Aunty Donna Podcast - Two David Wenham’s

Episode Date: May 27, 2025

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A listener production. Good evening, dear listeners, and welcome to the Auntie Donna podcast. You know, if you want to check us out, help us out, you can do that over a page on the Auntie Donna Club and see the videos and a whole bunch of extra content. And today I will be greeted by one guest. We have the actor David Wenham on, or so I've been told and I can't wait to talk to them all about their film career and their upcoming film Spit should be very exciting.

David Wenham here on the Aunty Donna podcast where sometimes we do goofy, crazy things, but other times we have a guest on and we get to interview them and we have a bit of fun with it. And we have today just one of Australia's most incredible actors, David Wenham. He's in one of my favourite Australian films of all time, Oranges and Sunshine. Quite a bleak film, but a great film, a wonderful film. He was also something 300. Oh yeah, absolutely. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, so I've come in today expecting to interview David Wenham. What I've just realised before me is there are two David Wenhams here.

Yes, that's right. Hello Mark, yes we're David Wenham, Australian actor David Wenham. Now if you don't know who we are you could Google us. Maybe ask your mum, we were Diver Dan. Your mum probably knew us from Sea Change. Sea Change and you probably know us from 300. Yeah the kids know us from 300, which is a great film. I published this blade, a little bit of your 300 episode, very funny. But also made films in Australia like Three Dollars or the Brush Off with Murray Whelan.

Right. Of course, Gettin' Square. Gettin' Square with John Spatieri, which we've made a sequel to called Spit. We're both David Whedon. We're both David Whedon. Are you? Okay, because I am... No, I'm David Whedon. I'm full of a bucket of questions.

Oh, probably about the film Oranges and Sunshine. That was a real treat to me. It could have been the thrilling drama Top of the Lake, which I starred in. I haven't seen Top of the Lake. That's fantastic. Is it less about that? The recreation of Wakin' Fright, where I played Jock Crawford. What a thrill. I loved that film growing up.

It was something that inspired me to be an actor. And of course you could see me in the film Better Man. Oh right, of course. It was own Better Man. No, not the TV miniseries where I played Julian McMahon in 2013. Oh yes, that's right. I played Julian McMahon. But also, you might have seen me in Elvis.

Yes, you were in Elvis. He is. Elvis' dad, I believe. No, that was Roxburgh. Oh sorry, that was Roxburgh. But we do get confused from time to time. I'm good friends with Roxburgh, actually. We're often in films together.

We'll even joke about, you know, when we met we were a lot younger and he was of course from NIDA and I was of course from VCA, very different schools. Different schools, but we both acted in Australia in the 90s and 2000s. He got his start in Sydney at the Sydney Theatre Company in Belfour, I got my start at the ABC. In DC, the Retro Trick Company did a staging of Cyrano de Bergerac. But I can see how you'd make the mistake. Thank you for coming.

I saw that. Oh, thank you so much for coming. Thank you for seeing us. Now, at the time you probably... Are you the same man? Yes. Well, we were, yes. We were about maybe seven or eight hours ago. And what happened? Well, what happened was, I don't know exactly the circumstances, but I'm an actor and an

actor is never late and an actor is never late and an actor is never a rescinds on a promise. So I said I would do this podcast. That's right, I did. And even though the scientists said maybe you should stay for a little more examination, we were in sort of an act, there was a quantum experiment about super-perceptions. Quantum experiment. Now I'm just an actor, I don't really understand this stuff.

But I was just there, it was a friend of mine, he was showing me how something could be in super position. I don't understand it. Basically what happened is- Where did I? I was inside the chamber, I should have been outside the chamber. They locked the doors before they realised I was in there.

And what's happened is I've been split off into two people. Right, kind of like a Cronenberg film or something. Kind of in the way. Have you seen the film Australia which I'm in? Yes I have seen Australia. I play Neil Fletcher. Yes. And also the... Baz is such an interesting director isn't he?

