Set to appear on the hotly anticipated series Camp this summer, Tim Pocock is an Australian actor living the dream. Appearing as the young Scott Summers (aka Cyclops) in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Tim shares with us here anecdotes from the sets he’s worked on, as well as some indispensable pointers for those wanting to break in to the industry.

YOUNG ADULT: When did you decide you wanted to pursue a career in acting?

Tim Pocock: I started acting accidentally. I was in a choir when I was really young and they suggested I audition for “The Sound Of Music”, and I ended up getting cast as Kurt.  I then did a lot of Musical Theatre and Opera for a few years and it was while doing all of that that I realized that I wanted to be an actor for the rest of my life!

YA: What was the journey like coming from Australia to work in the States?

TP: Well it’s funny because, even though I’ve done a couple of really big American projects (Camp, Wolverine) they were both filmed back home in Australia! So I’ve always worked in Australia. Having said that, it’s very different working in Australian shows or movies, as opposed to working in American ones. Because the audience is so much larger in the States, a lot more time and money is afforded to the productions, which is always nice as an actor because we always want the end product to be as good as it possibly can be. But on the flip side, working in Australia with less time and less money available to productions, it forces us actors to be really focused and prepared, which is a great skill to have! I think that’s why so many Australian actors are making a name for themselves in the States these days.

YA: How do you manage to create an American accent? (That can’t be easy.)

TP: It might sound funny, but acting schools in Australia actually teach the American Accent as a subject! So I’ve ‘studied’ it over the years with various teachers. Also on shows like Camp, we have accent coaches on set all the time so we can double check our lines before we film a scene. That way we can always feel comfortable that we’re getting the accent right!

YA: What has been your favorite part of the job?

TP: It’s hard to pick just one! The rest of the cast are so great. It’s been really wonderful to work with them, and get to know them as friends! We also got to do a lot of really fun stuff in the show, and in such a beautiful location – every day was always so much fun! But the schedule was really tough – really long hours, with really early starts. Sometimes 6 days a week! So I feel bad about admitting it, but after we wrapped, I really enjoyed getting to sleep in!!

YA: Tell me a bit about your character, Robbie and his story line on Camp?

TP: Robbie is just a really nice guy! He’s always looking out for others and making sure everyone around him is happy. He’s super reliable and lovable, but people often take advantage of that and throughout the series, he starts to discover that some of the people in his life aren’t worth the time and effort he puts into them. Its kind of sad, but its also good because through that he learns so much more about himself and is able to really grow up. It is actually kind of weird how similar he and I are.

YA: Do you get to kiss a lot of girls? Is that a perk?

TP: Yeah, that’s one of the perks of this job. Haha. It’s actually a bit awkward to do all that stuff. Sometimes you’ll have to kiss a girl you’ve worked with for a while and you’ve become good friends so it’s like kissing your sister. Other times, you’ll be kissing a girl who you’ve only just met so it’s like kissing a stranger while a bunch of other strangers stand behind the camera and film it all! My grandmother once saw an episode of another TV series I was in (Dance Academy) where I kiss a girl, and she asked me why I hadn’t brought that girl over to meet the family.  So I had to explain to her that it wasn’t real.

YA: What are some funny things to happen off camera?

TP: Lily Sullivan, who plays Marina, is a massive clutz! She’s always tripping over something or falling down. She walks around looking like a super-model after they’ve done her hair and make-up but then the illusion is shattered because next minute she’s face-planted in the ground. I’ve lost count of the times she fell over.

YA: What are you most looking forward to? What else do you have coming up?

TP: I’m forever looking forward to the future! It’s filled with infinite possibilities and I’m at a point in my career now where things could really start taking off for me, and that’s really exciting! Apart from Camp being on the air, I also have a couple of films due for release later this year. One is a war film called Forbidden Ground in which I play a young Irish soldier in World War One, and the other is a cool horror film called Lemon Tree Passage where I play an American teenager on holiday in Australia. A bunch of us decide to investigate the legend of the ghost of ‘Lemon tree passage road’. I can’t wait to see the finished versions of both those films!!

YA: You got to work with the talented Hugh Jackman in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, what was that like? And did he give you any good pointers?

TP: Hugh is an absolutely great guy! It was such an honor to meet him and get to work alongside him – not just as a co-star but as a producer as well. I learnt a lot from him, just from seeing how he conducts himself. He’s one of the most polite people I’ve ever met, and when he talks to you he really pays attention and listens, which people seem to forget to do. That’s something I hope to emulate! But he’s also incredibly dedicated and disciplined – it takes a lot of effort to maintain a physique for a shoot, let alone to get into that shape in the first place.

YA: What can you tell others pursuing the same career?

TP: I think if you have a genuine love and need to entertain people, and enjoy performing and creating, then go for it! It’s not going to be easy, and there are going to be more setbacks than you can imagine, but if you can stick it out, it’s a very rewarding job! I think, above all, be patient and never lose sight of the enjoyment you get from the work. If you don’t have that, then what’s the point of doing it!?!

YA: If you were to put yourself in any show or movie throughout time, which role would you pick?

TP: Something in Harry Potter or Lord Of The Rings. I’m such a huge fan of both those franchises. The first Harry Potter book came out when I was 11, the same age as Harry, so I always felt like I was him, to a certain extent. And I love the fantasy of Lord Of The Rings, and now The Hobbit as well. But then, I wonder if I would have been able to enjoy the films as much if I were in them? Hmm…