An American Actor Recalls 9/11 from Australia

I began my working career in Washington, DC at The White House and am still a patriotic American even though I now reside in Sydney, Australia.

I began my acting career some years later in Los Angeles and became sponsored by Columbia Pictures. Got lucky, I guess. As always, I studied hard, worked hard, loved it, and thrived.

Work and passion led me to Australia where I found it more difficult to be an actor with an American accent, so I went into voice-over work — which I thoroughly enjoyed. I raised a family and went back to my home country as often as possible to "charge my batteries".

SO, THIS HAPPENED ON 9/11 - A True Story

Finally, I booked the lead role in a film. As a well-trained actor, I read the script before I went to sleep. Halfway through, I read the words "The Twin Towers in NYC were next to be bombed.” Of course, in movie-making those kinds of explosions and action are commonplace, so it wasn’t shocking.

Tired. At 10:43pm (Sydney time), I turned on the news. Right before my eyes I saw it happening. No! No! No! Is this a movie? No! I spent the rest of the night on the phone trying to get in touch with ANY of my family and friends in America, including Washington, DC.

8:30am (Sydney time), the film’s producer calls to ask me if I was still on for the "wardrobe witting". WHAT? I freaked out at him, and in my state of mindless pain and madness, I assumed the writers and producers were all terrorists.

The script was changed and the film got made as the world mourned. And I cried between takes.

That's just my story. Honestly, throughout many years, I have actually found peace in acting in the worst of times. It is an all-encompassing "job" for me and gives me blind freedom to be "someplace else".

A scene from The Amusement Bomber.