Marcus Graham has revealed why both history buffs and fans of great Australian storytelling will love watching series two of the Stan Original Series Ten Pound Poms.
The veteran Australian actor, 61, told Daily Mail Australia the show was so engaging because it presented a rarely-seen look at Australia in the 1950s.
‘It is interesting to look at Australia through a British lens. If you’re a fan of anything from the ’50s, you are going to like this show,’ Graham began.
‘The actors are really good and there are so many storylines going on! It is just a good value, high-quality Australian co-production with Britain, a Stan-BBC production.
‘It had top people working on it and I am just so pleased to be a part of it. In the past Ten Pound Poms would have been a film but now it is a six-part series. As a series, you can just do so much more with it.’
Graham joined the show for its second season and plays the villainous slumlord Benny Bates.
Marcus Graham (pictured) has revealed why both history buffs and fans of great Australian storytelling will love watching series two of the Stan Original Series Ten Pound Poms
The veteran Australian actor, 61, told Daily Mail Australia the show was so engaging because it presented a rarely-seen look at Australia in the 1950s
The Perth-born actor revealed he had to do extensive research to prepare for such a challenging, and fun, role.
‘There’s a lot of newsreels I watched on YouTube that are authentic for the time… the poverty that people were living in!’ he said.
‘When I looked at the reality of it, and what my character did, the gap between those two things was my character… what does it take for a person to do what Benny does, in such extreme circumstances?’
The series, which first screened in 2023, dramatises the famous Assisted Passage Migration Scheme, which brought more than a million people to Australia after World War II.
Ten Pound Poms returned for a brand new season on March 10, and its storylines shine a light on the restrictions women endured, specifically in the 1950s – the era in which the series is set.
From bikini bans to being barred from pubs, mirroring historical protests that fought for women’s rights in Australia, the show covers it all.
The series also stars Stephen Curry, Tina Bursill, Cheree Cassidy, Maya Stange and Grant Lyndon.
Graham also broke his silence on if he would consider reprising his star-making role as Stanley ‘Wheels’ Kovac on the Channel Ten drama series E Street, which he appeared in from 1989 – 1992, and answered with a resounding yes.
All episodes of Ten Pound Poms stream exclusively on Stan from March 10
‘Oh sure! Good old Wheels living in some derelict warehouse somewhere… sure, why not? That was such a great show to work on,’ he said.
He also revealed two of the favourite people he has ever worked with – late US film director David Lynch, on the 2001 movie Mulholland Drive, and Shannen Doherty, on the TV series Charmed.
‘David Lynch was a highlight for me, he is one of the great filmmakers, legendary status. I was a real fan of his work, it was kind of an out-of-body experience working with the guy,’ he said.
‘He seemed to be exactly how he came across… That “crazy” guy who smokes cigarettes all the time and wears the same clothes… He really is that guy! It was refreshing because in Hollywood a lot of people are not what they are projecting.
He revealed who two of the favourite people he worked with were – Late US film director David Lynch and Charmed actress Shannen Doherty
‘I worked Shannen Doherty on Charmed. She was great, a head-trip. You never knew what you were going to get. Some days she was warm, other days she was like, “Get away from me”.’
Ten Pound Poms is produced by Eleven (Sex Education, Red Rose) for BBC iPlayer and BBC One in the UK and is a co-production between BBC and Stan.
Sony Pictures Television (SPT) will distribute the series worldwide.
All episodes of Ten Pound Poms stream exclusively on Stan from March 10
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