John Wood

Sacked at nearly 60, Gold Logie winner John Wood turned the setback into an opportunity to reinvent himself on the stage and screen, writes Tiffany Bonasera.

He's best known for his role as Senior Sergeant Tom Croydon in the Seven Network's long-running police drama Blue Heelers. But John Wood's 12-year stretch at Mount Thomas's busy frontline came to an abrupt end in 2006 when the show was axed. It left the then 59-year-old at a career crossroads of sorts. "It was a bit of a shock but not totally unexpected," he says. "We knew it would come to an end at some point. You're doing well if you get a couple of series out of a television show - we got 12 years. We wanted to wind the show down and go out gracefully. But the network, in its wisdom, made a decision that meant we didn't have that opportunity."

Being "sacked' from the network presented John with the chance to reshape his life at close to 60 years of age in an industry where youth often prevails over experience. It was an unenviable position to be in after riding a brilliant wave of success as the star in one of Australia's most enduring dramas. Aside from the uncertainty of what was ahead career-wise, John admits one of the biggest challenges was learning to tighten the purse strings. "Suddenly you don't have that regular income," he says. "You live life to the level that you're earning, even beyond your means, so you have to pull your head in."

Thankfully, the transition phase was considerably softened because John had been savvy enough to continue to perform in the theatre outside his Blue Heelers duties. "I'd been trying to do one stage show every year to keep my hand in and remind myself why I was an actor, because it never occurred to me I'd be on television, let alone go on to be one of Australia's biggest television stars."

He won the Gold Logie for Most Popular Personality on Australian television in 2006, after 10 consecutive nominations - the people's choice award being the highest accolade an Australian television performer can receive. It's not surprising John's yet to completely step out of Tom Croydon's shadow. "Having played that role for so long and winning the Gold Logie as recently as two years ago; it's still fresh in people's minds," he says.

Currently starring as Jock in the acclaimed David Williamson production The Club means John is constantly on the road travelling to cities and regional towns around Australia. While he says "hundreds" of people know his name and who he is, a recent stop in Wollongong, south of Sydney, proved some people do have short memories, much to John's amusement. "I don't think one single person got my name right - they'd say ‘John Howard, John Howard' [star of the Seven Network's All Saints] to me in the street. He's a lot younger than me, and we don't even look alike," he says. "Maybe television is not the great news device it's made out to be!"

At its peak, Blue Heelers was watched by two million Australians. The adaptable performer has been able to use his high profile to his advantage. In fact, John's busier than he's ever been on the stage and small screen. Last year, he appeared in the Network Ten telemovie, Joanne Lees - Murder in the Outback, as barrister Grant Algie, and in 2006 hosted a lifestyle special Wine Me Dine Me for the Nine Network.

But John's recent roles haven't been limited to acting. In 2004, John became the face for Living Choice, one of Queensland's leading retirement village developers. His personable nature and widespread appeal was the ideal fit for the organisation. It's also been a perfect partnership from John's perspective. "Being the face of Living Choice saved me from going completely broke!" he says. "I'm really happy with my association with Living Choice - with the organisation and its villages. I've met most people in most of the villages and I enjoy getting to know residents on the bowling green or playing snooker."

For John, retirement was very foreign to him when he started out with Living Choice. "I had no knowledge at all on retirement; it wasn't something that ever occurred to me," he says. "Most actors work until they drop if they can." Describing himself as "un-retiring" because he's always working, John can understand the attraction of buying into a retirement village - a community where like-minded people also do other un-retiring things like having the time of their lives, rather than attend to life's mundane tasks. "There are so many other things you can do with your time!" he says. "There is no doubt this generation, people who are my age now, are starting to go into places like Living Choice - retirement villages, as an idea, is eminently sensible because of the convenience of not having to do the gardens and clean the gutters; things like that."

The experience with Living Choice has given John positive insight into ageing well. "My only experience with getting older before this was with my parents and in-laws," he says. "None of them moved into a retirement village. My father died at home from a massive heart attack at 84. My mother and mother-in-law went from their homes into nursing homes. They didn't do the transitional phase." As for his own plans to slow down and ease himself into retirement, John doesn't have any. He attributes his lack of preparation in this area to his chosen career. "I don't think you can have a plan as an actor; it's an accidental career in a way - you get a job that suits you, you do it well, it earns you kudos and that leads to another job," he says. "There's an old saying, ‘that you're only as good as your last job,' and that's perfectly true. It never occurred to me to think about retirement - my wife and I recently talked about the choices I made after Blue Heelers - I could have retired!"

Together since they were 16 and married in 1970, John and wife Leslie live on acreage in the Yarra Valley, east of Melbourne. The couple has two daughters, Meg and Lexie, who are both in their 30s. The three women in his life are the "highlight," though John is quick to add he hasn't always been good at being a husband and father. Still, the Wood family joined forces almost five years ago to run Yarra Valley Deli. The project was another of John's diversification tactics designed to offset his acting work. Managed by eldest daughter Meg until recently, John enjoyed cooking breakfasts on the weekend. But he feels it's probably time to part ways with the café. "It's one of those things. It was never Meg's intention to stay there forever. It's now a good, thriving and interesting business but it's probably time to move it on to somebody else," he says. "I thought, at the time we bought it, it would keep us ticking over. It meant I wouldn't have to be hanging on to the next acting job; it would enable me to say ‘no' to something I may not have wanted to do."

At the moment, John has plenty on his plate. He's on stage up to eight times a week with The Club. The role is physically and vocally demanding and he's finding it particularly exhausting because he struggles to get to sleep after a show. "When you finish a show your engine is revving to buggery," he says. "It can take two to three hours before you can even think about going to sleep." He credits his ability to cope with his gruelling schedule with being in good physical condition, despite problematic knees and a crook back. "I do a lot exercise - stomach crunches and things like that - not that you'd know it looking at my body shape," he says. "Before a show I spend a lot of time loosening up physically and vocally to get things moving."

Looking back at his career, John says there are many highlights. There's his lead role in Rafferty's Rules, which shot him to fame in 1987 and, of course, Blue Heelers. But John especially has fond memories of working in Adelaide in the early 80s. Here, he and other stars-in-the-making, including Geoffrey Rush and Kerry Walker, created the Lighthouse Ensemble. "I reinvented my career," he says. "I'd been giving acting a wide berth and had been working as a writer because roles in television didn't really interest me."

Twenty-one years on and John continues to evolve by taking on challenging assignments. Among his many up-coming commitments, there is an ABC mini-series to be filmed and an Opera Australia production of My Fair Lady to perform in. There's also the guitar lessons he'd like to start in his free time... but it doesn't look like that will be happening any time soon. "I'm flattered to be offered work at my age," he says.

To learn more about Living Choice please click here to visit their website.

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