For hunky Aussie actor Adam Demos, his journey to stardom began from a different path – and this path was tiled. That is, before the star left our shores to pursue acting abroad, he quit his job as a roof tiler.
And what a good decision it was.
Now Adam is starring in season three of Stan drama series UnREAL.
“It’s crazy,” Adam, 32, says.
The former construction worker from Wollongong in NSW still has trouble believing he landed the role.
“My mum has been rocking my UnREAL beanie all summer,” he tells TV WEEK. “She wants everyone to know I’m on the show.”
Adam had been picking up any work he could get to save enough money to travel. He’d had jobs in demolition, worked for his mate’s dad’s roofing company and did shifts at the Port Kembla steelworks.
One day, Adam decided enough was enough. He wanted to give acting a crack. The problem was, he didn’t know anyone in the industry.
“I started doing beginner’s acting courses in Sydney,” Adam explains. “I’d tell my mates I was working overtime on a job. The acting world was so foreign to our upbringings.”
He went on to pick up small roles in shows such as Home And Away and Winners & Losers. Then, Aussie actress and director Zoe Carides cast him in one of her plays. He’d never even been to a play before that.
But last year, everything started falling into place. Adam scored the role of Nate Baldwin in ABC drama Janet King and found out about the UnREAL gig.
When he learnt he’d got the role, he left for Vancouver, Canada, to begin filming. But there was one thing his acting classes didn’t prepare him for – the cold.
“The show pretends to be set in Los Angeles,” he explains. “It was minus degrees in Vancouver, and it was interesting for my character to walk around without clothes.”
UnREAL centres on a The Bachelor-style dating show called Everlasting. In season three, the fictional “reality show” is fronted by suitress Serena (Caitlin FitzGerald) – similar to what we see on The Bachelorette.
Adam plays August, one of the suitors vying for her affection. He’s an Aussie surfer who joined the Peace Corps to try to save the world.
“He has a man-bun and likes sleeping in a hammock,” Adam says.
And with a name like August, you can imagine what the other suitors would think of the Aussie larrikin.
“I think they look at him as a bit of a hipster,” the actor says. “But everyone on the show [Everlasting] is competition. So I don’t think anyone really likes anyone else.”
Do things heat up between August and Rachel?
But there has been talk August might find some action once the cameras stop rolling. Perhaps August and producer Rachel (Shiri Appleby) get close?
“There is a spark between August and Rachel,” Adam teases.
This season of UnREAL also stars former Home And Away actress Kassandra Clementi. The 27-year-old plays swimsuit model Crystal.
“It was such a great surprise to see her at the table read,” Adam says.
