Taking Daniel in a Different Direction: A Conversation with Neighbours’ Tim Phillipps

For those of us who are fans of Erinsborough soap Neighbours, which celebrates a whole thirty years this year, the big news is that we’ll be watching it at the same time as our Antipodean counterparts soon! We were always lagging a couple of weeks behind, but now we’ll be right up to speed with all the crazy goings-on on Ramsey Street…

Currently Daniel has gone through a career change, after leaving Off Air, he helped his uncle (Paul Robinson) when a potential buyer was on the fence over investing in a new property, upon sealing the deal, Paul offered him a job in Real Estate.

The Fan Carpet’s SHELLEY MARSDEN caught up with Tim Phillips, a.k.a. Neighbour’s Daniel Robinson (the son of Kylie and Jason on the show), to talk about this and more.

Why do the Brits love Neighbours so much? Because we do!

I was over in Britain earlier this year, and I got the answer straight from the horse’s mouth. One of the things the Brits love is how sunny and chirpy and happy we all are on Neighbours, or how it seems anyway. In Melbourne it gets pretty damn cold too but they crank up the lights and we make it look warm! It’s always been a nice escape for the British. It seems to be a big part of culture too, people come straight home from school and Neighbours is on… It’s part of a ritual for you guys, I guess.

You of course play Daniel, Kylie’ and Jason’s son on the soap – you’re definitely not old enough to have followed their pop career first time round – are you?

No, definitely not… To know that I was coming from a really well-known family on the show was a great place to start. I haven’t met either of them, but hopefully I will one day and we can have a good chat about the roles we’ve played in our lives. The closest I’ve got is my shout-out to Kylie on The One Show, which was nice. And of course Jason’s dad Terrence is on the show. It’s a bit sad for Daniel not to have scenes with his parents on the show, or talk to them.

How famous are you now in Australia – do u get mobbed buying a pint of milk?

I’m pretty unaware of any recognition, I think. People maybe do know who I am but don’t come up to me.. If they do, I’m often shocked. It doesn’t happen too often. My girlfriend says she notices people looking at me, when I don’t notice it. So a bit of that goes on. If I caught somebody trying to do a sort of photo with me in it, I’d have to just photobomb it completely, make it work that way.

You’re a good-looking chap. You must get some serious fan girls…

Mmm… not that I know of, actually! Really. I think being seen walking down the street holding hands with my girlfriend kind of gets in the way of all that… Or maybe not, haha!

We’ve heard there are some exciting storylines coming up, is that right?

There are but you’ll just have to keep watching! I’ve really enjoyed the one that’s unfolding at the moment. It was great to take Daniel in a different direction, because he feels really responsible for everything that’s happened to cause issues with Paul. He’s trying to do everything in his power to make things right with Paul, and does things which question his morals along the way. I enjoyed how he tried to justify it all – it’s been the most interesting storyline to date for me, I think.

Is Daniel like you, or not?

I hope I’m as laid-back and happy as he is. I think he was initially a bit too hippy-dippy for my liking… I wasn’t sure that was working for him at a certain point. I really wanted to man him up a bit, which is why the real estate storyline stuff was so great. It was practical, as opposed to him trying to set up a commune with an ex-girlfriend. That was a bit flimsy for a 24 year old guy. Me being 27.. I preferred to bring him into a more mature position!

It sounds like you get a lot of say in how your character develops…

You can do, but it feels like a bit of a slow boat to turn sometimes. You can give your input and it’s definitely taken on board, but for that to actually come through on the script takes a really long time. I knew that from the start. But we have different directors coming through so you have to be in control of your character. Being a day-in, day-out job you can start to feed in your own ideas. And yeah, I’m pretty set here for the time being.

Who are you really matey with on set? 

Ari and Harley, I really adore. The majority of my scenes are with Ari, or Stefan [Paul]. He’s not a father figure, but he’s definitely like my older brother on set. We get along like a couple of buddies. I mean, we spend about three and a half days spread over five together.

You’ve worked in the States before. Is there a show over there you’d love to be in?

I’m really loving Suits. Patrick Adams who plays the young hotshot lawyer is… I really respect his work. He’s so on top of his scenes and his lines. The words coming out of his mouth seem so organic. I’m very impressed with him. So a part on Suits would be pretty nice.

What are the big differences between life in the US and home?

Doing what I do, it’s hard living in LA not to feel like acting is not the be-all and end-all. It’s all you see and all you hear and all people talk about. Whereas, being here in Australia, you can go to your job – and it’s a great job that you love – then you go home and live a normal life. Being able to work back home I prefer a lot more.

Christmas is nearly upon us. Is the cliche true, will it be barbecues on the beach?

Sorry but pretty much, yeah! A typical Xmas is back in Adelaide for me, with my family but this year me and my girlfriend are starting off there, then flying to New Zealand where most of her family are. It’ll be my first Christmas Day away from my family which is a bit sad, but that time was going to come. I’m growing up! We’ll be on a really pretty beach town in NZ so I think it’s going to be pretty stunning.

What’s your film of 2015, then?

It’s one I saw recently, called Ex Machina by Alex Garland (The Beach). It’s so good, it’s like a sci-fi about a young programmer who takes part in this experiment in artificial intelligence, by evaluating a female A.I. Some people have said the pace is a bit slow for them, but I thought it was incredible. A bit spooky if you think what sort of direction society is going in.

Neighbours episodes running from 7th December until 18th December will air on Channel 5 – 1.35pm and 6pm and will return on 4th January at usual times – 1.45pm and 5.30pm. For the first time ever, the nation’s favourite Australian soap will be broadcast on the same day as their Australian counterpart.