Yeah, oh yeah Baz. Such an interesting director. I've worked with Baz for over 30 years. Really? Yes. But also have you seen the TV series Far Away Downs? Well it's just an extended cut of Australia. Well that's like two David Wenhams. Yeah. The same thing

but two people. So up until a point they were the same thing and at some point they split off. We split off about eight hours ago. This has never happened in the history of humanity. So you've been... So you have been... First time this has happened is to two David Wenhams. And you've got to understand the scientists, the quantum physicists that... Outside of this room, scientists are running around. And all of them, they're the ones that can answer any specific questions I've said about as much as I understand. Right, okay.

But also in the recreate, the film Joe vs Carol about Carol Beskin and Joe Chicago, whatever his name is. Well I didn't know that film existed. $3 is a great film, very under appreciated. It's a great Australian film and films in Australia. Also The Bank with David Wenham and Anthony DeParle. I also did a short film a few years ago about a man buying a rose for a lady. I can't remember the details but it's a very sweet short film. Okay. The film The Voice of Kano in Mortal Combat.

But you probably want to ask less about our careers and more about the fact that after a quantum experiment, God arrived. That's a story to be made. You might have known me. Most kids today know me from Lord of the Rings or 300. Yeah, I was going to say you were in Lord of the Rings. But then I was like... Theramir. Yeah. Brother of Boromir. But I just got, I didn't really read it as a boy and so I got the script and I just thought here's another character and Kate was in it of course. Yeah it's the least interesting thing about you right now if I'm being completely honest. What's that? You know. The fact that you were in Lord of the Rings. I don't want to talk about Van Helsing. I play Carl.

I play Carl. I played a lot of scenes with my dear friend Miranda Otto in Lord of the Rings. And I remember we were both in the second and third. So it was a very strange experience filming. We were there for most of the year. I didn't know what was going on. Just another character. The first film came out a whole year before.

I remember calling Miranda on the phone and saying, you know, strange isn't it to have been in this film and no one's seen our work. And that's great. Do you have separate memories? Absolutely not. Up until seven hours ago our memories are exactly the same. Right, but since then are you creating memories that you are unable to? Well I don't know. Because that's what I think we should be talking about.

What's that? Like the film career stuff is very interesting and if you were one David Wen. Cause that's what I think we should be talking about. What's that? Like the film career stuff is very interesting. And if you were one David Wenham, that's probably absolutely what we'd be focusing on. You would be talking about my film career. You would be talking about me and Crocodile Hunter collision course. Well, you're right.

And I didn't even know you were in that. Sam Flynn. Let him ask the question, David. I didn't even know you were in that. Sorry, sorry, David. I think that's the first time I've ever disagreed with myself. So is that what's happening here?

Are you disagreeing with yourself? Well, I don't know. I mean, you've got to understand this is, I could talk at length about my film career. Yeah, I could talk about, I could talk about Pure, I could talk about Dust, I could talk about the Moulin Rouge. We could talk about all of those things. It's another time I worked with Baz.

Very interesting with Baz, yeah. We could talk about all of those things. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's been my whole life. We could. I've only been splitting to two people for the last seven hours. A lot of your questions I don't have the answer to, but no, we don't share any memories. Earlier he went to the toilet. You don't know if he did one or two? At that time did you need to go to the toilet?

It's funny isn't it, because I thought to myself, I had a thought, because this was only maybe an hour after we split into two, I thought to myself, I drunk so much water, why don't I need to go to the toilet? And I think what's happened is only the water, the water went with him, the water didn't split and I said that to the scientists, they're looking into it now. Is the plan, is the plan to re- come back into one David Wennum? I mean this is early days. No, science is boggling. We don't know if there's long term repercussions from splitting off and becoming two David Wennums, or any other person for that matter.

Yeah right. Or was I meant to be, perhaps, you know, one of us was meant to be in a separate universe and we've been brought into this one. Perhaps we have literally split in two. The recreation of atoms, maybe one of us is entirely synthetic. Yeah. There are so many questions and I'm an actor. I don't know the answers to them. If I was given this role, there's things I would have powered approach it with actioning and objectiving and getting high lines.

