BLAST FROM THE PAST
WHO IS HE?
Mark Furze was just a teenager
from the NSW country town of
Orange when he was cast as a
bad boy with a good heart, Eric
‘Ric’ Dalby, in Channel Seven’s
Home and Away, in 2004.WHAT WAS IT LIKE IN
THE SHOW?
“It was crazy,” Mark, 33, tells
New Idea. “There is not really
any handbook on how to deal
with [fame] and how to carry
yourself.”
At the time, the show was
in the midst of a ‘golden era’.
Mark’s co-stars included Sharni
Vinson, Chris Hemsworth,
Isabel Lucas and Todd Lasance.
“People loved that show, and
I realised people will love you
whether you like it or not. It’s
[the show] a real monster.”
Mark says the then
inexperienced cast bondedover their shared experiences
on the show.
“We were all thrown into it,”
Mark says. “So, you become
friends on and off screen as
you’re trying to figure out how
to do things.”
Mark and his co-stars became
household names and would be
recognised by fans whereverthey went. Then he left the show,
and Mark says it took some time
to adjust to life outside the
Summer Bay bubble.
“It’s a tricky thing realising
the world doesn’t revolve around
you – that’s been hard,” he says.WHAT HAPPENED
AFTERWARDS?
After four years in H&A, Mark
moved on from the show in- He appeared in the TV
series Underbelly and in the film
A Heartbeat Away before leaving
for the US.
While he has made five
independent films, Hollywood
is, to state the obvious, a tough
nut to crack.
“I haven’t worked over here
anywhere near as much as I’d
have liked to,” he admits.
“I’ve got five films under my
belt since coming here [to LA].
It’s a wonderful experience. I’d
just love to be doing it more.”DOES HE STILL SEE
THE CAST?
At least once a year, he will catch
up with his former Home and
Away co-stars. “It’s usually at a
Hemsworth party that I will see
most of the usual Home and
Away suspects,” Mark says.
“The Hemsy boys are good at
bringing the crew together.”WHAT ELSE IS HE
DOING?
Mark, who is also a musician,
moved to New Zealand and
joined rock band Shotgun Alley.
There he met his now wife, Kiwi
Laural Barrett.
After leaving the band, Mark
and Laural moved back to LA.
This year, the couple plan to
relocate to Sydney. Mark has
also written two screenplays he
hopes to see made into movies.Mark has
remained friends
with his former
co-star Chris
Hemsworth,
who played Kim
Hyde in Home
and Away.RETRO