Blue Mountains-based actor Guy Edmonds describes himself as "an Emmy winning slashie" on his Instagram page. But when out in Katoomba he's mostly recognised as the arrogant and slightly kooky Hayden from a decade old Australian TV Christmas classic, A Moody Christmas.
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"Hayden is pretty far removed from who I am as a person and it's funny, despite that character and his role in the show, I get nothing but positive reactions from people who have seen it," he said.
"Just the other night at the Station Bar in Katoomba, I had a bunch of folks come up and tell me they loved that show and Hayden! Amazing, we shot that 10 years ago, and it still resonates with audiences today."
Edmonds list of credits extends to about 40 titles in stage and screen, as well as directing, production, tutoring and writing kids books, even a stint on Home and Away. But Edmonds biggest coup is Hardball, a hit kids TV comedy which he co-created, wrote, directed and acted in. It won him that international Emmy Award in 2021 and earned nominations for Director's Guild and Australian Writer's Guild awards.
Edmonds and his equally talented actress wife HaiHa Le moved to "Wenty (Wentworth Falls) 18 months ago with their two young girls, now 5 and 3. They recently set up a screenwriting and acting company to help others learn the secrets of stagecraft.
"It was part a lifestyle change and part a financial decision due to Sydney's skyrocketing house prices. Best decision we've made. The space, the fresh air and the awesome community of people," he said.
"It's a magical place, how lucky are we to live here?" Le added.
They met on the Melbourne Theatre Company production of David Williamson's Rupert and fell in love according to the script. Le is currently starring in Amazon Prime's Back to the Rafters as Cassie Rafter. She's also had roles in Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, Neighbours, Sea Patrol and Rake.
Their new company Blue Mountains Screen Hub offers an eight week online screenwriting fundamentals course for over 18s to explain story structure, character development and more. Students will write their own short film and receive professional, constructive feedback. In the acting course they will film students working through familiar TV show and film scenes and give "nurturing" feedback.
Le, a former full time TV editor, said keeping afloat in the Australian entertainment industry has required them to be "multi-disciplined ... it's a hustle and a juggle that's for sure, but we love it."
Edmonds said like "many, many others, the pandemic hit our industry pretty hard ...with not much acting and directing on the cards for the better part of a year, it was a good time to focus on family, and a bunch of writing projects."
They have been used to lean times before. Edmonds said about 10 years ago, he "had to choose between myself eating dinner or my dog eating dinner, because I had literally about $6 to my name. I thought - might be time to diversify. And in case you're wondering, my dog ate dinner that night".
They said using their knowledge as writers, directors, TV editors and NIDA tutors will give students a well rounded experience. Class numbers will be limited "to ensure all participants have a fair go". An acting program specifically for year 11 and 12 students is coming soon.
In-person screen acting classes start on Wednesday May 11 from 6.30pm-9pm at the Wentworth Falls School of Arts for eight weeks. The online screenwriting class starts Monday May 16, 7pm - 9.30pm and runs via zoom link.
"We are excited to share our decades-long professional experience with emerging screen practitioners in our Blue Mountains community," Le said.
Contact www.bmscreenhub.com or email: contact@bmscreenhub.com
