Landing the role was both humbling and thrilling at the same time. I found out later that they searched through the stable of wrestlers, and none of them came across for them. They wanted a serious actor, and it wasn't easy finding their match.

NATHAN: 

Firstly, hello to all, and thank you for having me as a guest on board.  What's interesting is that I'm naturally shy, so the entertainment industry wasn't my first choice. Over time, I overcame my shyness..and it was people who kept asking and  telling me that they thought I'd be great in acting and entertainment, wrestling or a professional sport of some sort.  I kept brushing the idea off, but the thought was implanted in the background. Then one day I happened to be watching wrestling on T.V. (since it was getting popular again in Australia), I decided I could give it a go. 

Before getting involved in wrestling, I had competed in the World's Strongest Man competitions.  I won the Highland Games World Strongest Man in 1995 or '96, and when I came back to Australia, the 'Good Morning Australia' show contacted me to do a stunt gig for them live on television. My boss, at the time, suggested it would be good publicity for his business.  I ended up picking up one of his trucks (a Ford UTE) by the back end, and walked it 30 meters down the street. Martial arts movie star Jackie Chan was on the Gold Coast in Australia filming "First Strike".  He'd seen me, and wanted me in his next movie..and you can say that's my start into the acting/film world.  Wrestling came a bit later afterwards.  So with some effort and luck, or a combination of both, my start towards my entertainment career began. I enjoyed my time in professional wrestling, but it's like a rockstar's lifestyle, and I'm a homebody.  What kept me going for a while was the rigorous training, creative collaborations for my wrestling profile, and the positive feedback from my colleagues and fans at the time. 

Which role in your career has been your favorite thus far, and why?

NATHAN:

I wish I could, but didn't get the green light to, unfortunately.  But I think it's safe to say that I thoroughly enjoyed working on "Mad Max: Furiosa".  Getting the chance to work again with one of my favourite directors, George Miller, whom I have absolute high regards for.  He's like a father to me, as well as a good friend and mentor.  To working with talented cast and crew, whom were all professional and friendly. I was also fortunate, and managed to get my son onto the set to play a role as a war pup.  It helps to have some influence in connecting with the right people in the business sometimes.  I remember when George asked me if my son was really big or something, because they had to double him with a 9-year-old, and he was only 6 at the time. Maybe you can spot him out when the film is released. 

NATHAN:

I'd like to give my sincere and deepest respect to the late director Wolfgang Peterson, to whom I had the privilege to work with in "Troy".  I remember watching his film "Enemy Lines" when I was a kid, and realy enjoyed it.  Now that I'm older, and think about it, it was revolutionary.  It was basically an anti-war film, and had a humanistic view of the world.  After meeting Wolfgang, I realized he wanted to spread good powerful messages to help shape a better world.  And as I mentioned before, how they searched high and low for the right actor for the job in "Troy", his vote of confidence coming from him (someone so renowned IMO) was a nice booster in continuing to pursue my goals in the tough acting business.

And then there's George Miller, where I can’t express enough how much I truly love working for him. He is one of the most amazing people I have been fortunate enough to cross paths with.  And being in his presence, he just helps bring out the best in you, and makes you want to UP your game to the next level. He does it in a gentle, yet laser-focused fashion.

Before going into film-making, he earned his doctorate degree in medicine. To me personally, he is a down-to-earth humanist with a most creative, brilliant and complex mind, coupled with balance and tremendous focus that’s second to none. He was always on the set the earliest, and left later than most. The die-hard discipline he displayed every single day motivated me to work harder and be more efficient to get as close to perfection as possible. He treated everyone with respect and courtesy on every level. George has a track record of nailing every film genre down-packed, creating diametrically opposing genre movies from "Happy Feet" to "MAD MAX". He respects the intelligence of the audience, and you can see it in every aspect of his film making, right down to every detail.  His films also carry powerful messages to make people think in hopes of forging onto a better world.