TV Week Australia – 26th June 1993
By Glen Williams
In-demand actor Simon Denny has just appeared in A Country Practice, but the conversation soon switches to BABY Talk!
Simon Denny has researched his next role - parenthood - in great detail, but in the end he has decided simply to ad lib.
With the birth of his first child only a few months away, Simon’s prospects look good. He is much in demand as an actor, but the uncharted realms of fatherhood still leave him somewhat jittery.
Simon says he and the baby’s mother, actor Rebecca Rigg, are trying to maintain a low-key attitude to parenting.
“Our approach to what is happening to us is to say, “This is a natural state and it’s best to be relaxed because it is probably good for us and the baby. But I must admit there is a lot of pressure from outside influences. There are so many theories and books about pregnancy. My response to all that is to say, ‘What are you all talking about? This is something that people have been going through for millions of years!’ To me, it seems the more you read up on the subject, the more discrepancies you find between writers.”
While Simon is virtually lamenting the fact that he can’t carry the baby himself, he says he is still getting closer to his unborn child.
“I’m sure it knows my voice now because at this stage it can hear me. It does react when I speak. It is still difficult because here is the child growing inside Rebecca and, while she can feel the physical changes, I have to feel from a distance. It is like the mother of the child develops a bond with the child and starts to get a feel of its personality – but I’ve only got a visual and touching bonding.”
Simon says Rebecca’s pregnancy has opened a completely new world to him.
“We now stop to talk to people with babies,” he says, incredulously. “It only seems like yesterday that I was a kid myself. Well, I’m still a kid in my head, but now I’m having conversations about becoming a parent!”
Simon says he has been able to apply the combination of tenderness and awe he feels as he awaits his baby’s birth to his guest role in A Country Practice on June 28 and 29.
Simon plays apprentice motor mechanic Stewart Waterman, a young man who desperately needs a show of affection from his emotionally-hardened father, played by Frankie J. Holden.
Stewart Waterman is no stranger to Simon who like his character, grew up in a country town.
“Friends of mine were 19-year old apprentices who played rugby on weekends, went to the pub after the match, drank 15 or 16 beers, vomited, went home and talked about it the next day. That is how I see my character’s life in Wandin Valley.”
Simon’s role in A Country Practice has been left open. Does this mean he may return as a regular?
“ACP has been a great experience”, he says. “But it would depend on what is being negotiated and, of course, on the timing. My child is being born in August, so I would want to be able to spend some time at home then.”
Scans from: http://thebakerboy.ucoz.com/photo/photoshoots/magazine_scans/1993_june_tvweekaus_1/58-0-10625
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