He was a cold-blooded killer but he played footie with the kids. Les Hill, the actor who takes the role of Melbourne crim Jason Moran in an acclaimed new series, tells Joanna Hunkin he had to like the character
KEY POINTS:
Every city has an underbelly. Dark secrets that rarely come to light. When they do, you find yourself in a drama, more enthralling, and more dangerous, than any work of fiction.
When Melbourne's underbelly was exposed during its nine-year gangland wars it seemed impossible to believe such violence could exist under the city's peaceful veneer. Melbourne is a city of fine dining, shopping, arts and culture, not brutal murders and maimings.
And yet between 1998 and 2006, more than 30 people were murdered for their gang affiliations, and dozens more shot, beaten and tortured.
The new series Underbelly, starting on TV3 tomorrow at 9.30pm, is their story. It has been hailed as among the best Australian television ever made and centres around the city's key underworld figures - the Morans, the Carlton Crew, the Russians and the Williams.
Les Hill takes on the role of Jason Moran, the man credited with beginning the Gangland Wars in 1998 when he murdered his former associate and head of the Carlton Crew, Alphonse Gangitano.
Originally a Sydney boy, Hill, like most people outside of Victoria, was unaware just how horrific the turf wars were.
"All the core events, the major murders, we'd get," says Hill. "But we didn't get the everyday sort of stories. I really didn't know too much about it."
After first learning of the series, based on the book Leadbelly by journalists John Silvester and Andrew Rule, Hill knew he wanted to be a part of the production and set about learning all he could about the underworld figures.
"I spent about three or four hours on my computer trawling through newspaper articles and all the information I could find on it. I knew straight away this was going to be a good show and a very important story to be a part of, so I chased it quite furiously. I was engrossed in this story."
After landing the role and moving to Melbourne for filming, Hill soon learned the full extent of the conflict.
"Everyone we spoke to in Melbourne knew someone or had a story, or was at the most one degree of separation away from someone within that story. It was very prevalent in every Victorian's mind."
Co-star Gyton Grantley, who plays killer Carl Williams, agrees.
"The most amazing thing is that everyone in that city has a story about the Gangland Wars. Their best friends once had a drink with Jason Moran or their grandmother was sitting next to them on a tram last week. It's really interesting. There's a quiet passion for it."
While the 13-part series is steeped in reality, it is very much a dramatisation of events, says Hill.
"It is still a television show. There is some dramatic licence there they had to use to link the stories up."
So just how much dramatic licence did Hill take when creating his version of Moran, who seems disarmingly likeable for someone with such murderous tendencies?
Using the script as a foundation, Hill read several newspaper stories about Moran and spoke to the police officers who arrested him and had dealt with him in the past. He was also given a recording, taken by police from Moran's house, and spoke to family friends and Moran's associates.
"I used a lot of that to build into the character some little nuances. I didn't want to speak to the family because it is a dramatic recreation. I didn't want to get too close to mimic this person."
It was also important for Hill to create a character he could relate to and like.
"I've got a lot of respect for the loyalty Jason showed to his family and the sacrifice he was willing to make to provide. You have to like your character. If you don't like the person you're playing, you shouldn't be playing them.
"I can't speak for the real people because I wasn't there. I don't know every single aspect of the story. I came to like the character I played."
It is that attitude and approach, which makes the series so compelling. One minute, the characters are cold-blooded murderers, the next they are playing footy with the kids at a family barbecue. It is disconcerting and compulsive.
"I think the balance we tried to find was that it's a dark world these people work in, but at the same time they are human. They have wives and children, mothers and fathers," explains Hill.
Aside from the outstanding script and story, part of the series' success lies in the high production values.
Shot on location in Melbourne, several of the scenes were filmed in the actual sites they occurred.
"We had a great DOP [director of photography] who had a great look going from the start. It was all filmed on location, nothing was put in studio. They weren't skimping on the budget," says Hill.
With four months to shoot the 13-hour series, the cast and crew were given plenty of time to get things just right. One scene was just two-and-a-half minutes long but took over eight hours to shoot.
Such attention to detail wouldn't have been possible without the budget to support it, and Hill believes the series has set a precedent for Australian television, proving just how good it can be.
It seems audiences and critics agree. Since debuting in February, the series has gained widespread critical acclaim and continues to rate strongly, despite being banned from broadcast in Victoria because of pending legal proceedings.
Two days before the heavily promoted series was set to air, a Supreme Court hearing ruled Underbelly could not be screened in Victoria or on the internet because of a gangland murder trial set for March 31.
After appealing the decision, Nine Network lost the battle to screen the series until after the trial was complete and the appeal period had lapsed.
In their ruling, the appeal judges said the series would effectively provide weekly support for the prosecution and affect the jury's decision.
Which serves as eerie reminder that, despite the hallmarks of a classic crime drama - murder, suspense, betrayal and intimidation - Underbelly is very much a true story. And a terrifying one at that.
LOWDOWN
What: Underbelly, the real-life story of Melbourne's nine-year gang wars during which more than 30 people were murdered.
Who: Les Hill and Gyton Grantley play two of Australia's most infamous underworld figures, Jason Moran and Carl Williams.
When: TV3, Sundays, 9.30pm
