Matt Evans, an aspiring musician, expressed to the producers his sincere desire that he would be given the opportunity to showcase his skills when he joined the cast of Home And Away last year as bad boy Theo Poulos.
They did listen. Theo recently became the lead singer of Lyrik, a local band from Summer Bay.
According to Evans, who admits he had no idea Summer Bay would acquire its own resident band, “I had a couple of meetings upstairs where I stated that I’d love to be able to do that and they were extremely accepting of that.”
“I knew there would be some music I could add to the character, but nothing else,” the author said.
Additionally, they kind of concealed it from me, which is funny. I was in the dark about this band that was rumoured to be arriving. I was one of the last to learn, but it’s been incredible.
Initially coming to the Bay to visit an old friend, Felicity (Jacqui Purvis), Lyrik decided to stay and finally obtained a permanent position at Salt, the eatery she owned with MacKenzie (Emily Weir).
Lead singer Bob (Rob Mallett) left the band after deciding against establishing more substantial roots, giving Theo and Evans the chance they had been waiting for.
The other members of the band, Kirby (Angelina Thomson), Remi (Adam Rowland, the guitarist), and Eden (Stephanie Panozzo), embraced Theo warmly.
Evans, who finished in the top 20 on The Voice Australia 2020 with mentor Delta Goodrem’s help, claims he connected with the trio right away since they are all seasoned performers and actresses.
“I’ll claim that no one is likely as motivated to pursue a career in music as I am. In addition to acting, it’s something I really, truly desire, he adds, adding that he finally believes the moment is perfect to start my music career while still continuing to act.
I genuinely would want to do both. There are several instances of people doing just that.
“I’m almost done with my debut single, which I’ll release later this year. I’ll also do a music video for it. Additionally, I’ve already begun writing additional tunes.
So, I’ve started the process of releasing my own music. I find all of that to be extremely thrilling, and right now I simply feel really joyful.
Will Lyrik perform any Matt Evans originals for the crowd, then?
I have no idea, but that would be fantastic. I really hope that happens. I think that would work incredibly well because the writing I’m doing is pretty funky pop. Perhaps I need to meet with the writers more often.
In September of last year, Evans made his House And Away debut when Theo showed up in Summer Bay looking for safety with his Aunt Leah (Ada Nicodemou) after being expelled from his home for defrauding consumers at his father’s auto shop by peddling shady insurance policies.
His bad-boy behaviour swiftly alienated onlookers, even members of his own family.
“Way back, my dad said, ‘Gee, Theo’s a little s…’ or something similar,” he says, laughing.
“And my grandma was always like, ‘I’ve been saying to my friends that you’re nothing like the character’, just trying to justify that it was not me.
“My parents are the most encouraging parents ever, so I think they were really thrilled to watch Theo’s development and that I included music as well. They are aware of my deep love for music. They value it greatly as well.
When it became clear that much of Theo’s behaviour was a reaction to the abuse he had endured at the hands of his father, viewers likewise rapidly changed their minds.
In fact, the 26-year-old was nominated for the most popular newcomer Logie at Australia’s television awards just a few months after moving to Summer Bay.
It was strange since the character didn’t get the respect he deserved, the actor says, adding that he collaborated with the authors to make sure of it.
“I wanted to change and evolve the character into a way that I felt was more me, I guess.
“I’m a lot more comfortable being him now. He’s still cheeky but he’s much more sweet.”
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