A FAMOUS AUSSIE SWASHBUCKLER IS ABOUT TO GET A NEW LEASE OF LIFE. ACTOR, THOMAS COCQUEREL TELLS MATT MYERS WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE… IN LIKE FLYNN!

STRAIGHT MATE / BY MATTHEW MYERS

DNA: How does one go about playing a Hollywood legend like Errol Flynn?

Thomas Cocquerel: Well… I first heard about Errol Flynn as a kid. I went to the same high school (Sydney Church Of England Grammar), which I think was the last school he was expelled from.

He’d been expelled from many schools! He was also the only actor to come out of that particular school and, because I wanted to be an actor, too, I was fascinated by him. In drama school, I always had in the back of my mind, that I’d like to play him one day. So when the script finally came around, I thought it was too good to be true. It was still hard to get that role, but it was pretty amazing that I got it! I watched his movies and read his book (My Wicked, Wicked Ways) to understand the person he was. The film is about the young Flynn, so I got to delve into who he was before he became the Flynn we knew on screen.