When we first met Rob Mills in 2003, he’d been thrust into the spotlight as part of hit show Australian Idol.
Just 21-years-old at the time, Rob was “painted with a broad stroke” and labelled as a party boy.
While he was, as he’ll admit, a bit of a “party boy”, the singer, actor and TV host, has spent the past 17 years working to prove he’s more than just that.
Rob has since appeared in hit musicals including Wicked, Grease, Legally Blonde and his own one-man cabaret show, Rob Mills Is Surprisingly Good – inspired by the “surprisingly good” reviews he’d received for his performances.
It’s clear the talented star has a wicked sense of humour when it comes to being labelled by critics. He’s also gone on to prove his acting chops in Winners & Losers, Underbelly: Razor and most notably, Neighbours.
His character Finn Kelly is arguably one of the biggest villains the show has seen. As part of Neighbours’ huge 35th birthday episode, Finn was responsible for the deaths of two other characters, before he himself was killed.
Rob spoke to Now To Love about the HUGE storyline, turning around his party boy image around and finding love with ABC TV presenter Georgie Tunny.
Finn took no prisoners in the 35th anniversary episodes, including Toadie!
(Image: Instagram / @robmillsymills)How do you feel about leaving the show?
I think it’s the right time. I’ve learnt so much. I made about talks about Neighbours being a great training ground to get your skill set up and it really is.
But also to be a part of the family, you know, 35 years of Neighbours growing up around the corner from it, it’s certainly not lost on me. I think a lot of people say ‘It’s just a soap.’ Yes. It is also incredibly progressive.
Was this dramatic death always the plan for Finn when you were asked to return?
It was always going to be a long, sort of drawn out process, where he would eventually get his memory back. We weren’t sure how that was going to happen.
I remember talking to Jackie [Woodburne] about it ages ago. She’s like, ‘Maybe he’s pretending the whole time, he’s just a really good actor.’ But I love the way that it’s panned out, I think the audience was quite sorry for him.
Is he finally gone this time?
[Laughs] I said to Jodi [Anasta] the other day, ‘You may leave Erinsborough, but you never leave Neighbours.’
Rob recently caught up with some of his Australian Idol co-stars.
(Image: Instagram / @robmillsymills)You’ve been in the limelight since Idol. You were 21 then … what has been the biggest learning curve for you?
It’s very cliché, but all you have is your integrity and reputation. I think I had a kind of a weird party boy reputation on Idol.
You’re painted with a broad stroke of a character when you’re on a reality show, like, this is the party guy, so I think for me it was working at that. That’s not who I am. It’s a part of my personality. I like to have a good time, but also really work hard and create.
I think if anything, it was realising that I wanted to be taken seriously, even though I don’t take myself too seriously.
We saw you recently had an Idol reunion of sorts, how was that?
The best! I noticed none of us have changed; we’re all still down to earth, honest and fun loving.
Everyone turned up and no one was there because they wanted to get something out of it. We were there for a good time and for a good catch up.
Rob gushes over girlfriend Georgie.
(Image: Instagram / @georgie_tunny)You’ve been dating ABC presenter Georgie Tunny for a while now, you seem really happy, what’s the key to your successful relationship?
I read somewhere once that if both people think that they’re batting above their average, the relationship is in a good place.
I think she’s just a sensational human being. She’s funny, a lot smarter than me, she inspires me with her work ethic and who she is as a human. I think we worked because we talk and we talk a lot about what works, what doesn’t work for us, the monthly reviews [laughs].
What do you do to get a good ‘monthly review’?
Knowing each other’s love language, is important. You might go and get some flowers, great.
But you might maybe make the bed and they’re like, ‘Oh my God, you made the bed?! You’re the best.’ It’s the little things what they actually appreciate.
