Alan Dale as General Edward Riesen in Dominion. Photo / Supplied
Alan Dale as General Edward Riesen in Dominion. Photo / Supplied
Kiwi actor Alan Dale’s star has kept on rising since he moved to Los Angeles — even more so when he scored a key role in post-apocalyptic drama Dominion. By Leena Tailor
Jumping out of bed with one beauty queen and getting back under the sheets with another wasn't bad going for a guy nearing 60.
That was Kiwi Alan Dale's daily routine when he starred as the lover of former Miss America Vanessa Williams in Ugly Betty.
"I used to tell people, 'I get up in the morning, get out of bed with Miss Australia and get back into bed at work with Miss America'," chuckles Dale, whose wife of 25 years is Tracey Pearson, Miss Australia 1986.
"I don't think anyone in the history of the world has done that. For a 60-year-old guy, it was pretty cool."
The Dunedin-born actor is now 67 and life is just as good. His American series Dominion is heading into its second season, he cameos in the hotly anticipated Entourage movie, film offers are rolling in from Singapore and his downtime is spent with Tracey and their two boys in LA's Manhattan Beach, where he chats to Living at a local cafe.
It's enough to make him admit he has one regret about his 15 years in LA. "I wish I had come 20 years earlier - straight from New Zealand to here. There are so many shows and movies being made and, regardless of where they film, they cast from LA, so being here makes a big difference.
"When you're in that juvenile-lead age group there are thousands of actors whereas there are only hundreds my age. So in those days I would've been competing with them and, who knows, I might not have done well. But I did well in New Zealand and Australia, so why wouldn't I have done well here?"
Instead, Dale carved out his career Downunder, starting in Auckland where his milk run led him to working at Radio Hauraki, then in Australia where he went from Young Doctors to his best-known role as Jim Robinson on Neighbours.
The soap recently celebrated its 30th anniversary and although Dale has fond memories of the show and remains close to cast members including Stefan Dennis (Paul), he left amid bitterness and controversy after an argument with friend and co-star Joy Chambers (wife of Neighbours creator Reg Grundy).
"We were talking and I said, 'We started on this show and don't get paid any more than on Young Doctors'," recalls Dale, who had also become increasingly frustrated at his face popping up on McDonald's placemats and other merchandise.
"She said, 'No. That's not true.'
"Basically, between the two shows, Actors Equity had negotiated with producers to pay us up-front for overseas sales, so suddenly we got more money.
"But when you took the overseas sales off, the balance was the same - less than $100 more than on Young Doctors. So I was right, but never got the chance to explain. "She appeared three months later, said, 'You lied to me' and I was fired."
Dale didn't look back, heading to Hollywood with Tracey, 18 years his junior, and son Nick, then 2, for the premiere of First Daughter, an American teleflick he had filmed in Australia.
He landed an agent thanks to the TV ratings, and a five-episode gig on ER alongside Sally Field boosted his career.
"Sally Field was not so nice. I went to talk to her and she froze me like a fridge door. But she won an Emmy for that role, so the episodes were repeated a lot and lots of people saw them, which opened doors for me."
Jobs on 24, The OC and Lost followed, as well as one of his career highlights - playing King Arthur in Monty Python's Spamalot on London's West End. More recently, he appeared on Once Upon a Time, Hot in Cleveland and NCIS, but what is keeping Dale busy now is his role as General Edward Riesen on post-apocalyptic drama Dominion.
Alan Dale as General Edward Riesen in Dominion with Anthony Head.
"What I loved about Dominion is this premise that God loses his faith in us. He says, 'Look at Gaza and all this stuff - I'm outta here.' So the archangels, who consider themselves God's children, stir up the [lower] angels to attack humans and virtually wipe us out."
The show is filmed in South Africa and Dale's first visit took a scary turn when his newly replaced hip dislocated, meaning a second stint in hospital on his return home. He now relishes Cape Town life - apart from missing Tracey (a former journalist and TV host who now writes and manages the family's real estate) and the boys.
"I sit there at night with a glass of wine listening to gorgeous music and watching guys surfing 100 yards away and think, 'This is heaven.' Except I don't have my dog, my girl and my babies!"
Dale has two older sons from his first marriage and says becoming a dad again later in life forces him to get up and about to do things. The boys are already showing their performance genes. Nick, 17, plays the clarinet and saxophone and Daniel, 12, is pursuing cartoon voice work.
The family intentionally set up home away from the heart of Hollywood.
"I didn't want my kids anywhere near the kids of Hollywood. They're bad enough here, but we have a firm grip on our 17-year-old.
"I try to keep it as normal as possible. It's difficult when they've had Christmas in Sydney, April in Cape Town with a wild elephant in your face flapping its ears, then back here up at Apple's headquarters - it's hard for them to realise we live a glamorous life."
It's one Dale worked hard to achieve and with an ever-growing contingent of Kiwis infiltrating Hollywood, his biggest advice is simple. "Never, never, never give up. Keep fighting. No matter what age you are, get a good teacher and don't think you know everything because you don't. There's always another lesson."
