Neighbours and House star Jesse Spencer reveals how Australia has changed as he returns for first Down Under project in 20 years – and explains how he kept Aussie accent
Jesse Spencer has returned to Australia for his first domestic performance in 20 years.
The Melbourne-born actor, who rose to fame in Neighbors and US medical drama House, is in town to film Last Days of the Space Age on Disney+.
Jesse, 45, appeared on The Project on Tuesday night and shocked the show’s hosts with how broad his Aussie accent still is after decades of living in the United States.
‘You mean I’ll put it on? Does it work?’ Jesse joked, but then admitted that it comes and goes.
“It comes back pretty quickly once you get off the plane. Evidently when you speak the dialect and you’re on set surrounded by Americans, I mean it really helps (to maintain an American accent),” Jesse explained.
“Whatever you’re surrounded by, it’s a form of osmosis, I think, and you just absorb it and get it back.”
Jesse also said that although he returns to Melbourne annually, the country has changed a lot since he lived there full-time.
“I’ve been out of the country for so long, it’s a bit strange, and every time you come back it’s just changed.
Jesse Spencer (pictured) has returned to Australia for his first domestic performance in twenty years. The Melbourne-born actor, who rose to fame in Neighbors and US medical drama House, is in the city filming Last Days of the Space Age on Disney+
‘I was driving near Southbank trying to find the Rialto. Where is it? The tallest building in Melbourne. I couldn’t find it,” he said, laughing.
It was explained to him that taller buildings have been built since then.
“I know, it’s all over the store!” Jesse said, adding, “I try to come home once a year. It’s important to come home.’
It comes after the actor debuted a surprising new look.
In the trailer for the Disney+ show Last Days of the Space Age, Jesse, who once wowed with his boyish good looks and luscious blonde hair, looks very different in several scenes from the new show.
Jesse, 45, appeared on The Project on Tuesday night and shocked the show’s hosts with how broad his Aussie accent still is after decades of living in the United States.
He has put the heartbreaking appearance behind him and now appears to be much more distinguished, playing a father in the drama series, with a beard and gray locks.
The series follows three families in Perth in 1979 as the US space station makes an emergency landing near the Western Australian city.
Jesse plays father Tony Bissett, who juggles family life while leading a strike at the local power plant.
The new show is a welcome departure for Spencer, who says he is looking to produce in Australia after working in the US for so long.
“I was looking for an Australian production probably since 2004,” he told the channel Sydney Morning Herald.
In the trailer for the Disney+ show Last Days of the Space Age, Jesse, who once wowed with his boyish good looks and luscious blonde hair, looks very different in several scenes from the new show (left)
“We’re on a break, but network TV, the schedule of it – sometimes I had six weeks off, sometimes a little more – but making a production work is really hard.
“Once you get inside [network TV]“It’s very hard to get out,” he explained.
The Melbourne-born actor also spoke TV week about his reasons for joining the Disney+ production.
“I left Chicago Fire, and then I started a family, and I did that for a while, then Last Days of the Space Age came up.
‘It was nice to just be able to work on my first Australian project in over twenty years for a few months. “I was so excited to do it,” he beamed.
Jesse’s acting career began from 1994 to 2000 on the long-running soap opera Neighbors as Billy Kennedy, the youngest son of Dr. Karl and Susan Kennedy.
Jesse moved to the US and got his big break in the medical drama House from 2004 to 2012 as Dr. Robert Chase, starring opposite Hugh Laurie.
Jesse’s acting career began from 1994 to 2000 on the long-running soap opera Neighbors as Billy Kennedy, the youngest son of Dr. Karl and Susan Kennedy. Jesse is pictured with co-star Brooke Satchwell
He moved to the US and got his big break in the medical drama House from 2004 to 2012 as Dr. Robert Chase, starring opposite Hugh Laurie.
Jesse starred in the action drama Chicago Fire until 2020 and has since made guest appearances on the show.
Also in 2020, he married his longtime girlfriend, research scientist Kali Woodruff, in a private ceremony in Florida.
The Australian actor announced the happy news The Daily Telegraph and called the couple’s special day their “silver lining for 2020.”
In 2020, he married his longtime girlfriend, research scientist Kali Woodruff (left) in a private ceremony in Florida
“Despite a COVID spike, a change of venue, a Saharan dust plume, and not to mention a heavy thunderstorm, we made it across the finish line on our wedding day, and I’m a very happy man,” Jesse told the publication.
“What a bright spot for 2020. She is smart, beautiful and ahead of her years,” he added proudly of his new wife.
‘We are very happy. She is my haven in every storm, and we are already excited to move on to the next phase of our lives.”
Melbourne-born Jesse started dating Kali after meeting her at a music festival in Chicago in 2014.
According to the publication, he popped the question last year during a weeklong hike in the Peruvian Andes.
Jesse previously dated Brazilian surfer Maya Gabeira from 2010 to 2013.
Jesse starred in the action drama Chicago Fire until 2020 and has since made guest appearances on the show.