Veteran star Michael Caton has a simple comeback to claims that his hit movie The Castle helped spawn Australia’s current housing crisis.
“Tell ’em they’re dreaming!” he says. But his irate wife Helen is even more hilariously outspoken when it comes to the accusations from critics.
“That’s f**ked,” she exclaimed during a live Zoom television interview about the online controversy.
Her four-letter bombshell – delivered loud and clear in the background of Michael’s onscreen interview – left Today co-hosts Sarah Abo and Karl Stefanovic laughing helplessly, although Michael was visibly shocked by his partner’s rather candid response.
“Oh my God, that’s my wife,” spluttered the larrikin 80-year-old, best known for his iconic role as The Castle’s underdog hero Darryl Kerrigan.
“Oh my God is right,” Karl laughed. “Working Dog Productions have their sequel to The Castle right in your home Michael, truly.”
CAUSING A STIR
Michael certainly never expected the much-loved Aussie comedy to create an uproar 27 years after its premiere. But keyboard critics are now linking The Castle’s feelgood plot – about a battler family struggling to save their home from greedy developers – with today’s housing problems.
“The film did irreparable damage to urban planning in Australia… a surrender to urban sprawl and sitting on a motorway two hours a day,” one moaned via a post on X.
Another comment alleged of The Castle’s 1997 release date, “Literally when the housing boom took off. Coincidence?”
But while many were quick to tear the film to shreds, others were just as quick to defend the movie that not only revived Michael’s career but also helped make household names of Eric Bana and Stephen Curry.
RUSHING TO DEFEND
“It’s a comedy,” wrote one angry fan. Another user weighed in with a similar response, “How un-Australian. Bunch of wowsers. Great flick.”
As far as Michael is concerned, his iconic role in The Castle came along at a make-or-break moment and rebooted his career.
Depressed and desperate, he reckons he “couldn’t get arrested” for acting work before being cast as Darryl in the smash comedy.
“God yes, I’d be out of the industry by now if it wasn’t for The Castle,” he admits, relaxing at home in Sydney’s Bondi. “Before then, I’d been doing anything to earn a crust. At one stage, I didn’t have an acting gig for 12 months.
“But I was lucky. Right place, right time.”
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