by Nikole Gunn
Andrew McFarlane is a nice guy, who has made a career out of playing essentially ‘nice guys’. Think The Sullivans, The Flying Doctors and even Play School. He’s been part of the TV landscape for more than 40 years, playing warm and relatable characters.
But then came along Devil’s Playground and as Father Marco Andrassi, he’s walked a dark path and taken us into a world of manipulation and betrayal.
“When I heard they were doing a TV series of Devil’s Playground, well, that immediately sparked interest in me. And then I heard what kind of role they were interested in seeing me for, I went “wow”, fasten your seat belt for that one”.
The role of Andrassi is a huge departure for McFarlane and he plays the priest with subtlety and a degree of sympathy, although he’s quick to point out that it doesn’t excuse pedophile behaviour.
“He is a very sad character, but he’s also an incredibly complex, manipulative, devious and a rather tragic figure. All those things are very enticing to an actor”.
“When you see the background of these kind of people, how deeply damaged and so flawed and so stunted in their emotional growth by way of their religious training, it’s almost inevitable that something awful is going to happen”.
Playing the pedophile priest has clearly had a personal impact on the veteran actor. It wasn’t always easy to bring the character to life over the six episodes of the Foxtel drama.
“There’s a scene where he’s training Elliot (Jarin Towney) to become the altar boy, showing him the different vestments and explaining what they mean. He tries to remove himself from any physicality. And then it overcomes him”.
It was one of the pivotal scenes of the series. After being absolved of his sins by Bishop McNally, Andrassi struggles with temptation as Brother Warner walks in on them.
“We did the scene in a very small, confined room, extremely claustrophobic. When I finished it, I almost had an out of body experience. I couldn’t breathe very well, felt like maybe I was going to faint. I’m sure it was a lack of oxygen, but the scene itself kind of sucked it out of me. That character did demand that kind of immersion and intensity”.
McFarlane also shared another confronting scene with his young co-star. He sits with Elliot in his room at a shelter, threatening the boy’s father should he reveal what’s been happening.
“That (scene) upset me. I’m sitting next to him and I said to him ‘I might be cruel in this scene’ and he went ‘ that’s all right, that’s cool. That’s OK’ and then I pinched his ear lobe really hard”.
“I pinched it and reinforced the awful threat to his father. And he didn’t do too much, except you could see in his face that it hurt. That in itself upset me a great deal, because I don’t want to hurt people”.
After appearing on Packed to the Rafters, Towney was just 13 when he won the role of Elliot Darcy. Aware of how young he was, McFarlane wanted to ensure the environment on set was safe and nurturing.
“We talked a lot during rehearsal with the directors, his mum and of course Jarin. I’d say ‘we’re acting and we’re playing roles that are not ourselves’. We had to emphasise that if he ever felt particularly uncomfortable or that he didn’t understand what was going on, he could put his hand up and stop”.
“But because he’s such an instinctive actor, and he’s also a smart kid, that never really happened. He was fully in tune with what was going on. He was more than capable of handling the emotional complexity that he had to deal with”.
Devil’s Playground hasn’t been easy to watch, something the actor acknowledges. He also applauds Foxtel for not flinching at the confronting nature of the story, especially as we hear the heart breaking evidence of victims at the Royal Commission into Institutional Abuse.
As for Devil’s Playground becoming an on-going drama that brings the story into the ‘here and now’, Andrew isn’t so sure that it’s necessary or even warranted.
“That’s a question for Simon (Simon Burke, actor and executive producer). But I feel it is it’s own story that’s been done and told. I don’t think it was envisaged as an ‘on-going-let’s-make-a-series-out-of-this’ type of thing.”
While it may be the last we see of Father Andrassi, viewers will find out Tuesday night if he is finally punished or moves on to work at another parish, it’s not the last we’ll be seeing of McFarlane.
He has two films in the works. One is an international production that begins filming in the next week or so. Sworn to secrecy, Andrew couldn’t divulge details of either role, but is excited by both projects.
“I know that I’ve been a very fortunate and lucky person. I had that fantastic job and now I’ve got more wonderful acting opportunities ahead of me”.
We’ll have to wait and see whether he’s back as Mr Nice Guy or taking another trip down that dark path. Either way, it won’t be boring.
The Devil’s Playground finale airs on Foxtel’s Showcase channel, Tuesday 7th October at 8.30pm
Related
In the Bible, the Gospel of Matthew has a central theme of ‘salvation through faith’. In particular, Matthew 18:6 urges those who cause children to stumble to be cast into the sea to drown.