australian television information archive

Zoe's wild adventure with Dan

ZOE Ventoura has turned her back on a Hollywood career - for now - to star in Channel 7's rugged new outback drama Wild Boys.

Speaking exclusively to The Sunday Telegraph, the former Packed To The Rafters star opened up regarding her decision to remain a player in the local industry opposite Daniel MacPherson.

"I went to LA late last year and took meetings and did some great auditions. The plan was to move, but then this came up, I read the script and just fell in love with it," Ventoura said.

The 31-year-old added her boyfriend, TV vet Dr Chris Brown, was pleased with her decision to remain in Sydney.

"He is happy, of course, so too my friends and family."

Wild Boys, dubbed an "Aussie Western" by program producers, has also seen MacPherson, 30, put his Stateside plans on hold.

"It was a really big decision to put off LA again as I've spent the last two or three years working towards heading there," he says. "But like Zoe, I read the first [Wild Boys] script and loved it. I certainly have no issue in my mind that I have made the right choice to stay."

The lavish new drama explores the brutish ways of a group of bushrangers in 1860s Australia.

"This is the greatest bloke's job in Australia. It's a step forward into a leading-man role. And I get to hang out with mates around beautiful talented actresses, ride horses, shoot guns, chase bad guys and grow a beard. What more could I want?"

To be shot in northern Sydney, the drama, expected to debut later this year, is a coup for NSW, given the wealth of series being filmed in Melbourne.

By Richard Clune
February 20, 2011
The Sunday Telegraph