He’s starred alongside 10-time Logie Award-winner Lisa McCune for three years on comedy series How to Stay Married. But Peter Helliar reveals the actress, who plays his on-screen wife Em, is surprisingly down to earth.
“If I had won all the Logies that she has, my head would be the size of a planet, but Lisa McCune really has no idea that she is the Lisa McCune,” the 45-year-old actor and comedian tells WHO.
“Lisa is so enthusiastic and committed to the work. She’s so good at her craft and I’m just trying to keep up. I couldn’t ask for a better on-screen partner.”
What can you tell us about the upcoming season of How to Stay Married?
Season 3 picks up six months after Em’s book My Sh*t Husband comes out and deals with the aftermath. Unfortunately, it hasn’t gone the way she was hoping – no phone calls from Reese Witherspoon to adapt it to screen yet [laughs]. But Greg is doing OK out of it and has his own podcast.
Do you like your character, Greg?
I do, he’s not without his faults but I like how optimistic he is. All he really wants is to make the best life possible for Em and their daughters. He just wants them to be happy and safe.
This season Greg gets a little over-involved in his kids’ schooling. Did you get involved like that with your sons, Liam and Aidan?
I want to say yes, but I couldn’t do the number of projects I do and claim to be extremely hands-on at school. I’ve definitely done school drop-offs, a few comedy night fundraisers for the school and been there when I could, but I have to give credit there to my wife Bridget. She’s the one doing canteen duties and attending the parent/teacher evenings.
You and Bridget have been married for 17 years. What is the secret behind your successful relationship?
We just really love to spend time together. I told her recently, “You’re my drinking partner,” and I think if you prefer to spend more time drinking with someone else rather than being at home, there is obviously a problem. We don’t just love each other, but actually like each other and it seems to get deeper the longer we spend together.
You had some health issues last year, which saw you shed quite a bit of weight. Will your transformation be written into Greg’s storyline?
I think if you’re going to write something like that into the storyline then I’d have to really commit to it. I don’t want to write in the transformation and then put the weight back on [laughs]. That would be really embarrassing.
Since the show is filmed in Melbourne, will the coronavirus pandemic feature in Season 3?
We did speak about it. The second season ended with the couple going on a cruise, so it seemed like the perfect way to jump in and explore COVID-19. But there was a feeling that it could be quite risky and we didn’t know how it would feel by the time we got to air. We really just wanted it to be the perfect escapism for people.
Did you take up any hobbies with your time off during the lockdown?
I tried to learn French. I get these daily reminders from the app that it’s time for my lesson and it’s just a reminder of my failure.
(How to Stay Married returns Tue., May 4, 8.30pm on Network Ten)
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