Gold Logie winner Samuel Johnson reveals the surprising reason behind his shock career change

Samuel Johnson has revealed the real reason behind his recent shock career change.

The Secret Life Of Us star, 47, revealed in 2024 that he had taken on the role of part-time postman in the small, rural Victorian town of Tallarook.

Speaking to News Corp, Samuel said that he had a ‘very specific reason’ for the career switch.

‘I call it going backwards to go forwards,’ he said.

‘I look back to what I liked before – beer, bongs and boobs – before the chaos of adulthood and before my sister Connie got sick with a childhood cancer at 11.’

He added that he looked back to his youth when he had a paper round that saw him earn ‘more than $100 a week.’

Samuel Johnson has revealed the real reason behind his recent shock career change

That is when inspiration struck, with Samuel revealing the gig was a perfect deterrent from staying up too late.

‘So part of my self-care these days is re-instituting what I liked as a boy, and it is another measure I have put in place to ensure I don’t stay up too late the night before,’ he said.

Samuel, a self-admitted night owl, also revealed that delivering the mail three times per week had helped him to appreciate mornings.

‘I was never a morning person,’ he said. 

‘Now when the sun comes up, I am riding through the suggestion of the day and getting some much-needed private time because it is a very public role I play. Each day is a gift.’

Samuel made the surprising change in July last year. 

Sharing the announcement on the Instagram account of his cancer charity Love Your Sister, Samuel said the life of a postman was one that he had always wanted to live. 

‘I’ve wanted to be a postie forever and this is my chance,’ he wrote.

The Secret Life Of Us star, 47, revealed in 2024 that he had taken on the role of part-time postman in the rural Victorian town of Tallarook

‘I call it going backwards to go forwards,’ he said. ‘I look back to what I liked before – beer, bongs and boobs – before the chaos of adulthood and before my sister Connie got sick with a childhood cancer at 11’

‘It really is the perfect part-time gig for me.’

Samuel took on the three-days-per-week job in the small central Victorian town of Tallarook, which has a population of 925, and is required, rain hail or shine, to deliver mail across three streets.

‘In Tallarook, the mail is delivered in the early morning on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. It’s only three streets, three mornings a week, but it’s a 32km round trip,’ Samuel explained in his post. 

Samuel confessed that despite already nabbing the job, there was one small hurdle still standing in his way.

‘Much of it is off-road too. I have to ride a rail trail there, for example, and most all of the mail boxes are along dirt driveways,’ he added.

‘The surfaces are not too chunky or anything, but I’m looking for a sturdy bike.

‘I’m also not looking for a mountain bike. I already unicycled around the country and I’m a little older now, so I’m chasing a sturdy electric bike.’

In 2014, Samuel unicycled around Australia raising $1.4million for breast cancer research.

He added that he looked back to his youth when he had a paper round that saw him earn ‘more than $100 a week’

‘So part of my self-care these days is reinstituting what I liked as a boy, and it is another measure I have put in place to ensure I don’t stay up too late the night before,’ he said

Samuel’s older sister Connie [pictured] passed away in 2017,  after battling cancer,  and the Love Your Sister charity was established in her honour

Samuel’s older sister Connie passed away in 2017, after battling the disease and the Love Your Sister charity was established in her honour.

Speaking about his sister’s death in 2018, Samuel opened up about the grief he still felt at losing his beloved sibling.

‘I can’t just bounce back from burying her and push forward blindly,’ an emotional Samuel told 9Honey.

Samuel received his Most Popular Personality Gold Logie in 2017 for his portrayal of Aussie music guru Ian ‘Molly’ Meldrum in the Channel Seven miniseries Molly.

He is best known for his role as Evan Wylde in the television series The Secret Life of Us and appeared on the show from 2001-2004.