I'd maybe talk to some quantum physicists about these sorts of experiments. I knew they'd done it to a monkey.. I knew they'd done it to a monkey. They'd told me they'd done it to a monkey a few weeks ago. To the best of our understanding, unless you've learned something in the last six hours that I haven't, David, we're the first human beings to ever be split into two people. Why? Why you? Of all the people. Because we were inside the... So they didn't know we were inside the chamber. You snuck in the chamber? No, we were looking. No, we were not. We were just simply looking in there. We were invited into the chamber. And which one of. So they didn't know we were inside the chamber. You snuck in the chamber?

No we were looking. No we were not, we were just simply looking in there. We were invited into the chamber. And which one of you did it? Which one of you snuck in? Me. Him and me. Both of you snuck in.

Him and me. Me. Well you understand this was before we split. Right. So I, we both, I, I went into the chamber. Yeah. Right. And we came out.

We came out. I don't know, maybe, Did you go into the chamber? Yes, I remember going into the chamber and walking out of the chamber and seeing you. And I remember looking at the door and saying, why is no one else in the chamber? Looking at the door, realising it had closed. So David, I'm curious with you. Do you remember doing Cosy? Yes, absolutely. I remember doing Cosy, I remember doing playing Diver Dan. I remember all of that too. He's playing Cosy. I played Doug in Cosy. He was great Cosy. Cosy's a play turned into a film in the 90s. Beautiful film. About putting on Cosy Fentute at a mental asylum.

Have you seen Seachange? No. Seachange tells the story of a lady played by Sigrid Thornton. She's in the city, she's all stressed and she makes a sea change. Makes a move. She moves to a small town. I know Kevin Harrington. I know Kevin. I know you both played Diver Dan or just you played Diver Dan. I played Diver Dan.

Well yeah right. Do you understand what happened this morning? So if you were to get a role tomorrow. This is far too early days to be talking about how we're conditioning. Well we've got to be able to talk about something because it's not interesting to talk about your film career when there's two of you here. I think we've been in, have you

surprised how many films you've seen here? And television and theatre as well. Yeah you've been in fucking everything. You were of that era. I've been working as well. Yeah, you've been in fucking everything. Yeah, sure. You were of that era. I've been working with one of the few jobbing actors in Australia. You're of that era when if you were a masculine man but interested in art... That's very kind of you to say. You had your career just fucking laid out for you.

Yeah, I lived down by the cross and Alexi Taliopoulos worked at the video store. I'd frequent. Really? Yes, that's true. I found that out recently on a podcast. At the time I was one person. Now I'm two. It's strange isn't it Mark? Yeah it is.

Do you get cravings at the same time? Well, I don't know. Have you had any cravings today? Oh no, not yet. No, no, no. I'll let you know though. This is the thing. The scientists are getting to jot down a log of all the different things

and they gave us two separate books. They insisted very firmly, they said, I think you should cancel the podcast, you've been turned into two people. We don't do that. Something I learned at VCA that I hold to is an actor never gets sick. An actor will always arrive and they said, this is a little more serious than sick. I was making Legends of Guardians, the Isle of Gaul. What?

I did the voice of one of the Isles. I did the voice of one of the Isles for Zack Snyder's Legends of Gaul. I remember on that one day I woke up, I was the crookest I'd been in a while. And I said, I need to go in. I still need to go in. And they said to me, well, this isn't sickness. This is some sort of the very foundations of the universe are being questioned right now.

We'd love to keep you in, particularly the fact that the water didn't split. Did you ever hear the water in your belly? Did you ever hear the podcast? Raise more questions. Did you ever hear the podcast we did where it was three David Wenhams? Ah, I'm not... Oh, that's the one where you did the 300. Yeah. I remember that. Ah, I'm not... Oh, that's the one where you did the 300.

Yeah. I remember that. Yeah, yeah. Our publicist played a little bit of it. Yeah. Thought I'd be upset about it actually. I thought it was very funny. And what did you think?

I thought it was absolutely hilarious. Right, right. I thought it'd be offended by it and it was very really funny. They played it for us yesterday. Oh, right. So there's no, yes, of course we had the same... Okay, you both, yeah, had the same reactions. All right, well, you know...

Did you know I'm in Peter Rabbit? No, I didn't know that. Yeah, I played Johnny Townmouse. It's an Australian film. Is it? Have you ever filmed here? I think it is very strange, I think, that we've split into two people, isn't it? Yeah, it's weird. It's super weird.

