When Hazem Shammas reflects on the TV WEEK Logie Awards, he thinks of his dad.
As a young boy, Hazem and his family would tune in to the Logies telecast each year to see which Aussie star would take home the top honour. And his father, Nakhli, would soak up the comedic flair of TV legend Don Lane.
As fate would have it, Safe Harbour’s Hazem has now been recognised at the Logies, with the actor winning Most Outstanding Supporting Actor. The role, in which he plays refugee and grieving father Ismail, is his biggest to date.
It’s a full-circle moment he didn’t expect – and one he’ll likely never forget.
“Dad loved Don Lane [the Gold Logie-winning entertainer also hosted the awards in 1987], so to be here all these years later is crazy and surreal,” the Palestinian-born actor tells TV WEEK. “I’m just a little migrant boy from the suburbs!”
Hazem in Safe Harbour.
Hazem, who came to Australia from Israel in the 1970s, goes on to explain how his father helped shaped the man he is today. Nakhli was 58 when he passed away unexpectedly in 2004.
“It’s a huge deal,” he explains of his father’s influence. “My old man isn’t around anymore, so I dedicate a lot of what I do to him. Dad made a lot of sacrifices for us to have this life and I’m so humbled because of it.”
As a first-time father to his 18-month-old son, who is named after Nakhli, Hazem can relate to his father now more than ever. He and partner Suzannah have also welcomed their second child recently.
Safe Harbour co-stars Leeanna Walsman, Ewen Leslie, Nicole Chamoun and Hazem.
In fact, Hazem admits he’s somewhat reluctant to encourage his kids to pursue a career in the arts – an outlook Nakhli had to Hazem’s own career path.
“All my best material is stolen from my old man,” he laughs. “So, the kids have to get a proper job first. No son of an Arab migrant is becoming an actor – he needs something better to fall back on.”
As for the actor himself, there is no Plan B in sight.
“Safe Harbour was an amazing experience and there are murmurings [of future projects],” he says. “And because of this [his Logies win], they’re becoming louder and more constant.”
