Alan Nurthen is an actor, producer, director, and former surfboard maker. But for him, the most rewarding job is teaching screen acting to teens and adults who want to understand the ins and outs of show business.
“My dad was a teacher with the Australian Air League. He died in 1980 but if he was alive today, he would be really pleased with what I am doing.”, Nurthen said.
He is quoted as saying that he “bummed around the world for a decade making surfboards”. When he came back to Australia, he went to take acting classes at the New Theatre in Newtown.
“Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to be an actor”, he contemplated.
For the next 8 years after leaving acting school, he won acting gigs in numerous Australian films and television series including Sons and Daughters, The Killing of Angel Street, Young Doctors and The Harp in the South.
In 1986 he was hired as a screen acting teacher by the Mona Vale Film and Television School. After which, he set up his own school at Dee Why which he named the Film and Television Acting Academy. Many students from his school have established screen careers – such as Matt Doran who worked as an actor on Home and Away and continued on to work with George Clooney and Sean Penn in The Thin Red Line.
Nurthen said that it was the people who have overcome their shyness and have become more confident through learning how to act that made teaching all the more worthwhile.
“There was one boy, who was so shy, he used to hide if anyone visited his parent’s house, and after a few months of classes he won an award for public speaking,” Nurthen proudly mentions.
His classes are not exclusive to actors. Many students of his come from a variety of professions. Some are lawyers, sales people and real estate agents. Nurthen strongly believes that actors must be wise enough to get to know what goes on behind the camera so that they can become better actors.
“They need to work in a television studio environment, in front of cameras and lights, and have their work edited, he says. “Until they are comfortable with the process and fully understand it, they’re not going to make it in front of the camera. After all, knowledge is power.”
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