fruit inside.' Sissons, who worked with Murcutt on a book about his Unbuilt Works, estimates the architect has designed about 400 projects across 55 years. Murcutt has won gold medals from Australia and the US, and the Alvar Aalto Medal. As well as the Pritzker, he was the first Australian named a Praemium Imperiale laureate of architecture by the Japan Art Association. No two Murcutt homes are the same; Sissons said the Preston home was 'wonderfully subtle'. 'It blends seamlessly into the bushland context, responding to the steep topography, sliding, bending and dropping through the gully.' He said the slender terracotta-coloured blade walls – requested by Brian Preston to match the pink angophora he loves – allowed glimpses into the surrounding bushland. Sissons said it felt as if the house had always been there. 'It isn't a spectacular architectural statement, rather it feels like a logical and inevitable response to its unique context.' To mark Murcutt's 90th year, the foundation set up in his honour will launch the Murcutt Symposium from September 11 to 13 at the State Library of NSW. It includes Murcutt in conversation with his friend Francis Kéré, another Pritzker winner, visiting Australia for the first time. It will include visits with Murcutt to homes he has designed, and a panel of top architects discussing ideas such as healthy buildings and designing for climate that drove Murcutt's practice. One speaker, Carol Marra, an architect and Churchill Fellow, said Kéré and Murcutt seemed very different – Kéré has a mid-size practice, where Murcutt works solo. Yet both took time to understand what's unique about a place, including its cultural and social history, the landscape and people. 'It is not trophy architecture but has a dignified presence of its own,' Marra said. She said it was difficult to date Murcutt's work. 'They could be 40 years old or could have been built yesterday. 'It's deeply human work, you can sense … a love of people, care for place and nature. It is incredibly hard to achieve this in our market-driven commercial world, but it is a reflection of who Glenn is, a beautiful human being, brilliant and humble in equal measure.' Compared with nearby McMansions, the Preston home is modest and was unusual for its time because it incorporated a range of salvaged wood. 'I like that idea that there's that privacy to the street, and then you bite the apple and you have all the fruits inside.' Glenn Murcutt on Preston House Preston, a devoted gardener who also received the TAFE State Medal for Urban horticulture (1999), said it was a very therapeutic place. 'You think about the Japanese concept of forest bathing. You have that in your own house. We get all the birds, and we open the windows.' Murcutt said it was important to have a client who understood beautiful landscaping. 'And [Preston] has made a paradise. It is just paradise.' Murcutt is not looking for new work but trying to complete projects. That includes working with architect Angelo Candalepas on the new beachfront headquarters for Royal Far West at Manly. Asked if he thought about his legacy, he said he left it to those managing the Murcutt Foundation. 'I am having a few difficulties, health-wise, falling over. It is knocking me about a bit. I say to myself if I get to 90 or 95 I will be very lucky,' Murcutt said. 'I am very philosophical. I would like to be active until I have finished, and I don't like the idea of slowing down, that's been the curse of my life. I'm pretending I'm still 40. 'I don't want clients to be waiting, and I die in the middle of it. So I've said basically no to every new project.'
The Age
24-07-2025
- The Age
Why exploring this Sydney home is like finding an unplayed Mozart
Turning 89 on Friday, the Pritzker Prize-winning Australian architect Glenn Murcutt is still surprising fans who thought they knew all or most of his work. Another home in Sydney's St Ives by one of the world's most internationally recognised and important architects, but the least 'starchitecty' in style, has come to light. Discovering an unseen Murcutt was like hearing an unplayed Mozart, said one Sydney devotee. Architect Nick Sissons said it was like finding an unknown Shakespearean sonnet. Once found, the family home seems to disappear back into the steep bush block. That was Murcutt's intention, he said, visiting the home he designed 30 years ago for Dr Judith Preston and her husband, Brian Preston, the chief judge of the NSW Land and Environment Court. 'It's always been my view that you design buildings that you go past, and every now and again, one might say, 'Oh, better go back and have another look at that'. And I like that idea that there's that privacy to the street, and then you bite the apple and you have all the fruit inside.' Sissons, who worked with Murcutt on a book about his Unbuilt Works, estimates the architect has designed about 400 projects across 55 years. Murcutt has won gold medals from Australia and the US, and the Alvar Aalto Medal. As well as the Pritzker, he was the first Australian named a Praemium Imperiale laureate of architecture by the Japan Art Association. No two Murcutt homes are the same; Sissons said the Preston home was 'wonderfully subtle'. 'It blends seamlessly into the bushland context, responding to the steep topography, sliding, bending and dropping through the gully.' He said the slender terracotta-coloured blade walls – requested by Brian Preston to match the pink angophora he loves – allowed glimpses into the surrounding bushland. Sissons said it felt as if the house had always been there. 'It isn't a spectacular architectural statement, rather it feels like a logical and inevitable response to its unique context.' To mark Murcutt's 90th year, the foundation set up in his honour will launch the Murcutt Symposium from September 11 to 13 at the State Library of NSW. It includes Murcutt in conversation with his friend Francis Kéré, another Pritzker winner, visiting Australia for the first time. It will include visits with Murcutt to homes he has designed, and a panel of top architects discussing ideas such as healthy buildings and designing for climate that drove Murcutt's practice. One speaker, Carol Marra, an architect and Churchill Fellow, said Kéré and Murcutt seemed very different – Kéré has a mid-size practice, where Murcutt works solo. Yet both took time to understand what's unique about a place, including its cultural and social history, the landscape and people. 'It is not trophy architecture but has a dignified presence of its own,' Marra said. She said it was difficult to date Murcutt's work. 'They could be 40 years old or could have been built yesterday. 'It's deeply human work, you can sense … a love of people, care for place and nature. It is incredibly hard to achieve this in our market-driven commercial world, but it is a reflection of who Glenn is, a beautiful human being, brilliant and humble in equal measure.' Compared with nearby McMansions, the Preston home is modest and was unusual for its time because it incorporated a range of salvaged wood. 'I like that idea that there's that privacy to the street, and then you bite the apple and you have all the fruits inside.' Glenn Murcutt on Preston House Preston, a devoted gardener who also received the TAFE State Medal for Urban horticulture (1999), said it was a very therapeutic place. 'You think about the Japanese concept of forest bathing. You have that in your own house. We get all the birds, and we open the windows.' Murcutt said it was important to have a client who understood beautiful landscaping. 'And [Preston] has made a paradise. It is just paradise.' Murcutt is not looking for new work but trying to complete projects. That includes working with architect Angelo Candalepas on the new beachfront headquarters for Royal Far West at Manly. Asked if he thought about his legacy, he said he left it to those managing the Murcutt Foundation. 'I am having a few difficulties, health-wise, falling over. It is knocking me about a bit. I say to myself if I get to 90 or 95 I will be very lucky,' Murcutt said. 'I am very philosophical. I would like to be active until I have finished, and I don't like the idea of slowing down, that's been the curse of my life. I'm pretending I'm still 40. 'I don't want clients to be waiting, and I die in the middle of it. So I've said basically no to every new project.'
