He is compared to Heath Ledger, yet Jim Carrey is his favourite actor. Joshua Hewson, a 19-year-old native of Cloverdale, is already making headlines on television with his unexpected acting career.
No one is more shocked by his spectacular rise than Hewson, who is perplexed as to how he made it onto Home & Away after growing up in a low-income neighbourhood in Perth. In fact, he says of his sudden fame: “People must be gaslighting me or something.”
After returning from Summer Bay, Today met up with Joshua in a quiet park close to his family’s cottage.
The defenceless Andrew, played by him, is abducted by the Vita Nova cult, and when Justin, played by James Stewart, tries to save him, things go horribly wrong. He muses on being at the centre of this compelling narrative.
In terms of his sudden celebrity, Hewson adds, “It’s a dream come true.” It’s shocking where I’m from.
“To this day, I still find it hard to believe. I am disoriented when I watch myself on TV. When I was younger, I didn’t imagine myself where I am now. I was too timid to work as an actress.
However, a perceptive instructor and a reliable agent were able to perceive what he couldn’t. He joined the Home & Away family in November after passing one audition.
He explains his improbable ascension by saying, “I was too shy to be in a play as a kid.”
“I believed that others would have had negative opinions of me. They would all comment that I reminded them of Jim Carrey from The Mask. It was all of my friends and relatives. They advised, “You ought to be an actor.” I attended a university in Midland. A teacher suggested that I pursue acting after observing my skill set.
Joshua looks to Carrey to realise his ambitions as he is compared to everyone in the world, including one of Perth’s other most well-known soap actors, and is full of promise but lacking confidence.
“I feel like Heath Ledger’s a little bit like myself. Heath plays acting, I know. I adored it, he declared.
“I recently acquired Ryan Reynolds and Ryan Gosling! But I regularly watch Jim Carrey. I listen to him speak. I follow that. When I began, I was unsure about myself. People must be tricking me somehow, I’d assume. I would therefore hear his remarks. It benefits me. Just pay attention to him.
Joshua’s first day on set at the Palm Beach set in New South Wales was made memorable by his encounter with dolphins and the guidance of the cast, who took him under their wing.
There were many fans present. I was worried,” he remembered. “I simply assumed that people were just observing us because we were on a camera set, but they were actually there for the Home & Away cast members. I told my mother there were dolphins when I called her.
But he also felt afraid. “I approached the entire cast and asked, ‘Look, I know it’s to have fun, but how do I get rid of these nerves?'” Just have fun, they urged, and they repeated themselves repeatedly. After some lighthearted banter, they were able to see the genuine me. I was picking up knowledge from each one.
Joshua is pleased with the response for his character Andrew, “who always got his hands up and never lets his guard down.”
He says, “I’ve been getting a lot of messages from folks. “When I read them, it feels good. They are saying lovely, encouraging things. That makes me feel very sad. I am therefore shocked when I read “you’ve done a great job.” I enjoy making people happy. I enjoy it. They resemble a little gang.
He is still perplexed as to how he jumped from considering acting to TV in a split second.
“I thought it was going to take me more than a couple of years to even get known or auditions,” the man remarked.
The Cloverdale friends of Joshua are finding it difficult to adjust to their renowned friend.
“My friends think it’s strange,” he claims.
He says, “We go out,” when they are in the city. People approach me and inquire, “Are you from this?” I reply “No,” and we go on. I simply don’t want the focus.
The rising talent is eager to get moving, too.
Hollywood is where he wants to be.
My ambition would be to visit Hollywood, he declared. “I’m trying to get there as quickly as I can. It’s always been my first priority. immediately hit America and the Hollywood film industry. I never departed Oceania. That’s all, New Zealand.