But I don't think I could have been, a better person could have been in this position because my whole life and your whole life, David Wenham, is finding characters and going how would they exist? Yes. And so I looked at this and I thought well this is just another example of that as me and David Wenham. Well I even thought, you know, it's funny because that's, when did you think that? Quite soon?

I thought that about an hour in. When they were checking our hands for pain? Yes. Right, it's funny because at the same time I was thinking my whole life I've always struggled to find the time to do both theatre and film and television. Yeah. There you go. Tell the scientists this.

So this is the split, right? Yeah. So and I was thinking this is a great opportunity. I could do some theatre, he could do some film. Is that why you snuck in? He could do some film. he could do some film. Is that why you snuck in? He could do some film. I've always regretted, I was doing a re- STC was talking about doing a re-staging of the Cherry Orchard a few years ago, but I chose instead to do Combat Wombat back to back.

And so I couldn't do two projects at once, but how great would it have been? There's only so much they can pay you. What's Combat Wombat back to back? It's a film that was shot in 2023, I voiced Lenny. I do the voice work, you know. What happens if… So isn't that interesting, we were thinking similar things but not the same thing at all. What happens if you do the Cherry Orchard and you do Wombat back to back?

Combat Wombat. Combat Wombat. And you're bad in the play or the reviews say you're terrible in the play and then the reviews come out and then you're great in the movie. What happens then? What happens to the two David Wenhams? I mean every time you make a project you've got to remove the results from it. It's all about finding truth in that moment. That's what you've got to do. I mean obviously Van Helsing wasn't very well received. 300 had...

That was before. Do you remember when we got the script for 300? I said what is this? I don't think this is going to be a flop. It turned out to be one of the great films of the early 2000s. And it was a great opportunity to get fit, you know. Oh yes, Zack Snyder, Zack is so funny. Such a funny man. But I think to get to your question, are we going to sort of maintain this same person kind of idea

or the same way the twins come from the same embryo, are we now different people? Where will you sleep tonight? Is one of us going to become an evil David Wenham, I think is the crux of the question there. But even more, even more base. Where will you sleep tonight? Well, I'll probably go home to my bed, but then you'll be there as well.

Yes, that's a good point there. That's a good point there, you've really raised an interesting one there. Did one of us take the bed and did the other have to sleep on the streets, friend with themselves and eventually become evil David Webner. Are you married though? Do you have a partner? Now, I'm not sure about that based on research and that sort of thing. What's interesting here though, as we cut to an end break, when we come back we're going

to tackle the moral and ethical questions of an evil David Webber. I also just want to know like what you like do you have you know who pays for dinner? Yes well I just have an interesting question. Have you spoken to Kate yet? No I haven't called her. Oh my wife Kate? No it's going to be quite confronting for her. She has no idea that you did this? Well she's an actress and a yoga teacher and she just built via street Hector.

Yeah right. The issue here right is if there had been sort of a split and there was any way to tell, maybe the water in his belly tells us something. It's the one thing we can draw from at the moment. If there is any way to tell who is the real David Wenham then maybe we'd have a better shot. Alright, the real David Wenham, he gets to go back and live in the nice house in Sydney with his wife. The other David Wenham has to live on the streets fending for himself. Slowly becoming evil David Wenham. Why though? Why?

Yeah, the real question of that would be who would be the better actor. That's where it gets interesting. Right. And then where it gets extra interesting is what does that say about the nature of evil itself? Well, yeah, yes. How would that influence my art as an actor? That is all very fascinating. And how would living on the streets turn me into?

Now if it is circumstance that made me evil and, you know, a comfortable life that keeps him on the straight and narrow, is it not circumstance that creates evil, not birth? Or is the inverse true? Is the person seeing the other David Wenham living in destitute in slums, that fear of becoming that himself, does that in turn turn the good David Wenham evil, in greed to secure what he has already? Now obviously, if this was a film I was playing and it was a science fiction film maybe by the Speeg brothers, I've talked to them in the past. They often go for an American in the end but you know often have a conversation and I've

talked to them and if I was doing this in a film I'd go well what's a real life equivalent you know here. Sure. And obviously you play your actions, that sort of thing. But I might go, oh, instead, it's like a father and a son. A father, their son never wants to be like his father or that sort of thing. Now, if I was asked to do this film, I imagine we could both play the split off people. That's a great savings for VFX. And also, I would just tap into this very experience.

