Ray Meagher, a star of the serial opera Home and Away, has spoken candidly about a possible alternative profession.
The actor has been a mainstay of Summer Bay from the start of the programme in 1988, but in a recent interview, the star acknowledged he would have been a “lost soul” if he had not been an actor.
“Early on as an actor, I got a cab licence, but I really only drove cabs for probably half a dozen weekends,” Ray said to Stuff. “That left me with enough money in my meagre hand to last the week, allowing me to still audition.
“I kept that taxi driver’s licence for approximately 10 years because I kind of reasoned that I wouldn’t be able to find any more acting work. I’ll hang on because it’s all going to dry up, and I did, but I also continued working and doing little things,” Ray continued.
Early on, not much, but just enough to get from one job to the next.
The actor revealed that he had chosen to only have a six month contract when he first joined on 35 years ago when he revealed that he had extended his contract on Home and Away for another five years earlier this year.
He remembered to The Sun, “I wouldn’t agree to the two-year deal they wanted me to sign. It seems silly today.
We had completed the pilot, and since I was older and more pessimistic than the others, I honestly believed it would fail. So I thought, “You’ve got to be kidding!” when they said, “We’re going to series and we want all the main characters to stay for two years.”
“I told them there was no way I was signing for two years because it seemed like an eternity. They then attempted to convince me to sign for a year, but once more I declined. Finally, I consented to six months.
After spending six months at home, Ray added, “I was a little charmed by that and signed for another six months. Next, they questioned, “How about another year?” Then it changed to three- and five-year contracts, and now that it’s been 35 years, I’m much older.
