Phillip Castleton
It’s incredibly rare to get all three famous Daddo brothers – Cameron, Andrew and Lochie – together. But with Christmas approaching, there’s no better excuse to gather the beloved trio to reflect on their showbiz roots as they look towards yet another big year ahead.
Cameron, 59, Andrew, 57, and Lochie, 54, are as affable as you would hope. Like all siblings, they rib each other constantly, but they clearly have a deep affection and respect for one another.
Each has enjoyed a career in acting and presenting, after eldest brother Cameron paved the way as a teenager. He’s the only one still doing both – most recently appearing in Disney+ series Last Days Of The Space Age and globetrotting with his celebrity pals for Foxtel’s Luxury Escapes: The World’s Best Holidays.
“I still enjoy the challenge of telling stories and, thankfully, there have been a number of different ways to do it,” he tells Woman’s Day.
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THE SHOWBIZ GAME
While they were all making their way in the entertainment industry – to great early success – their parents, Peter and Bronwen, were understandably anxious for their boys.
“I think they were nervous because there was no frame of reference to it,” Cameron says. “The opening night of Big River [The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn, in 1989] told me a lot about how Mum felt about it. She came, she loved the show and she saw me afterwards and said, ‘It’s so great you’ve got a real job.’ I think she thought the theatre was legitimate.”
What’s different about the Daddos is that while they’ve been in the spotlight for the best part of four decades, they had normal childhoods. They weren’t child stars, they haven’t been tainted by fame – in fact, they’re rarely recognised when they’re out.
“We had uninterrupted fun, fresh air, made mistakes, no cell phones,” Cameron says. “And I think because we didn’t aspire to be in the public, we grew up without that sort of, like, need. We all just found ourselves in it.”
“Especially living here, literally no one cares,” adds Andrew. “Particularly now, there are like two generations who have no idea who we are. If a young person comes up, they go, ‘Can I get a photo for my mum?’, which I think is hilarious. People are really lovely and generous.”
After a short but memorable acting stint – most notably as Stephen Gottlieb in Neighbours from 1992-93, an experience he says he was grateful for, just “wasn’t really comfortable” with – these days, Lochie is far more at ease behind the camera.
For the past two decades, he’s run his own production company, DPS Media. He also does communication training and, at the weekend, works as an auctioneer.
Just don’t expect to see him selling houses on The Block any time soon!
“No, no,” he insists. “I have no interest in doing that. I did watch the last season of The Block, and it just seemed so set up.”
As for Andrew, you can hear him narrating docuseries RBT, while he’s also a successful author. To date, he’s published 28 children’s books and two young adult novels. He has a further four books currently in the works.
“Everything I write has heart,” he says. “It’s rewarding personally. I love it. I do a lot of talking in schools, too, a lot of literacy stuff.”
Surprisingly, despite their showbiz genes, none of their kids – they have eight between them, aged from 16 to 28 – show signs of following in their famous footsteps.
FAMILY VALUES
Of course, we’d be remiss not to mention the Daddo siblings who aren’t on the Woman’s Day shoot.
Firstly, there’s sister Belinda – the eldest of the bunch who lives close by on Sydney’s Northern Beaches with her family. Then there’s Andrew’s twin brother Jamie, who lives with his family in Melbourne. After being hit by a car at 18, Jamie is wheelchair-bound. He’s an incredible artist and poet.
“He’s prolific and his determination is so admirable,” Andrew says. “He gets up, he writes and he paints every day.”
Of their childhood dynamic, Lochie surmises, “Belinda set the rules, Cam broke the rules, Andrew and Jamie bent them as far as they possibly could and by the time I came along, there were no rules left.”
Cameron says, “I love that! That’s a great analogy. That’s pretty much how it went.”
Their Christmas plans are yet to be decided, but it’s always a big family do – “It’s 30-odd now,” Andrew says – featuring food, laughter and games!
“We brought back [the game] Cornhole from the States, so I built a Cornhole set,” Cam says. Adds Lochie, “And they’ve got the driving range set up in the back of the garage, so that always gets a play.”
“We end up playing table tennis in budgie smugglers,” chimes in Andrew. “I don’t know why.”
