Sally Phillips: 'Seeing people like my son on screen is rare'
The actor hails her “funny and adorable” co-star
BBC
- Caroline Frost
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The lead character in Austin is a young man with autism, played by Michael Theo, who himself has autism. How important was that to you?
The show was created around Michael. We had The Undateables over here, while in Australia they had Love on the Spectrum. Michael was in that and Australia fell in love with him. Our producers realised, “This guy’s hilarious; wonder if he can act…”
Your son Olly has autism as well as Down’s syndrome. What difference does a screen character like Austin make to you personally?
For Olly, seeing people like himself on screen is rare. When they are, they often get bullied or murdered or exploited because of their autism or Down’s. Here, it’s part of Austin’s personality and Michael is funny and adorable.
Sally Phillips and her son Olly. Shutterstock
What was it like working with him?
The first season, we were wondering how it would be different, and it turned out that it wasn’t different at all. He had a smaller entourage than most Americans. He has an open, undefended heart. In the second season he has to behave badly and having to play arrogant shook him, so he had to be drilled.
Another theme of the show is being cancelled. Is that something you ever worry about?
I have had people go after me [after making a documentary about prenatal testing for Down’s]. It wasn’t nice and I hid under a blanket for a while.
Ben Miller with his Austin co-stars Michael Theo and Sally Phillips. BBC
You filmed a lot of the show in Canberra, which meant weeks away from home. How did you keep in touch with your three teenage sons?
It was six weeks away, the longest I’ve been away from my family, but the time difference meant I could speak to them twice a day. My little one would carry me around with him on his phone, so it was quite nice, but nothing beats being with them. I’m just grateful for the technology.
You and Ben Miller make a great married couple with natural chemistry. Have you worked together before?
No, but we met way back when he was in the Cambridge Footlights and I toured there with the Oxford Revue. Ben was doing an astrophysics PhD, he’d released a music single, he was writing comedy for TV, and he was going out with Rachel Weisz. That week, he was on the cover of the university magazine, and it said, “Ben Miller: Renaissance Man”. I thought it was the most pretentious thing I’d ever seen, but he’s not remotely pretentious. Our chemistry is very natural. It’s really good fun.
Austin has already proved a hit in Australia. Do you think Aussies share our sense of humour?
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I feel it’s bolder, brasher and brighter colours. They’re more emotional and open-hearted. We Brits can sometimes be too clever for our own good. And it does feel like Australia is having a moment. Their can-do attitude is the antidote to all the ills I feel in the rest of the world for sure.
Authors
Caroline Frost
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