A drama about a Vietnam vet who returns home and is courted by the head of a contract-killing organization, Cinemax’s “Quarry”—premiering Sept. 9— finds Damon Herriman teaching vet Logan Marshall-Green the ins and outs of being a hit man. We spoke to the Australian actor about his gay character, overcoming audition nerves, and his special skills.
Read: "5 Keys for Staying Vital as an Actor From Logan Marshall-Green"
Tell us about ‘Quarry.’
I play Buddy, who works for the Broker, who is essentially a guy who runs an underground criminal group that takes hits for contract killings. In the first episode, we see the Broker targeting the character Logan Marshall-Green plays, and I’m one of the first people who shows him the ropes. Buddy is an incredibly layered character, and such a testament to the writing on this show. He’s gay; it’s 1972, so obviously that brings with it its own challenges. But he’s also incredibly fine with the fact that he’s gay and takes umbrage with anyone who does have an issue with it. He’s a little guy, but he’s very tough, he’s quite violent. Watch out if you get on his bad side.
What advice would you give your younger self?
You don’t need to be so terrified! I’m 46 now; I’ve been acting since I was 8, and for the vast majority of that time I let the nerves that come with auditions and first days and readthroughs and all those things that scare actors… I really let them get to me. Particularly auditions in my 20s, which was probably my most fearful [time] as an actor. I have so many memories of preparing for some role that I knew I could do and then walking in the room and just seizing up and doing terrible auditions. Almost having an out-of-body experience watching how bad I was.
How do you typically prepare for an audition?
I like to learn the lines as well as I possibly can, again, because of the nerves that come with auditions. Retaining lines only gets harder when you add nerves into the equation. I really do like to learn them. Partly also because I’m from Australia, and in Australia you don’t get to have the lines in your hand. If there’s a script available and time to read it, that’s a massive help. I find the character breakdowns a good gauge for what they’re looking for. Sometimes if you’re just reading sides, you don’t quite know what they see that character as being. And yes, there are those great stories of people walking in not what they expected, but I think it’s a good idea to show them what they want, at least the first time around.
What is your worst audition story?
The one that comes to mind was one of the first ones I did when I started coming to the U.S., a preread where the casting director did not look up from her page once during the audition. Prereads don’t have a camera, so it’s essentially an audition to see if you’re good enough to get an audition, and you are relying solely on a casting director looking at you, because there’s no other way to review the scene. I could not believe I was acting a scene to the top of someone’s head who was going to decide whether I should come back in or not. She didn’t see a moment! I wondered for a second if I was auditioning for a radio play.
What special skills do you have listed on your résumé?
Very few! I don’t really have many special skills. I can ride horses a little bit, I can play table tennis, but that doesn’t come up very often. Accents are something most Australian actors have up their sleeves, so I’ve always tried to be on top of any kind of accent work that needs to be done.
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