Can you remember the first time you ever performed for an audience?
Yes, I was a little Irish dancing leprechaun who came and saved all the Highland dancers from a big bad frog. This was at the Home Hill Harvest Festival concert. I still have the little trophy they presented to me after the performance. I was about three years old.

What can you tell us about your childhood growing up in North Queensland?
It was awesome, I wouldn’t change it for the world. It gave me great perspective. I remember when I first moved to Sydney I thought, “Oh wow, I know how to catch a fish and start a fire and pitch a tent”, whereas a lot of my mates who were also dancers, singers and actors from the city didn’t have those skills. So it was really awesome in that way. I loved being able to just go out on the bikes with my brother and take the fishing lines and a bottle of water and just ride. If it got dark, we could just go into someone’s house and ask them to call my mum to come and get us. That was the good side of it. But then the other side was that there wasn’t much of a profile for boys who wanted to dance or do performing arts. I was a diesel mechanics son and everyone just expected me to either be a diesel mechanic or become an accountant. And I didn’t wan to do anything like that. Even though I played heaps of sport, I didn’t quite fit the mould.

Did you always dream of being a performer, even as a child?
I totally did. I told my mum when I was three that I wanted to learn how to dance, because I wanted to be Gene Kelly. I used to watch Singin’ in the Rain like it was going out of fashion.

You’ve been touring around the country playing Johnny in Dirty Dancing, which opens at QPAC tonight. What has been your highlight so far?
I am really looking forward to Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide because it will be a little bit more relaxed, we will have been doing the show for a lot longer so I will be able to be a bit more human. In Sydney I was at home and that was great, and Melbourne was awesome because there are all these new restaurants and amazing places to go. But as far as my highlight so far, I would have to say opening night in Sydney. That whole day. The lead up of course had been so full on and stressful. We stayed at Star City, we did opening night then went to the party and everyone who has ever known me in the industry was there congratulating me and talking to me … it was this whirlwind. Then all of a sudden it was over and I went back to the hotel and just ate a club sandwich. It was seriously the best. I was sitting in this amazing hotel room thinking, “Wow, I just did it! And this club sandwich is awesome!”

Dirty Dancing is pretty high on the list of cult dance films. Were you a fan of the film growing up?
I used to pretend I wasn’t, because it was a girly movie. But, I secretly loved it. Because my sister was eight years older than me, she was the perfect age to be loving it with all of her friends, and I used to watch it when they did. I was too young to really understand the content, I just saw it as colour and movement and a really great soundtrack. But it doesn’t matter who you are or what your age is, you have this pop-culture cult love for the film. What really drew me to it though was Patrick Swayze. That was the first time I had seen a man dance who wasn’t all about tap shoes and top hats. It was masculine and it was modern dance. My mum loves to tell the story of when I was about six or seven and she caught me in a leather jacket with jeans and no shirt, doing some slow hip trusts in front of the mirror. Thank God there weren’t any phones to film back then!

The lift at the end of the film is probably one of the most well-known dance scenes in pop-culture history. How many rehearsals did it take to nail it?
It honestly took all of rehearsals to nail it. Kirby and I tried 8000 different ways to crack the egg. But it was once we let go of the pressure of it and relaxed that is just happened. And it has been solid ever since!

You graduated from NIDA with a Bachelor of Dramatic Art; was there a particular piece of live theatre that really resonated with you and first attracted you to the industry?
I am a massive film buff. I have always loved thrillers and David Lynch and all of those kind of cult films. But I remember seeing two musicals – Crazy for You and The Boy from Oz. They really led me towards doing what I am now, but somewhere in there I ended up just working and losing sight of what I loved. It wasn’t until I did Tender Napalm in Brisbane that I changed the way I look at the passion I had for theatre.

You’ve been nominated for a Matilda Award, had roles in productions such as Rent, Priscilla Queen of Desert and Saturday Night Fever, and written and choreographed a number of productions, but what do you personally consider your greatest achievement so far?
I would have to say Dirty Dancing! The first thing I ever wanted to be was the lead in a musical

What is the best advice your mum ever gave you?
Don’t pull that face on stage – it’s ugly.

What is the biggest challenge you have ever faced as a performer?
Figuring out how you are meant to stay focused on your dreams when you don’t have any work.

Brisbane is almost home for you – what are you most looking forward to seeing, doing or consuming while you’re here?
I am looking forward to seeing all of my mates and hugging all of the babies I haven’t really been able to see. I am also looking forward to going to 2002 Cyber City and The Crosstown Eating House – I can’t wait.

What are your essentials for a perfect weekend?
Phone charger, good company and a nice bottle of something. And a copy of Point Break.

What is your personal definition of success?
Doing what makes you happy!

Finally, any words of wisdom?
Just enjoy the time you have, because you never know when it’s all over.