But will you shower together? I don't see the need for that. And the scientists did ask us not to shower until they'd done a full scan of our bodies. But when you go to shower, will you shower together? No, I don't think so. No, I don't see the reason. There's no reason for us to. Because even when you shower with someone else, it leaves someone cold. No, I don't think so. No, I don't see the reason. We're not, there's no reason for us to. Because even, you know, when you shower with someone else, it leaves someone culled.

But what if you both need to be somewhere at the same time and you're running late? What would you do? What would you need to be? We've got two projects. What would you, what would the problem be if you and someone else needed to be in the same place? We've both got to be at the same place, right? Right, exactly.

You just, you just, degree who needs to shower, who needs to maybe... But what would be wrong with showering together? I don't think anything would be wrong with it. But then why are you so against it? Honestly, it's just not the first thought in my mind right now. It's more than the fact that I've split into two people. I'm worried that one of us is going to deteriorate. What about when you make love?

At a quantum level, you understand, one of us, sure, sure, could deteriorateate. What about when you make love? At a quantum level, you understand, one of us, sure, sure, could deteriorate. But what about when you make love? Oh, we've talked about MFF threesomes. Yeah, right. Huge leap forward in science beyond the wildest dreams of humanity. Well, have you spoken about MFF threesomes?

Because you sound like you have, but it doesn't look like. When did you talk about it? I called our wife and said, hey, would you be up for a date, just to try and soften the pain. Oh right, well yes, no. Well look, my mind probably goes to a similar place as David went in, but that phone call

was between David and Kate, not David and Kate. Right. But you have to understand, right, I think David was getting more to the point, other than the MFF thing, is the point of, what's happened here is more than just me and David. Yeah. It's bigger.

It's changing the way we think about humanity. It's bigger than two Davids. Yeah. It's bigger than the fact that I'm an actor is irrelevant. This is bigger than humanity even. Will you have separate bank accounts? Look, honestly, it's bigger than that. This is the foundations of the universe.

Yes, it's bigger than that, but also there is some practical things that I am very interested in knowing how. But do you understand that if this happened to you, you wouldn't have even thought of these? What if you buy something that you don't agree with should have been bought? We own a home. We own a home that has one, well, two signatures, us and our wife.

What if you go out and buy a Ninja Creamy and you've also gone out and bought a Ninja Creamy? We own a Ninja Creamy already. You come home and you've got two Ninja Creamies as an example. But what about the fact that we own one Ninja Creamy now. Who owns that Ninja Creamy? Yeah, I presume the good David Wenner. The fundamentals of morals and laws do not apply to the splitting of humanities. If you get a divorce, everything has been built. Fundamental change.

If you get a divorce, are things split three ways? It's a great question. All of this needs to be started again. If we're going to start splitting people like we have me, David Wenham and him, David Wenham. We've gone back down. We're saying fundamentally, you're talking about societal things that have happened in the last thousand years. Just practical things are going to happen. I'm talking about just back to the big bang here. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And that's important to get to. Everything needs to be reconsidered.

I just don't think you've thought about what the next week and a half looks like. We haven't thought about it at all. This was thrust upon us, David Wenham. And we are the perfect... Well, you snuck into that facility. Not to be split. Not to be split. We were there visiting our friends.

We weren't sneaking. We were visiting our friends. We weren't sneaking. David Wenham doesn't sneak. It was like the... Have you seen Spider-Man? When he gets bitten by the spider. It was apparently an accident. We were in the chamber. They didn't know that everyone had left. There was a miscarriage.

This is Sandman. More like Sandman. This brings up an interesting question for me, David. Do you have the power to fly now? Not that I've noticed. Yes, before I went out and could feel myself rising off the ground. That's very interesting. That's very interesting. If there's some sort of power. Maybe we've both been given some sort of Fed testing for situation, which I auditioned for for the original one in 2001.

