Two households. Two different experiences. One open mind and heart. “I grew up an only child in a divided household, but it meant I could occupy two worlds,” shared renowned actor, Callan McAuliffe, about his upbringing. While living with his mother in Sydney, he was able to learn “life’s ropes, and became comfortable with the hustle-bustle of city life,” something that would prepare him for the whirlwind that comes with the world of Hollywood. And living in the countryside with his father, he discovered his love for science and nature that “still brings me peace and purpose outside of the industry,” he added.
From this, Callan started acting when he was young, though not remembering if he even made a decision to get into the entertainment industry, “I just kind of ended up here.” Hoping to make something he is truly proud of, the actor also has plans to move to Botswana, learn Setswana, “and become a Botanical tour guide in the Okavango Delta – introducing people to the much-neglected flora of Southern Africa,” he explained. Now, that’s cool!
Of course, as he makes his way to fulfilling all his dreams, acting currently plays a huge part in his life. A series regular on the infamous, The Walking Dead, the show will return to AMC for the eleventh and final season on August 22, 2021. Callan looks back on his first day on set which involved “being roped to a bunch of other people in a chain-gang, marching back and forth under the Georgian sun.” After all, he would find himself fighting against zombies as the drama in the new world unfolded periodically!
Playing the role of Alden, Callan brought himself to the role as most actors do. “I like to think that Alden is just me with a different accent and a more paternal instinct,” he expressed “ If nothing else, we both furrow our brows to express nearly every emotion.” Over time, the actor found himself learning a lot about himself and the world of television. While filming Season Ten, he learned a valuable lesson about prop-work. And it involved a catapult and a squirrel…
You see, his character built a few catapults “on the wall to defend against the season’s terrifying flesh-masked antagonists,” and of course, for safety reasons, they were very weak catapults. Meant to propel foam projectiles, Callan was in for a little surprise…As he shared laughingly, “or – in my case – an inquisitive squirrel that had scurried up into the cup before we started rehearsing!” Don’t worry, the squirrel was fine. And one of the biggest takeaways from this was that “even when everything seems in order, it’s always worth double-checking.”
A little something we can all integrate in our daily lives! I don’t know about you guys but I am definitely someone who double checks…ok, ok checks about 100 times, but who’s counting?
Anyways going back to zombies…What would you do if a zombie apocalypse were to happen today? If they are as slow as portrayed on the big screen, there wouldn’t be too much worry… For Callan, he’d expect that the military would have a great handle on the situation however failing that, “I would enjoy living out my primitive masculine fantasies of morally unambiguous heroism,” he opened up. Now that is what we call a great answer!
Now, it may not be humans turning into zombies but we do see a lot of “horror” in the way certain people are. Here at Bello, we asked Callan’s take on this and in his answer, he reminds us that everybody has lived a life of their own, “in a unique crucible of complex variables.” One person’s wrong may be another’s right, and as he candidly put, “anything less practical than compassion is wasted grandstanding.” We must remind ourselves to listen to others as we have all faced different situations in our lives which have affected us differently… A little compassion and empathy can go a long way.
Waking up anew every day, Callan is still finding his true purpose in life “Every day I wake up confident, and go to bed uncertain.” In love with what he does, in his eyes, life is a journey of discovery! And on that journey, a lot can happen. On top of the last season of The Walking Dead, you will also find the dedicated actor on a film, The Duel. Having worked with dear friends on this project, it is likely to be his favorite film to date, so stay tuned… My role is the most “Callan” “of anything I’ve yet been a part of. It resonates with me deeply, and I can’t wait for people to see it,” he shared with excitement.
Callan McAuliffe brings charisma, passion, candor, and fire both on and off the screen. Bright smile, great wit, and elaborate responses, we cannot wait to see what comes next for him! As he ended what was one of my personal favorite interviews to date, “only time will tell.”
TEAM CREDITS
@BELLOmag
Talent CALLAN MCAULIFFE @mcbombadil
Photographer HIGGSY @higgsy_photography
Creative Direction ALEKSANDAR TOMOVIC @alekandsteph
Styling LO VONRUMPF @stylelvr
Grooming JENNA NELSON @thisjenna for American Crew
Interview ALEXANDRA BONNET @alexbonnetwrites
Production @bellomediagroup x @maisonpriveepr_la x @alexbonnetwrites