Mark Furze plays Ric Dalby
Via: Phone (17 August 2005)

D.O.B.
7.06.86 the last time I checked

You appeared on the TV show Outriders and Jessica before you worked on Home and Away. Which did you enjoy working on most?
I'd have to say Outriders, I was only on Jessica for one scene because it was shot near where I was I lived in Orange at the time. And Outriders was the first thing I did and that was for 6 months for a kids show. I think I was 13 or 14 and it was fantastic and such a good experience! It was the first acting gig I done so it was all a bit overwhelming but it was a great time!

Who in the cast are you closest to or hang out off set?
Well actually I'm very very good friends with Cornelia Frances who plays Morag. We get along like a house on fire, she's lovely woman and I love her to death and um I actually  live with Chris Hemsworth who plays Kim! We live on the northern beaches together so that's going aright! He's a mad dog but I can deal with him!

Is there anybody in the cast or crew that you dislike?
No, actually the crews all, well they've all been doing it together for so long so it such a tightening crew and I mean we all get along well together. They're a really really good bunch of people. I mean the cast are all on the same boat and trying to do the best we can. They're all good people, no bit egos or anything so we all fit together really well.

That's great you get along with everyone
Yeah well there nothing worse then having getting up in the morning to meet people you don't like.

Were you confident that you would get the role of Eric Daly in your audition?
Not at all, I'm never confident for auditions unless I'm really sure that I can do the part which I mean it's not up to me so I'm extremely nervous and even more so because it was such a big audition for me because I was sin year 12 at school and was looking for something to do after school and looking for something to do in my future and I was really really nervous about it but I was just lucky and was at the right place at the right time!

Do did you actually have to move to Sydney to work on Home and Away or were to always a city boy?
Well no as I said before, I grew up in Orange in central west. For the first six months while I was just a guest, I was pretty much moving backwards and forwards from Orange which I got  a bit previous which it's a  three and a half hour drive but now I've moved to Sydney so I'm here full time and I'm loving it!

Do you remember your first day on set?
I do! I remember I wasn't shooting. It was just a rehearsal day, I was been showed around by Channel Seven and introduced to everyone else and it was a very surreal experience to be introduced to these faces that you are familiar to but you don't actually know so I was quite honoured! It's quite odd actually and it was a quite overwhelming  day but I've gotten used to it.

So what's the best thing about working on Home and Away?
Well I'd have to say the lack of consistency in the hours is always good because you  there's no routine an it's always changing and also the fact that I have to work at the beach which I can't complain about at all! I have to drive to Palm Beach every week! It's horrible! (laughs)

If you remember a while back, you did a nude scene with Cassie. Do you remember filming it?
I did yeah! He went skinny dipping and she stole Ric's collar and I had to ride a bike wearing only seaweed and a helmet!
It was extremely funny to watch!
Yeah it turned out alright! (laughs)

If you could play any other character on Home and Away who would it be?
It'd have to be Colleen! She's hilarious! I wouldn't' be able to do the character as half as well but Colleen's fantastic and very funny!

Do you have any siblings?
Yes I do. I have an older sister who's 22.

Any in the acting industry as well or are you the only one?
Well she's just finished a 3 year acting course. It's called a (something) and now she's doing a film make up course so she's in it as well and my dad's in theatre!

So it's all in the family?!
Yep! It's all in the family!

Are you similar in any way with the character you lay Eric Daly? Or can you relate to some of his problems?
Well we look pretty similar as I've been told (laughs)! Um, yeah well as we've played the character for so long we have so much to do with him so I think the person you are comes out in the character so a lot of the humour stuff you see is mainly me as I throw little bits in there but I'm not as aggressive as Dalby it or more on less I try not to be. But there's always a bit of each person in the character!

Can you reveal any spoilers that's happening between the Ric and Cassie storyline? and how Cassie getting with Aden and Ric gets jealous....
Yes, well Ric becomes obviously not to happy about how she's being with Aden as he's still got feelings for her but I can tell you that there is quite a strong confrontation between Ric and Aden and that all boils over! It all happened quite quickly so you'll just have to keep watching!

How long do you see yourself working on Home and Away? Or where do you want to be in 5 years time?
In 5 years, I would like to be um, well I think I'm with Home and Away for 3 years so I'll be there for a while but I would like to go overseas and try some acting over in Europe or America! That would be fun! But that's the dream eventually but I don't know how well I'll go! But I'd like to be in a band!

Oh, so you would like to be in the music industry?
Yeah well I play guitar and play the drums and can sing a little but too so I'd love to be in a guitar and heavy metal band.

If you weren't on Home and Away, what do you think you would be doing?
I think I would probably be picking up garbage in the morning (laughs) no I'm only kidding.. no I'd probably be overseas, like maybe in America you know those Summer camps? Maybe being an instructor being at one of them Summer Camps for this year and then I was going to see what happens after that.

How many days a week do you shoot?
Well depends on the storyline, like I've had today off this week and it just depends how big  the storyline is and how many episodes there are for that. Like I could get 3 days off or 5, 12 hour days a week so it really just depends on the storyline. It's usually five days but we get half a day off every now and them.

Do you prefer studio or location filming?
Um well they're very different depending on where the location is. The studio is much more faster and all comfortable as you don't have to worry about the wind or weather but location is fin as it's always different and it's just a bit more exciting then being outside

We've heard if you go on set like if you go toe the Summer Bay Caravan Park, it's really small compared to what we see on TV
The caravan is actually out, not in the studio. I think it used to be, but not anymore. It's actually out west near Windsor. But the back door out of Sally and Flynn's house is actually no where. It's actually in the studio. So it's all very protective. They do a lot of cheating!

What has been your most memorable moment on Home and Away?
Um well actually well this is quite a funny story, in the green room we get things to sign, like t-shirts and fan cards and there's always a pile of fan cards which I'm pleased and actually Jodi Gordon who played Martha actually left her bra on the table so I was playing  a joke and is signed her bra and then Indiana actually singed it as well (laughs) so we all had a bit of a laugh!

Does it come naturally to you to learn lines or do you find it hard?
Well now I do it, I become a lot faster. Your brain sort of gets trained. At first it took quite a while but now I can get used to it! I don't' stick to the script completely, I make it up a bit but it's quite easy now then it was at starters!

What's it like knowing people have become famous through Home and Away?
It's excellent and I hope to become big stars like them!

What’s the best thing about being a celebrity?
Getting free stuff, I can to go to places and invited to places for free which is great! Also, I get invited to movie premieres!

The big question that will either make girls extremely disappointed or extremely have, Do you have a special girl on your life at the moment?
The only special lady in my life is my Mum currently.

Which celebrity would you choose to be stranded with on a desert island with?
Someone but cant' remember and also Kate Ritchie

Who's your celebrity crush?
Again, Kate Ritchie!

Do you have any pets?
Well back at my parents home we had 2 jack Russells

What sort of music have you been listening to recently?
(can't remember exactly) Wasn't modern though, more retro. I think it was 70's music Mark said.

Is there a message you would like to say to your fans?
Can't remember when Mark said but just to say thanks to everyone for supporting him.