And? Unlucky, went to Horatio Hornblower. Oh, yes, which I also auditioned for. Yeah, didn't get that either. So I guess my question is, I have been talking about foundational of the universe. I do think we can get a little bit closer. I think the closest relative to the humans that do this are germs.

Yeah. And what's happened here is we've split like a germ. Yeah. Now obviously it was that we're talking biology here instead of quantum stuff. But now what would a germ do if a germ split into? Spread. What's the ethics around germs I guess? Yeah, there are no ethics to germs.

I'm not an ethicist, I'm an actor, I'm not a writer. It would spread, right? I have done some drafts on films of very exciting projects that I've written. Well don't we want to vanquish germs? Do you know what I should probably call Kate and her husband. Do you know Kate's husband? Andrew Upton. That's you, isn't it? Oh, you know Kate's husband? Andrew Upton. That's you isn't it? Oh you mean Kate.

Not my wife. That's funny, you knew who I was talking about. You know I wrote the segment commission from The Turning. What? So I do write as well. You wrote that bit and you adapted that bit. I wrote the screenplay, I adapted the screenplay. Yeah wow.

For The Turning. For the segment commission. But I do think maybe I should call Kate and Andrew. Andrew's a smart guy. He's a writer. He might have some ideas about the moral and ethical quandary. The Three Sisters or the Chekhov players. They brought that to New York. You mean to Sydney Theatre? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You mean about the harbour? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's strange. I think they're more daring than the Repertory Company in Melbourne. Yes, I agree. Tell me, Mark, if, yeah. It's strange. I think they're more daring than the repertory company in Melbourne. Yes, I agree.

Tell me, Mark, if you were split in two, what would you do? Well, I mean, I don't know. I don't know what my other half would do. Would they do the same as me? I think the fact that he's got water in his belly and bladder gives us the strongest hint that he's the original David. Now, I'm not saying that for sure. Yeah. If he is, that's going to set me up to become evil David. So you think there is an original? You think one of you has stayed the same and one of

you is a wreck? Too early to say. I don't think there is. I think more and more likely we've split right down the middle. Would you be comfortable around each other naked? Sure, absolutely. I mean, that's pretty nice people. I've done really daring theatre where I've seen lots of naked men and it does not bother me at all. You have to learn to watch yourself if you're an actor on the screen. Would you?

Oh, I haven't even considered that. I haven't even considered that. We can check back in later about that. Maybe a week away, come back. Would it be weird? Would it feel weird? Just think about it. I don't know. I honestly have not considered it and I'll tell you why. I've been more worried about the fact that I think there's a good Chance I'm going to become the evil David Wennon You see that even we're seven hours out of splitting here and he's already have I don't have these I could die all that

I've learned is that I have water in my belly and I can fly so so and He but if he's the original now, we're not not saying that. No, we don't know that. We're saying if it comes to that... It's all theoretical, I suppose. If it comes to that... It would have been sick to have one of the scientists on... The fact that one of us had water in the old belly and one of us didn't...

Yeah. ...is an indication. And if it comes to that, I worry that he'll get the house, he'll get the wife, leaving me to fend for myself in the streets of Sydney. Become evil Daniel. How do you feel? Do you not feel any superpowers coming through in any way? No, I mean did you feel like you could fly or did you just start floating?

I felt the urge to do so and then went to a ledge before after I went to the bathroom and then I sort of hovered off and landed back down on the street. Wow, like a full fly. Yes. Wow. Okay. Yes. Wow. Okay. Okay. Well.

We'd like to plug Spit. Yeah, we can plug Spit. Oh yeah, if you both want to plug, I mean well you can plug different things if you want. You can plug Spit. Have you anything else you want to plug? Because I just want to talk about Spit. I mean I'm worried about-

I play John Spittery, I return to the role of John Spittery. I'm worried about plugging Spit. Only because- Spittery is a big name in Werribee. I'm worried about plugging spit only because we do have a bit of back end and I don't know how we're going to split that now. And because there is an argument that I'm the evil David Wenham, it feels like you want, you desire to become the evil. I've got a lovely life, The life of an actor is challenging. I've found comfort in my place and I'm having a lovely time.

