In 2013, I came across a wonderful Australia actor named Aaron Pedersen who played outback detective Jay Swan in a marvelous little independent film written and directed by Ivan Sen. There was a followup sequel in 2016 called Goldstone and a new TV Series based on the films, also called Mystery Road, broadcast in 2018 ( and, I hope, many more seasons to come).
The biggest compliment I can give him as an actor is that he seems so genuine in all the characters I’ve seen from him that it actually feels like he is not acting but just happens to be the real character come to life that has stumbled onto the movie or TV set and is trapped by the cinematographers lenses and now inhabiting the world we see on film. He’s wholly authentic in spirit if not in flesh and blood. I never see him acting, or looking like he’s reciting lines written by a screenwriter…he just is.
I have since watched all 3 Jack Irish movies featuring Guy Pearce along with Pedersen and the 2 seasons of Jack Irish available on Acorn Media– all of them marvelous and engaging mysteries. In the US, we don’t seem to have any more mysteries written in film or TV, and we have to look to the UK or Australia for great stories in this genre.
Pedersen has worked with some fantastic actors over the years with some of them being my all time
