Twenty-nine years. That’s how long it’s been since Michael Caton first laid eyes on the script for a little film that would become an Australian legend: The Castle.
It didn’t take long for Caton, 81, and the tight-knit cast to realise they were crafting something extraordinary.
“We knew it was good. We had no idea it would go off the way it went off,” the actor tells 9honey Celebrity as he reunites with his on-screen sons for the first time in 25 years.
Watch their reunion in the video above.
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A dark and quintessentially Aussie brewery in Marrickville is the perfect setting for me to greet these icons face-to-face, as they star in a new Uber Green campaign.
Tell us we’re dreaming.
Caton is joined by The Castle co-stars Stephen Curry, who plays his son and narrator Dale Kerrigan, and Anthony Simcoe, who took on the role of Dale’s brother and The Trading Post devotee Steven Kerrigan.
Curry, 49, says to this day the movie has “the funniest script I’ve ever read.”
“On the page, there were belly laughs right through the entire thing,” he grins.
The Castle follows the Kerrigan family, who receive a notice informing them of the compulsory acquisition of their home to allow for the expansion of the airport located right next to their backyard.
The family’s patriarch Daryl fights the eviction on behalf of himself and his neighbours, none of whom wish to relocate.
Throughout their fight, viewers get to know each member of the Kerrigan family and their inner circle – like mum Sal Kerrigan, played by Anne Tenney, who delights her family with delicious treats like “rissoles” and “sponge cakes” as well as various arts and crafts.
Then there’s Tracey Kerrigan (Sophie Lee), a hairdresser newly married to Con, played by Hollywood star Eric Bana.
We also get to know Wayne Kerrigan (Wayne Hope), who is serving time in prison for armed robbery, well-meaning local lawyer Dennis Denuto (Tiriel Mora), and the QC who comes to their rescue, Lawrence Hammill, played by Charles Tingwell.
The Kerrigans are a working-class family who love each other dearly, and are happy with their small patch in the world – and even happier to fight to keep it.
“Some people, when it came out, went, ‘Oh, it’s mocking working-class families’,” Simcoe, 56, says.
“I went, ‘That’s my family. That’s how we talk. That’s what we do. That’s how I grew up’.”
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“There’s such a heart in the film,” Curry adds, “It’s so much about the love within that family.
“That concept of, ‘It’s not a house, it’s a home,’ I think is something that everyone wants to aspire to.”
To this day, when meeting new people, the trio encounter new fans keen to quote some of the movie’s most iconic lines – many of which have taken on a life of their own beyond its 1997 release.
Curry said this happens “incessantly” and people “don’t always get them right”.
Caton’s most iconic lines include, “How’s the serenity?”, “We’ve all kicked a goal,” and, “That’s going straight to the pool room.”
Curry often hears, “I dug another hole, I’m filling it with water” – a line his son recently repeated back to him in a real-life setting.
“We were on the beach with my 10-year-old and we’re building a sandcastle, and we built a little moat around it, and he stops and goes, ‘I dug a hole.’ And then, he’s filling it with water’,” he laughs.
“If I get, ‘How much for a pair of jousting sticks?’ one more time in my life, I think my head is going to explode,” Simcoe jokingly adds.
Steve Kerrigan not only expresses interest in purchasing jousting sticks from The Trading Post, but also ergonomic chairs, seven eskies, a radar camera detector that “paid for itself” after it warned the family of a speed check on their way to their holiday home at Bonnie Doon, a pulpit, a mezzanine, a spiral staircase and a telephone box.
Steve would share the listing with his dad, who would want to know, “How much do they want for it?” Once told, he’d respond, “Tell ’em they’re dreaming!”
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Steve is also the “ideas man” of the family, according to Daryl, who raves about his son’s inventions – including a “motorcycle helmet with a built-in brake light,” “dog bowls out of tractor hub caps” and “a brush with a hose in it”.
The Trading Post still exists in website form, although if the movie were set today perhaps Steve would also check out Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree, or even eBay.
Simcoe says these comments led to “instant rapport” with viewers.
“I think it’s a gift that we’ve all been given,” he smiles.
“The strange thing is when people associate you with a job, and this is a lovely thing, they think they know you better than you do, because they associate you with the film. That’s special.”
The movie lives on, not only among those who remember its release, but thanks to its inclusion in the Year 12 English standard syllabus in New South Wales, ensuring an endless stream of new fans.
Throughout 9honey Celebrity’s interview, planes roared overhead, as happened in The Castle owing to the runway that ended right at the Kerrigans’ back gate, prompting shared laughter and even more memories.
Thinking once more of how the Kerrigans would interact with the modern world, we ask the actors to share what they think each of their characters’ Uber ratings would be.
“I had my first green one two weeks ago, and it was really great,” Caton shares.
“Did it sneak up on you?” Curry jokes, in reference to how quiet electric vehicles (EVs) can be.
The cast of The Castle reunited on behalf of Uber Green, which announced its fleet is now made up of electric vehicles only, and the price is the same as standard Uber.
It came after research showed Aussies are happy to choose environmentally friendly options, as long as there is no additional cost.
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When it was suggested Dale may be an Uber driver, Curry says he doesn’t think that would be the case.
“He might have trouble reading the GPS,” he laughs.
“I think he’d be a good passenger. But again he wouldn’t get five stars because he’d be asking too many questions.”
Steve’s rating may take a hit as well, owing to his love of buying second-hand items, many of which he may leave behind in his Uber.
Uber released their annual list of items left behind in its vehicles which included unusual things such as a seafood-filled esky, a bottom denture, a puppy, a love letter, and even police documents.
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Although, he’d surely be a much quieter passenger than his dad and brother.
“Steve’s a watcher,” Simcoe adds, “He would be just watching everything that’s going on and the drivers would find that a little bit creepy.”
Curry agrees, imagining Steve asking questions like: “So it’s electric? Electric electric? Like fully electric?”
“Yes, electric!”
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