There’s a new face at Summer Bay – it’s rising star Nathan Murray who recently made his Home & Away debut as Cohen Luther, and of course we had to get to know him a little better.
At just 15 years old, the LA-born Sydney-sider is already making some serious waves in the entertainment industry. He and his twin, Noah, have modelled for luxury fashion brands Gucci, Prada and Missoni. He’s walked international runways, landed a role on American Horror Story and appeared in a bunch of commercials including a Super Bowl ad. Somewhere in between his impressive portfolio, he’s also an everyday teen at heart – loves his surfing and soccer, not a huge fan of homework!
Nathan chats to us about the moment he found out he’d be playing Cohen, the bullying he’s had to overcome as a young actor, the kindness his costars have shown him on set and more. Check out our interview below:
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I always start by asking about names. Is there a story behind “Nathan Rhys Quevedo Murray”?
Nathan: My parents were tossing up between Nathan and Rhys. Rhys was my grandfather Reginald’s name but I guess they landed on Nathan and made Rhys my middle name. Quevedo is my second middle name, and that is from my mum’s maiden name. The heritage is Spanish because mum’s from the Philippines. I have a twin who’s named Noah, I think mum and dad thought Nathan and Noah were pretty cool names. And they both start with ‘N’.
Congratulations on your new role on ‘Home & Away’. Can you tell us a bit about Cohen?
Nathan: I’ve got a pretty cool story because Cohen was homeless and he only had his mum. When she was arrested, he had a rough start to Summer Bay. My story will definitely bring some drama and I think it’ll be pretty interesting.
Channel 7
How did you and your family/friends react when you found out you’d be on the show?
Nathan: I had no idea I was going to get it because they said they’d get back to me in a couple of days and they didn’t end up getting back, so I was like, “oh I didn’t get the job.” And then, suddenly my mum tells me to come help her with something and I’m like, alright, this is a bit out of the ordinary. I go to her, she shows me the email and we all just freaked out! I’ve been doing acting for a while now and this is the first big role that I’ve landed. When the ads came out recently, my friends finally found out. Most of them were supportive but I definitely copped a bit of stuff for it. I guess that’s what friends do!
I hope they’ll have a watch party for you!
Nathan: Yeah, they said they might which I’m happy about but I also don’t know what they’ll think so I’m nervous.
How are you finding the balance between school and the many hours you have to spend on set?
Nathan: Sometimes I have to wake up early, get to the studios, do some acting. I would have off-scenes, or like an hour in between scenes. And I would log on to this online school thing and I would do all my schooling on there. It was pretty manageable but it’s not the first thing I want to do after I finish work! But it’s convenient and easy to do.
Channel 7
Did you grow up watching ‘Home & Away’?
Nathan: Since I grew up in California, it wasn’t really a big show. So I didn’t really watch it much there. But when I moved here, I’d definitely heard about it because my friends parents watched it. So when I got this role, I knew it was a big thing and I was really excited.
I notice there’s no hint of an American accent…
Nathan: (laughs) I moved here when I was 10 and guess I picked up the Australian accent pretty quickly because I was growing up with Australians. I can switch it on and off if I need to though for auditions and stuff.
What’s it like working with some of Australia’s most beloved actors?
Nathan: It was definitely a very good experience. This was obviously my first big thing, so I was really nervous to come in everyday. I would go in there and I would tell mostly Georgie (Parker) or mostly Ray (Meagher) that I was nervous and they would explain to me, you can take that nervousness and change it into excitement. You can put that into your lines and make it more expressive. That really helped me get over my fear of being in front of the camera and performing.
That’s great advice and something you’ll no doubt pass on when you’re the big Hollywood star!
Nathan: (laughs) Yeah, they really helped me along in my career.
Georgie Parker/Instagram
You’ve mentioned in the past that you’re passionate about ending bullying. Can you explain a bit more about that?
Nathan: Anti-bullying means a lot to me because when I grew up in America, it was more of an accepted thing to be a kid doing acting and have social media. All my friends thought it was really cool. They were pretty supportive there but when I moved here, it wasn’t like that. I guess they were a bit harsher. And a couple of kids made fun of me and bullied me. I just don’t understand why they did that but I guess I want to be able to fight against that kind of behaviour, because it’s not a great feeling when you’re on the receiving end.
Where do you hope your acting career will take you over the next few years?
Nathan: When I got this role, my mum told me people like Chris Hemsworth have been on the show. I grew up watching him, he’s Thor! I definitely thought about that a lot and he kind of inspires me as well, because he started off on the show and it was already massive then, but then he got to do even more massive things like Marvel and everything. And I just find, movies like that with the special effects, flying and so on, I find that so cool so I hope I end up being able to do a project like that. I think that’d be a really good experience!
Keep up with Nathan Murray on Instagram: @NathanMurrayOfficial
(Feature Image Credit: supplied)
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