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 Blockbuster's Marshall Julius chats with
Australian comedy legend Paul Hogan about his incredible career and
hilarious new movie, Strange Bedfellows
Paul Hogan is a happy
man. At 64 he's exactly where he wants to be, not only
professionally, but also emotionally, geographically and, thanks
largely to the fortune he made playing Crocodile Dundee.
financially. A beloved comedy idol in his native Australia, he
enjoys an idyllic existence in surf paradise Byron Bay, working only
when he feels like it, and looking not a day over 50. "I'm a bit
more wrinkled than I used to be," he concedes, "but otherwise I
haven't changed." Good genetics and an active lifestyle appear to be
the key. "I eat and drink as I please, but I exercise a lot. I'm
into kayaking at the moment. When I'm not doing that I'm on the
rowing machine - it keeps me fit and strong."
Back in the Seventies,
before he was claimed by show business, Hogan made a living painting
the Sydney Harbour Bridge, a precarious task involving perilous
heights and excessive dangling. "That was my last proper job," he
says. "Looking back at it now it was really dangerous, but at the
time it didn't seem so bad. If you have no fear of heights and
you're not a showboat, you're comparatively safe." Only
comparatively? "Your life still depends on the grip of your hand,"
he says. Regardless of the risks, Hogan is proud of his blue-collar
beginnings. "If you've lived in that world and worked six days a
week, it makes you appreciate what a wonderful, lazy life it is in
entertainment, and just how lucky you are. It's kept me grounded all
these years." |
As a
child Hogan dreamed of professional sporting glory, making his name
in the boxing ring or out on the football pitch. Though comedy was
something he'd never considered, he couldn't resist the lure of a
top telly talent show. "I only did it to take the mickey. I went on
as a tap-dancing knife thrower who could neither tap dance nor throw
knives with any great accuracy. I was having a laugh at their
expense, at least that's what I thought. It was only supposed to be
a one-off, but then I won the whole show and suddenly had a career
in TV comedy. So I guess the joke was on me!"
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Hogan's
first paid engagement was a weekly gig on a current affairs show. "I
was still working on the bridge back then. Once a week I'd comment
on the news, a genuine working man sharing his thoughts on the way
the world was going wrong. It turned out to be the most popular part
of the show, and spun me off into doing my own series." Sounds like
a lot of responsibility. "I never took it seriously," he reveals. "I
used to think, 'they'll wake up to me any minute', so I kept my
union card and all my rigging equipment, just in case. For the first
two years I expected a tap on the shoulder, someone saying 'wait a
minute, you're not real'.
As it turned out, The Paul Hogan Show ran
throughout the Seventies and aired around the world. "I wrote 90% of
the sketches myself, at least 600 of them, and by the end I felt
like I'd sent up everything on the planet. So I stopped for a year
or two, had a proper break, and then decided that I'd like to write
something that lasted longer than four minutes. That's when I came
up with Crocodile Dundee, which came out in 1986 and changed my life
forever."
As
charming outback hero Mick Dundee, Hogan was for a while the most
famous man on the planet. "It was mind boggling," he says, breaking
into a satisfied little chuckle. "It surprised everybody, and
thrilled me to the back teeth. It was a great experience but it did
make me feel like I should retire, as I knew I'd never be able to
top it. The success of that film was like going to the Olympics with
bare feet and rolled-up jeans, running the hundred and winning the
gold medal. You can't top that. Besides, I'm a bit lazy. I've only
done six or seven movies since Crocodile Dundee as it's not easy to
get me off my butt."
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 Strange
Bedfellows is a small but perfectly formed comedy about two
traditional, heterosexual men (Hogan and Michael Caton) who are
forced to pose as a gay couple in order to secure a hefty tax break
promised to same sex couples. Shot in Australia, it's exactly the
kind of film that Hogan will get out of bed, or even the ocean, to
make. "I thought it was very funny, cute and warm. Definitely
something I wanted to be a part of.
"It was a forty day shoot and I loved every
minute of it - much better than making a movie in Hollywood. Making
a film in Australia is like a little home workshop. Everyone's
involved and everyone's enthusiastic and you become friends with
everyone on the set. But then you go to America and there's no
mucking in, it's just work, nothing personal, and everyone's looking
at the clock.
"I'm
proud of Strange Bedfellows," continues Hogan. "Before they saw it,
a lot of critics thought it was going to be a cheap send-up of gay
people, but actually what it does is make fun of straight men. It's
very pro-tolerance and its heart is in the right place. I reckon
it's one of my best movies."
What of the future then? What's next for Paul
Hogan? "Nothing for a while," he says with a smile. "Give me a
couple of years and I'll get back to you!"
Paul
Hogan Filmography | |
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