Ever since Diver Dan blew up, I've really settled into my life. And the idea of going back, well, I've never lived on the streets, living on the streets, fending for myself. It might turn you evil. Living in the sewers of Sydney, perhaps with rats and vermin, becoming one with the rats and vermin, reemerging 20 years later as evil David Weddham. Yeah. It doesn't matter if rats.

It's terribly appealing. Yes. And I'd be able to communicate. Well, actually, it's funny you say that. Do I have any powers? The other moment when I was walking up towards this building I saw a rat and I heard a lady speaking, a language I'd never heard before. Here we go.

But I understood every word. He talks to the rats. This David Wendham talks to the rats and the vermin. You do have a power. Communicate with them. I believe, I'm not sure, but I believe that the woman I heard was actually the rat in front of me. And this happened the other moment? Just the other moment? The other moment downstairs.

Have you heard any other animals talking to him? I believe I've heard all the vermin, the pigeons, the cockroaches. You are one with the forgotten? With the forgotten animals. The animals that have been subjugated by the urban sprawl. The urban sprawl that I might be forced to live amongst. It's sort of like your character in Three Dollars. A little bit like my character in Three Dollars.

But they can talk to the animals? No, he is three dollars. Oh. Okay. Well. What my worry is here now is that he's got a power that's majestic and beautiful. He's also got the strongest argument,

even though I believe we were split right down the middle, like superposition type thing, I don't understand it. He's got the strongest legal argument. I think he's going to get the house. He's going to learn to fly. And I wouldn't say no to the house for being on it. And I wouldn't say no to the house. It's up on the Sunshine Coast.

Do you have super strength? Not to my knowledge. I've picked up a coffee cup so far. I've gone to the house. It's up on the Sunshine Coast. Do you have super strength? Not to my knowledge. I've picked up a coffee cup so far, I've gone to the toilet. It's fine. It's fine without super strength. It might break your legs if you're not careful. I'm trying not to leave you. It's always a good story.

I could fall apart if I was to do it. The scientists are still baffled by the... Yeah, we're not going to go flying around anytime soon. Well, you're definitely not. Well, the fact that I can talk to rats, isn't that a good argument? I mean, just on cultural sort of mores, that's not the power of the good David Weddam. That's the power of the evil David Weddam. No, it depends.

You could use the power of rats for good. This self-awareness which has held me in such good stead as an actor in Australia over the last 30 years, that self-awareness that you're currently exhibiting David says to me that that's exciting. Maybe the power of me, the power I can wield by flying will make me greedy. I think it's the twist. I think the twist is that we all think that the flying David Wenham is going to be the good because you're the dirt one, you're the sewer one. I live amongst the rats. You stink, you don't take care of yourself anymore.

But we were both in sea change. Yes. And Moulin Rouge. Yeah right. We both did Moulin Rouge. And you both did Spit. Far away down to Australia. Yeah we both did Spit. But only one of us can fly and one of us will live amongst the vermin of Sydney. Right and I believe, I believe that we're in the sewers under the Westfield Tower. It's going to be very interesting to see which one comes up good and which one comes up evil. I think it's time we'll tell. Time will tell.

Time will tell. Well, it's been... I've got a question for you, Mark. Yeah, shoot. Do you think when I become evil David Wenham... If. Oh, if, sure. Even when.

Even when I become evil David Wenham, all things considered, we can't put us back together again, all of that. Yeah. If when I become evil David Wenham, I re-emerge, do you think my goal will be to kill good David Wenham or do you think my goal will be to, you know, free the vermin, kill a lot of people, something more Magneto and our relationship is less adversarial. Join me me brother. Join me brother, a Magneto Professor X kind of dynamic because I think that would be a

lot of fun to play. I'd love to see a screenplay of that. I think that would be lots of fun to play. Well you're a writer I believe. Yes well I wrote the segment Commissioner from The Turning. Maybe we could call Cain and Andrew have breakfast and see if he could help us. Who wrote The Water Diviner as well? What was his name again?

