We’re used to seeing him on our screens playing the ultimate Aussie bloke on shows like House Husbands and Packed to the Rafters.
But now, Hugh Sheridan is teaming up with his namesake and luxury bath and bedding brand Sheridan to front their latest Towel Man campaign.
And it’s a side the 32-year-old admits was “incredibly daunting” to show.
“I found out it was a towel shoot the day before. I thought it was for sheets! I had no idea I was going to be topless and was so unprepared for it,” Hugh laughs of having to don nothing more than a buttery-soft towel.
Sharing more than just his surname with the brand, Hugh says Sheridan has been a household staple since he was a kid.
“I don’t know why they didn’t ask years ago, frankly. I’d like to say it’s just cause we had the same name but I think truth be told, a lot of Australians look towards Sheridan with sheets and towels so when they asked me I just thought, “that’s so funny,’” he notes of the perfect match.
In this exclusive interview, the Adelaide-born actor talks to Now To Love about body acceptance, why you won’t ever find him on Tinder and what’s really going on with him and Delta Goodrem…
Hugh Sheridan teams up with Sheridan for their latest campaign… and it’s a match made in heaven!
To hell with kale
Hugh might have been caught off-guard for his Sheridan shoot but the results speak for themselves.
The star (and his insane eight-pack) smoulder in the new campaign, so for someone who “goes to the gym once a month”, what’s his damn secret?
“When I was younger, I was a dancer and I went to the Australian Ballet school. When you’re a teenager, they’re such important years that I think my body has muscle memory but I’ve noticed since I turned 30, it’s remembering a bit less and you start to see yourself filling out in different spots,” Hugh tells us.
The 32-year-old says he only found out he’d be posing in a towel for the shoot a mere day before.
“I read things that my friends put up in magazines about their Yoga retreats and kale and that’s b—–t! You shouldn’t be saying that to people because then everyone feels bad that they’re not making these unrealistic fitness goals.”
“I think it’s all about balance and I do try and have balance and get to the gym and other fitness things, like hiking. But some months are worse than others and some months you’re really good and focused and you don’t eat the sh—- food, or drink… But I think it’s more important for guys to accept the way they look.”
“I have a gym membership and I go once a month.”
What’s really going on with Delta Goodrem?
Another topic the Logie Award winner wants to set the record straight on are those rumours he’s dating Aussie songstress, Delta Goodrem.
Hugh insists the pair are just “great friends” but he’s chuffed people would even think they’d date in real life.
“We really are great friends and I got in trouble because I said I do love her. It’s as old as anything but you know what? It’s fine! It doesn’t hurt me, it doesn’t hurt her.”
WATCH: Hugh and Delta’s sweet duet. Post continues after the video…
“We have a laugh about it and I feel very flattered that people would think that she would go out with me. She’s gorgeous, she’s so nice,” he beams of The Voice judge.
The pair, who both divide their year in LA and Australia, are gearing up for an Aussie reunion this week but don’t expect to see any happy snaps from their catch-up.
“I was talking to her yesterday, we were FaceTiming and I said, ‘We can’t post anything ever again!’ She’s coming back to Australia this week and I said, ‘Look we have to catch up in a black room, no windows, no photos.'”
Fans might be disappointed to hear there’s no romance with Delta on the cards but Hugh hasn’t ruled out teaming up with the singer for a duet.
“The fans would love it, can you imagine?” he giggles.
Something tell us it would be an instant best-seller.
Hugh says his next catch-up with Delta will have to be in a top-secret room with no windows.
He doesn’t believe in The Bachelor or swiping right
So, would Hugh ever consider starring as the next celebrity Bachelor to bury those Delta rumours for once and for all?
“No! I wouldn’t do it because I do think those shows diminish love,” he says.
“My personal opinion is that I don’t think it’s great for young people growing up to think that that’s what relationships should be like. It’s taking away from what love is and as we all talked about last week, it’s the strongest force in the world.”
Tinder is also on his black list.
“I’m not on Tinder, it’s more because of moral reasons and I travel a lot. I don’t have time for a relationship, I mean, I could make time but when you’re working, you just focus on [that].”
“People can’t actually meet anymore because they do it all through a phone and I just think it sounds boring!”
“I’m not on Tinder, it’s more because of moral reasons.”
His advice to young actors
After years in the industry, Hugh is keen to pass on his words of wisdom to the next generation.
“It’s really hard being a young actor – whether you’re male or female, it’s probably harder if you’re female.”
“I was giving a talk at WAAPA (Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts) last week and I said to them, ‘I’m not going to sugar-coat it. You will feel like you’re a disposable object. You’ll feel quite worthless and you’ll be made to feel that from people who are high up in entertainment.'”
“Most of them are quite corporate people, they don’t even have a sensitivity towards why people become actors and what they’re passion is. Most actors become actors because they love to tell stories and they’re usually the most vulnerable and sensitive people you’ll meet and then people in high places come in and abuse it.”
In light of the current sexual assault coup in Hollywood, it’s only a matter of time before the Australian entertainment industry is blown open.
Thankfully, Hugh credits a strong support network to protecting him during his formative years in the industry.
“I was very lucky, I did have a lot of good people around me and even in times that I’ve felt that someone may have been taking advantage, I could always call on other people and get their advice,” he admits.
“I’m a huge feminist at heart! I come from a family of strong women and I definitely have met many people that have been sexually abused and that should not be the case. I shouldn’t be able to reel off people that have suffered it.”
Hugh (far left) got his big break in his early 20s on Packed to the Rafters.
“I wrote back to all of them”
Mentoring young Aussies is something Hugh feels incredibly passionate about and in the lead up to the same-sex marriage postal vote results, the actor says his Instagram inbox was inundated with messages from worried people.
“I actually had people contacting me on Instagram who were really suffering through this whole thing. I wrote back to all of them… some of them I wrote back a lot and I was like, ‘It’s all going to be fine’ and I was really concerned by some of the things I’d read about the hatred that was coming out towards them. I definitely tried to rally behind it.”
Like millions of us, finding out the nation had voted yes to same-sex marriage was a huge relief to Hugh.
“Australia used to lead the way for free-thinking, acceptance and tolerance and I think for us to have said yes is awesome and an awesome step in the right direction.”
“That we were one of the last first-world countries is not great but it’s definitely progress. I think we need to start cultivating our real Australian qualities and what it really means to be an Australian and what a privilege it is to be born in such an amazing country,” he explains to us.
Hugh’s hot tip for Christmas
Struggling to think of that perfect Christmas present for that special someone?
Hugh, who is set to release a new album with his band California Crooners Club next year, says you can’t go past Sheridan’s classic summer beach towels.
“They’re beautiful and the best gift for anyone. They’re really soft and really big! There’s nothing worse than a beach towel that’s too small and you’re lying on it and you get the sand on the side.”
“I even said to them [Sheirdan] ‘Don’t pay me, just pay me in towels and sheets!”
Hugh says Sheridan’s classic summer beach towel makes for the perfect Christmas present.
Fronting this Aussie campaign has made the singer even more determined to move back to Oz full-time.
“I have been looking to come back to Australia, I’m just sort of waiting on the right project. The more time I spend back here, the more I miss being here.”
“I said to my agent the other day, ‘Let’s look for the great opportunity, a great new role and get right back into it. Because I do love Australia so much! And it gets harder and harder to keep coming back and forth, missing your family and seeing your nieces and nephews growing up. They’re always so much bigger every time. You know, time to settle down.”
The actor hopes to return to Australia on a permanent basis soon. (Campaign Images courtesy of Sheridan)
