Luke Arnold’s portrayal of late Australian music legend Michael Hutchence in a 2014 show about INXS was met with critical acclaim, but the Australian actor has admitted he felt the pressure leading up to its release.
Speaking to Rolling Stone AU/NZ to promote the second season of Stan series, Scrublands, Arnold looked back at the INXS: Never Tear Us Apart miniseries which picked up multiple AACTA and Logie Award nominations, with Arnold walking away with the Logie for Most Outstanding Actor.
The show, which charted INXS’ rise to stardom, put Arnold on the map both in Australia and around the world. However, just weeks before it premiered on Australian TV screens in February 2014, the Adelaide-born actor’s new Starz series, Black Sails, had just premiered in the US.
“If you’re doing indie films, you go, ‘If this isn’t good, no one’s gonna see it.’ And even if it is good, chances are no one’s gonna see it. [With Black Sails] now I’ve got a Michael Bay-produced pirate show that’ll get some eyeballs on it. That was still tucked away on a premium cable show in the States,” he explained.
“But with INXS, you’re like, ‘Oh people are gonna watch this.’ Whether it’s good or bad, it’s gonna be seen. I think that was quite daunting… I’m gonna get judged very harshly from this.”
Arnold was aware of the pressure and scrutiny that was going to come his and the show’s way if they pushed the role onto audiences, so a plan was put together during its promotion.
“We did one group interview… there was talk about getting me doing a bit more of the press stuff beforehand and I was like, ‘I think if people see me on morning TV before this thing airs, I’m dead on arrival.’ The moment you hear anyone’s playing anyone, especially someone beloved, freaking charismatic… no one can live up to that,” he said.
“I didn’t see the point of it because no one was gonna tune in and watch that show because of Luke Arnold. They were gonna tune in and watch it because of Hutchence and so I think very smartly… get the band talking about it, but keep me away so that by the time you’re judging me… you’re watching the story, you’re watching the characters, and you kind of skip over that point where you spend too much time looking at this face.”
Both episodes of INXS: Never Tear Us Apart were watched by over two million people around Australia and Arnold’s performance was praised by fans and critics. Meanwhile, Black Sails went on to produce four seasons, wrapping in 2017.
Scrublands season two is available to watch on Stan now.