Pick his brains. You Pick His Brains. You know, the guy writes. Pick His Brains go, listen we've split it in two, we've got an idea for a project and maybe we can, and that would be great. Well the last time Andrew Upton wrote anything. He's writing plays. The artistic director of the Melbourne Theatre Girls, Andrew Knight would be great as well. Oh, Andrew Knight would be good. I think I'd probably organise a couple of weeks if I've got a couple of weeks off. Hexall Ridge.

Jack Irish. Oh yes, I think it'd be good to talk to Stephen. The Artful Dodger. Oh, I love that one. So is the plan... How am I not in the Artful Dodger? So just getting, just wrapping my head around this. But you could have done Spit, I could have done the Apple Dodger.

That's what's so exciting more than, more than this evil good David Wenham thing. Will the flying David Wenham and the king of the pigs David Wenham, will that be, whatever it is, the king of the forgotten, the lord of the vermin. Is that going to happen? I don't rule over them. No, no, no, it's a kinship with them. I am a brother of the vermin. Is that going to happen? I don't rule over them. That's a human... No, no, no. It's a kinship with them. Yeah, yeah. I am a brother of the vermin.

Yes, yeah. Is that going to happen or are we talking about writing a screenplay about it? Because I've gotten a bit confused. Both. So it'll be based on a true story. Well, I suspect this will happen. I will become one with the vermin. He will become just more of a successful working actor.

Time will tell. Time will tell. I mean maybe... I want to get back on the stage. Yeah right. It could be a play. Maybe it could be a rock musical. That would be awesome. I love rock and roll. Mark, I watched a couple of clips on the way here. You're a very strong actor, all three of you boys. Thank you so much David. I can really see that in you. Hey I'd love to, I'd love to be

in the movie if it happens. Oh sure, yes well that's well out of my mind. I have to get my directing collaborative part John Toplitsky. But if you ever want to pick our brainsers. I worked with Broden on Irreverent, John Toplitsky who made Spit. Oh right, oh yes, very good, yes. Great director. Which one's Broden? John Toplitsky, he's got the bald here with the beard. Oh yes, yes, yes, yes. Funny that you remembered the name and I didn't.

All right, well. Well look at that, there's more sides. We're already splitting off, you know. Throw to the end of the episode. The longer you spend apart, the more I believe separate favourite winners you'll become. It's like twins, you know. Twins are the same, they just split off at a different point,

the identical twins. Yeah, not like the film twins. Oh no, that's different. Different, what if one of us puts on weight, you know, that sort of thing. Yes, or a beard one without a beard, we tend to always have a bit of stubble. Yeah, I expect they'll want to do scientific experiments on us, lots of opportunities. Maybe that will turn one of us evil, maybe they'll want to do scientific experiments on us, lots of opportunities. And maybe that will turn one of us evil, maybe you'll be happy for the written obelisk, no. I don't know if I was clear, I'm very happy to become the evil David Wenham. You might see what I'm saying. It's a very exciting opportunity.

Yeah, I think there's potential for both to become the evil David Wenham. I'd draft with Andrew Knight and then chucking it over to John Toplitsky and seeing what he says. I would argue that chances are both of you will play the good and the bad. Yeah, that's a good point. Sure, but I think it wouldn't be interesting if one of us sort of bulked up for the role and the other one sort of went impoverished, you know, like I'd been living under sewers. Sure, yeah. Well, thanks for your time, Mark.

Thanks, man. Thanks for coming on the To David Wendham's podcast. Okay. See, the way he's taken over is quite evil. Yeah, yeah, that is, yeah. I thought I'd try that off the side. But you did that too. What?

You initiated it. That's right. Maybe that's a little nod. Like Jar Jar Binks in episode one that goes nowhere. Took you 10 years to be able to riff with the other boys like that, know where they're going with something. Because we shared a brain for so many years, we can riff like comedians that have worked together for 12 years.

Isn't that fascinating? Well, do you want to say goodbye or? Bye. Best go back to that lab and check in with those scientists. Yeah, I'd do that. I'd get on that. Bye. Bye.

You've been listening to the Auntie Donna podcast. Thanks for joining us for another RIP episode brought to you by AuntyDonnaClub.com. See you next week!