Spy: Kiwi Neighbours star Barry Conrad on his new SBS series, Erotic Stories

Barry Conrad with body transformation coach Brock Ashby. Photo / Supplied

Sydney-based former Neighbours’ star Barry Conrad has a new erotic show in which he explores his sexuality.

The South Auckland-raised actor and singer/songwriter has had over a decade of success across the Tasman with acting and music, featuring in musicals and the movie The Sapphires.

Conrad has most recently filmed SBS series Erotic Stories — a diverse anthology drama whose lead characters are not the ones typically written as sexual leads on Australian screens; be it queer, gender-diverse, living with disability, middle-aged and/or people of colour. Fellow Kiwi actor Danielle Cormack also stars in the series.

“Erotic Stories is a series and unlike any other project I’ve been a part of,” Conrad tells Spy. “Sure, it’s erotic and spicy, but I think it’s written in a way that provokes audiences to see things from a new point of view.”

His character, Bradley, works in finance and has not established his sexuality. Conrad says the material challenged him but the director Madeleine Gottlieb was amazing and a pleasure to work with.

Conrad is a big fan of Cormack’s but the Kiwi pair did not share any scenes.

Barry Conrad with Home and Away star Ethan Browne. Photo / Supplied

Conrad says the underbelly of the series really is all about human connection, which is a common thread of his work this year.

Since April, he has been working on six-part reality documentary podcast series We Are Lonely, where four people meet with mentors and experts to help them build strategies for connection.

For several years Conrad, a natural introvert, has been an ambassador for R U OK? and says in Australia one in three people are experiencing loneliness.

“R U OK? centres around meaningfully connecting with each other and starting conversations with the people in our world who might be struggling.

“R U OK? Day itself falls on September 14, and the message for this year’s campaign is, “I’m here to hear”.

“Now more than ever we’re all needing more connection, and having a day singled out is awesome that it creates more awareness.”

With connection in mind, Conrad has created his own web chat series, Banter with BC, where he chats with friends in the entertainment industry as they dine.

“In an industry that can be pretty isolating sometimes, this new web series was born out of my wanting to connect more with others. You’ll see me do that with friends, peers, and all kinds of fascinating people from different fields. It also combines two of my favourite things: great food and great conversation.”

Two of his guests have been former Kiwi expats, Home and Away star Ethan Browne and body transformation coach Brock Ashby, whom readers may remember from Kiwi boyband, Moorehouse.

Conrad is a former X Factor Australia contestant, and Ashby was on X Factor NZ with Moorehouse and on his own on The Voice Australia. Conrad became friends with Browne after he appeared on Home and Away last year.

Conrad is open to more soap work whether it be a return to the reboot of Neighbours, a new role on Home and Away or a first time on Shortland Street back home, where he recently visited.

As a byproduct of his showbiz work, Conrad has made a name for himself in digital content, which in the last year saw him work with Lumix and take on a world trip, which included his birthplace of Cape Town in South Africa, the US - where he visited the Grand Canyon in Arizona, California and his favourite city in the world, New York - as well as home to Aotearoa.

“Coming back to NZ is always good for my soul. Not only because there’s just no place like it, but my family and some of my closest friends still live there. It moves at a much slower pace than what I’m used to, but that’s also part of the reason why I love going back.

“In NZ I’ve actually had my single Ocean Road reimagined by young artist Te Ahu Paenga from the award-winning children’s Māori language show, Pūkana. That was totally out of the blue and definitely a first.”

On the music front, Conrad says he is also working on a film soundtrack right now, doing the vocal production.

“Again, it’s a first, but something I’ve always wanted to do. Funny how these things come about when you least expect. Other than that, my Kawai piano’s getting a good workout, as I excavate for new tunes.”