Lukas Radovich of Home and Away has faced a major acting challenge in recent months as Ryder Jackson and Theo Poulos (Matt Wilson) collaborated on some terrifying internet pranks!
Ryder began shooting everything from eating a dish of really hot chilies to performing a fire walk.
With a debt to aunt Roo Stewart (Georgie Parker), grandfather Alf Stewart (Ray Meagher), and surrogate aunty Marilyn Chambers (Emily Symons) hanging over his head, he devised an extreme ‘buried alive’ challenge in the hopes of earning enough money to repay them.
However, when the stunt goes horribly wrong, Ryder is forced to choose between life and death.
“He loses all contact with the outside world, and no one knows where he is, which is really upsetting.” He realises that this could be the end!” Lukas elaborated.
Things are looking desperate with Theo unable to reach Ryder after falling into a ravine. Ryder has been in the coffin for far longer than he should have been, and his oxygen supply is running low.
Thankfully, Roo discovers Ryder’s whereabouts and saves him just in time. Ryder, on the other hand, is deeply affected by his near-miss with death.
“It helps him examine his life and allows him to consider the future, and he realises that he may have taken things for granted before.”
“He prepares a priority list, which includes his family as well as work. He wants to be able to focus a little more on his work.
“I believe you’ll notice a significant shift in his devotion to and emphasis on his personal goals.
“He’s still working at Salt and aspires to be a bartender or do something similar.”
“In the months ahead, he will concentrate on that and will discover a new found interest in some of the hospitality work that comes his way.”
Lukas admits that the stunt was the most difficult he’s ever attempted:
“I was pretty apprehensive,” he admitted, “but I didn’t allow myself think about it too much until the day of filming.”
“When I went in the coffin, I noticed a genuine spider on me and real worms falling into the coffin because we’d literally dug a hole and placed a coffin in it!” It was a nerve-wracking experience.”
“Each challenge had a distinct amount of difficulty. The chilli challenge was arguably the most straightforward to complete.
“We did, however, utilise genuine chilies!” We were given the choice of fake chiles, which looked like small tomatoes, or genuine chillies.
“A lot of the guys were into chilies and talked about them all the time.” I received dried chillies, chilli plants, and chilli sauce for weeks following that. I’ve been initiated into the chilli club!”
Lukas’ first acting job after graduating from acting school in 2016 was on Home and Away, where he was welcomed into the Stewart family.
Has Lukas considered his acting career in light of rumours that Ryder may be leaving the programme soon?
He asserted, “Having Home and Away as my first gig has been just amazing.”
“Perhaps in the future, I’ll follow a lot of the Home and Away cast as they try their luck in cinema, television, and theatre.”
“No one knows.” I believe everyone’s experience is unique, so I’ll wait and see what occurs.”
Weekdays at 1:15 p.m. on Channel 5 and 6:00 p.m. on 5Star, Home and Away airs, followed by a ‘first look’ episode at 6:30 p.m. on 5Star.
