The Bryan Brown Theatre sits on the corner of Chapel Street and Rickard Street, nestled in the heart of Bankstown in South West Sydney. Named after one of its most famous residents, it’s become a hub for creative arts in the area. Bryan Brown himself is a regular patron to the theatre, and is incredibly supportive in fostering the arts in the municipality he was raised in.
For Bryan, this conversation is simple – growing up in the Bankstown area has undoubtedly shaped him to be the straight-shooter he is today.
“I guess in a place like this, you learn the bulls**t pretty fast. So I thought that's been pretty good taking me places where there's a fair bit of bulls**t....It helps growing up in an area where you don't get away with it,” he joked.
Bryan was 24 when he packed up his things and left the suburb of Panania for London to pursue his acting career. Before that, he was an insurance salesman for AMP. He knocked on theatre production doors for 18 months before persistence finally paid off. He scored a contract with National Theatre of Great Britain – one of the most prestigious theatres in England at the time.
But where did he find the courage to drop his comfortable suburban life to pursue an acting career?
“I think I did it because I was a boy from Bankstown,” he said. "Maybe [it was] my adventurous spirit that was given to me by living here."
With a strong acting portfolio, it was only a matter of time before he made it to Hollywood, starring alongside such actors as Tom Cruise, Sam Neill and his now-wife Rachel Ward. Despite his adventures around the world, he’s still drawn back to his hometown.
Bankstown Boy
Bryan is incredibly proud of where he lived.
"I'm a Bankstown boy,” He said. “I know that I'm a real product of place. I know that a lot of that 20 years formed the bloke that I am now. For good or bad - whatever people wanna think. But I know that I learnt a lot about life in that 20 years that I've carried through with me,” he said.
Growing up with a single mother in housing commission, and knowing her struggles in providing for him and his sister, Bryan has always been grateful for his childhood.
Bryan, aged 13, with his younger sister Kristine in Panania. Source: Supplied
“You make do with what you got and be appreciative of it. I'm very appreciative of what I've been given with the way I was brought up.”
It was this attitude that kept him grounded during his time in Hollywood, and still stays with him today.
Coming Back From Hollywood
By becoming a patron for the Bryan Brown Theatre, he’s giving back to the community that he believes offered him so much.
“I was given something by a place, and I should value it, and add to it.”
It’s a positive addition for young Bankstownians who struggle to find their identity, especially living in an area riddled with negative perceptions. Bryan looks past the stereotypes and encourages others to do the same.
“I don’t bother thinking about what the preconceptions are,” he said. “Identity means not taking what people say as absolute truth, but searching for it.”
Such was the case of 24 year old slam poetry performer and Bankstown resident Yasmine Lewis, one of the panelists on the ‘Where I Live’ event - a panel of five writers who explored ways in which place affected their identity and their creative expression - a collaboration between Sydney Writers Festival and Bankstown Arts Centre. She admits she used to be ashamed of where she came from, but is now comfortable with it.
"I guess now, finding my identity through slam poetry, finding a voice in my community, I've learned to really be proud of Bankstown and be proud of where I come from."
"To have this space, where we can have these conversations, where we can have these voices, I think it's really special, and to have Bryan Brown support us and support young people, because he knows what it's like to be from Bankstown, and to be interested in art,” she said.
It’s clear Yasmine and Bryan share a mutual love of the place that influenced them and their work. Bryan has settled in Balmain with Rachel and their three kids. However, with a theatre named after him, a part of him will always be at the very heart of Bankstown, just like it will always be at the very heart of him.
The three-part documentary 'DNA Nation' premieres on SBS on Sunday 22 May at 8.30pm, and afterwards on SBS On Demand.
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