The Mali Hudson actor joined Home and Away in 2023 and made history after becoming the soap opera’s first indigenous main character since it debuted back in 1988
Kyle Shilling made history when he became Home and Away’s first indigenous main character.
His character has been involved in major storylines since joining the soap in 2023, from getting injured in a bomb, his relationship with Rose Delaney and his representation of Aboriginal culture.
While he’s been on the show for a few years, people may not realise his talents don’t just lie in acting.
Childhood
Kyle was born in 1994, which means that he will turn 31 years old this year.
He is from the Widjubal clan of the Bundjalung Nation and grew up in Taree and Pottsville in New South Wales, Australia.
He often shares his Aboriginal culture through dance on social media and grew up performing on stage, acting and playing music. He shared videos of himself playing the didgeridoo.
He graduated from the National Aboriginal Islander Skills Development Association with a Diploma in Professional Dance Performance.
Kyle has a twin brother named Jesse, with the pair collaborating on the song ‘Angels’ together.
Acting career
Kyle first appeared as an underwater extra in the music video for rock band’s The Preatures’ song Yanada in 2017.
He played a character called Eddie in the 2017 short Hoax, before acting as a partygoer in rock band Over It’s music video.
Since 2023, he has starred as Mali Hudson in Home and Away. He is the soap’s first indigenous main character. He had auditioned for several characters before, but was unsuccessful.
However, Home and Away bosses loved his auditions and decided to make a character specifically for him.
In early 2025, it was announced that he would be joining the season 22 cast of Australia’s Dancing with the Stars, competing alongside pro dancer Lily Cornish.
He shared a picture of himself with all the other celebrities, writing: “I’m doing a thing”
Rap career
While Kyle is known for his acting and dancing, he also raps and uses the stage name BLACX.
He has released songs such as Socks, Thongs, Brown Eyes, Feeling Good and Do My Dance.
Health
Kyle opened up about being diagnosed with alopecia after viewers of Home and Away made comments about his beard.
He took to social media to speak about his diagnosis and the comments he saw.
“For all those Home and Away fans complaining about my beard line….,” he started. “Not too long ago I was diagnosed with alopecia on the beard region, mainly my neck.
“Alopecia is a hair loss disease which can be caused by stress. The makeup team at Home and Away do the best they can do to cover up this ‘insecurity’ I now have. It should grow back eventually, but for now it is what it is.
“I’m not asking for sympathy as it could be a lot worse but I’m simply shedding light on alopecia so people have an understanding about it.”
The actor received loads of supportive messages and questions from his followers after opening up about his diagnosis.
He said: “Because of my recent story about alopecia, I’ve received an overwhelming amount of messages. Majority are from people who have gone through it with a worse experience. big love to you all, keep on keeping on.
“This is a reminder not too [sic] openly say something about someone’s appearance, as you may not know what the reason behind it is. Think before you judge.”
