Former Home and Away star, Tai Hara, has had a busy year.
Apart from welcoming his first child, Chi, in early October with wife Fely Irvine, the 30-year-old has also been immersed in a brand new project that he has written, produced and directed.
Colour Blind, is an original, satirical and potentially controversial web series that holds a mirror up to the casting industry and asks it to question itself about its commitment to diversity.
Based on his own experiences in the film and television industry, the five-part comedy is a “well-intentioned but glaringly white ethnic casting specialist blundering through the maze of cultural sensitivity as he strives to bring diversity to the screen.”
“It really is based on my own awkward and uncomfortable experiences in casting rooms,” Hara said in an interview with The Latch. “It’s a satirical comment on an industry working hard to get it right but still so often missing the point.”
Hara got his start playing Andy Barrett on the Australian soap Home and Away, known in the past for its predominantly white cast and with Hara believing that “the framework of Australian TV still tends to lean to the Caucasian side.”
“From my experience on Home and Away, we actually never delved into my ethnicity, whether that be a good or a bad thing. But I kind of appreciated the fact that I didn’t have to explain my heritage.”
For the Hyde and Seek actor, the conversation surrounding ethnicity needs to change.
“People who are people of colour [POC] or ethnicity are having daily conversations where it is kind of brought up as a conversation starter,” he said. “It’s important to bring that to people’s realisation that maybe it’s not the best conversation starter.”
Here, Hara talks to The Latch about Colour Blind and its controversial main character, Gavin Walters, his own personal experiences with racism and what 2020 has meant for him.
Anita Lyons: I’ve watched a few episodes of Colour Blind and it’s so funny and a little scary at the same time. Talk me through the project.
Tai Hara: Thank you! The idea has been something that I’ve been sitting on for years, based on my own real-life experiences.
It wasn’t until last year where I kind of amalgamated all of these ideas [I had] and really brought it to life. It really is based on my own awkward and uncomfortable experiences in casting rooms.
“It’s a satirical comment on an industry working hard to get it right but still so often missing the point.”
AL: The main character, Gavin Walters, truly seems to be the worst.
TH: (laughs) Totally! It was really a conscious decision to have a middle-aged white guy at the front and centre of our series, you know, guiding you through these cringe-worthy and awkward exchanges.
I really wanted to show that, I guess people, even people with the best intentions, who are “allies” can still perpetuate and exacerbate the situation.
AL: I find that so interesting. It’s like with the Black Lives Matter movement and the black square on Instagram. Everyone filled social media with the square, however, a very popular and important resource was clogged up.
TH: To be honest, I’m not an expert at this. I’ll be the first to say I’m going to trip up and say the wrong thing when dealing with these really complex issues like that.
When it comes to the series, my intention is never to throw anyone under the bus. Gavin at heart is a person who’s wildly passionate and a huge advocate for seeing more diversity on our screen, he’s just so misguided and unaware.
We all know a Gavin in some way. It’s showing as well that, we just have to sometimes take a step back, and listen to the people that you’re trying to advocate for, and maybe hear them as opposed to waving the flag wildly.
AL: After having watched, I cannot believe that these have come from personal experiences.
TH: I chose to tell the series through satire. I think that’s, for me, the best way to tackle this conversation. It’s something that can be quite confronting for people a lot of the time and as you said, it is my own personal experience.
A lot of the actors of colour are involved in the series as well, it’s their personal experiences.
AL: That’s amazing they had input.
TH: Everyone who came in, I workshopped their scenes and we shared our own cringe-worthy stories and so many of them were from recent encounters. It’s really to give something that POC actors can relate to and also non-POC people something to experience.
AL: At the time, when you went through them, what did feel?
TH: To be honest, it’s all a mixture of different emotions because there are so many different experiences at different times in my career. Some of them hit you straight away and you’re left gobsmacked. It’s almost like an out-of-body experience.
AL: I can’t even imagine what it feels like, considering you were born in Sydney, Australia. Your first break-out role was on Home and Away and is known in the past for having a predominantly white cast. What was your experience with that?
TH: I can definitely say that the framework of Australian TV still tends to lean to the Caucasian side.
“From my experience on Home and Away, we actually never delved into my ethnicity, whether that be a good or a bad thing.”
But I kind of appreciated the fact that I didn’t have to explain my heritage if that makes sense. When anyone else walks into a room, they don’t ask you, ‘whereabouts is your family from in Europe’ in terms of percentages.
People who are POC or ethnicity are having daily conversations where it is kind of brought up as a conversation starter. It’s important to bring that to people’s realisation that maybe it’s not the best conversation starter.
AL: What do you think the best outcome would be for this social issue?
TH: As I said, I’m no expert on this and I definitely don’t pretend to have all the knowledge but I really feel that if we’re pushing for a more diverse and inclusive industry, as a byproduct, it’s going to be more representative and more vibrant.
I feel like there’s definitely some amazing initiatives happening and there is the push for POC stories. It feels like now, more than ever, this conversation is in the forefront of people’s minds, especially with the protests and everything else that’s happened recently.
“I think it’s something that we still need to keep positively, and constructively moving towards, we can’t just kind of put it out there and say it’s done.”
AL: You’ve got your own production company, Bag of Marbles, which is so exciting. Why did you start this company?
TH: I’ve always wanted to tell my own stories. And you know, at the forefront of my mind is to tell more diverse and inclusive stories, but producing has always been an avenue that I wanted to do. Produce, create, direct and write all of my own work. I think the best, way to do that is just to make or create your own thing.
I started it with one of my best friends who I actually went to acting school with, Anna Lawrence. We just have a huge wealth of knowledge and contacts and, and passion for telling these diverse and inclusive stories.
AL: It’s such a great thing to do. You have just become a father to baby Chi. Congratulations! What do you want to see change for her?
TH: I mean, really, what I’m doing right now is the change that I want to be seeing as I want to be seeing more representation inclusion. I want her to grow up in a world where everyone’s voice is valid. And that’s why I am doing these projects. That’s why I’m putting myself out there with my own work that is deeply personal because I want to be able to share that with her as a young woman.
AL: How has it been through the global pandemic for you?
TH: It’s such a strange year but I mean, it was just beyond our wildest dreams to welcome her into the world, so I can’t complain with this year. I have been very fortunate.
AL: What advice would you give your younger self, knowing what you know now.
TH: That’s a good one. Don’t doubt yourself. It’s just that plain and simple. That’s the biggest piece of advice I would pass on.