Researching Brock “overwhelming”, says star actor
Matt Le Nevez, the star Aussie actor who will play Peter Brock in an upcoming telemovie, says researching the iconic racer was an overwhelming experience.
Matthew Le Nevez as Peter Brock
Network Ten
Le Nevez, one of Australia’s leading actors, plays Brock in TV miniseries dedicated to the life and times of the Bathurst legend, which will air on Channel 10 next month.
While no stranger to portraying Australian sporting stars, having starred as Dennis Lillie in Howzat! Kerry Packer's War back in 2012, Le Nevez says the journey of learning about Brock as both a person and a sportsman was “overwhelming”.
“I had a few months to prepare for this, and it was overwhelming,” he told Motorsport.com.
“I read a lot of books about Brocky, and I had about 500 pages of info about him. I worked my way through it, I started trying to understand motor racing a bit better, I started trying to understand the way that he approached racing, his public and private life, his walk and his talk, all that stuff.
“We wanted to tell the story from the inside out. There were a few biopics that the director and I watched together, to try and understand the essence of people rather than mimicking or impersonating them.
“What we’re trying to tell is the man behind the racing suit, a story about his heart and his passion and the sacrifices he made.
“It’s an amazing story about an incredible man who backed his passion no matter what. That’s what is fascinating, for me. This was a guy that went up against GM. That’s unbelievable. And he raced amazing cars.
Le Nevez, a long-time motor racing fan who has been watching races at Bathurst on TV since his childhood, said his first trip to Bathurst was an eye-opening experience, and gave him an even deeper passion for playing the role of Peter Brock.
“I was fortunate enough to go to Bathurst for the first time. I’ve been watching it on TV since I was a kid, but it was incredible,” he said.
“To get to go there and meet some of [Brock’s] friends, it was moving. I’m very passionate about this story, and I believe in trying to share his story.”
The Brock miniseries is scheduled to begin airing on October 9.
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