PODCAST: Wentworth star enjoys being the underdog

AUSTRALIAN actor, Socratis 'Socs' Otto is a self-confessed 'chameleon'.

He has played Charles Darwin, a psychopath, Hamlet and even a transgender woman, as he did in the TV series, Wentworth.

But as an actor, and in his real life, Socratis has always come from the place of being an underdog. He was bullied and ostracised as a child and this has only helped him in his career as an actor and director.

LISTEN: Get the full interview with Australian actor/director, Socratis Otto here:

Matt Collins:

A lot of people will know you from our television screens, but you started off in radio.

Socratis Otto:

I did. When I was at university doing my BA I had my own show called Frisk.

MC:

Where did that name come from?

SO:

I don't know, I have no idea. I interviewed a lot of big-name bands like Tool and Nine Inch Nails.

MC:

Ever any inkling of interest to go back to that world?

SO:

Probably not because when I record myself I can't stand the sound of my own voice.

MC:

I know that feeling.

SO:

Towards the end of my radio career I had stopped speaking and I was experimenting with instrumental music and spoken word and orchestral pieces. I was much more interested in playing around with music than speaking.

MC:

Let's talk about your acting goals. What was the plan early on?

SO:

When I look back I think I actually have achieved those things I was contemplating in my bedroom as a boy. Which was travelling the world, acting in all sorts of roles and living off that.

MC:

What are the roles you enjoy playing the most?

SO:

Probably the ones about the underdog made good. The battler or the outsider or who felt like a minority. I never realised until I do now, going on this journey wasn't necessarily about being an actor. It was about tapping into stuff and helping people who feel that they were alone.

MC:

You were born in Australia, but your parents are from Greece. Did you experience any racism in the early days?

SO:

Yes, with a name like mine you can't get away from it. I ended up blaming my heritage for a lot of my bullying but that wasn't the case at all. I had a very mixed identity when I was growing up. I didn't know who I was. It was very confusing.

MC:

A lot of people will know you as Maxine Conway, the trans-woman on the television show, Wentworth. You mentioned before a lot of your characters have been underdogs. Why was Maxine an underdog?

SO:

Well, Maxine was a beautiful gift. I actually went to speech therapy lessons for Maxine. Not many people know that. Maybe not successfully when you watch it back.

MC:

No, you played a remarkable role.

SO:

She was about 40 years old. She only recently transitioned. She still had a lot of her male qualities. So all her life she had been battling, not knowing who she really was. To brave transition at 40 years old without any support from anyone is so inspiring. I know a lot of people who have contacted me that are going through that right now. When I played Maxine it was still a bit taboo to talk about. But since then, we have seen a lot of trans stories in our social media and our media.

MC:

Was there any reluctance from you initially to play a trans-woman?

SO:

None. None whatsoever. As an actor you want to go for those kind of roles because you know it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You'll never get an opportunity to play someone so far removed from yourself

MC:

How does being a director differ from acting?

SO:

In my acting, people sometimes say "That guy is a little bit too much". As an actor I have sometimes been told to censor, but as a director it is free-for-all. There are no rules for me.

LISTEN: Get the full interview with Australian actor/director, Socratis Otto here: