willygee
18-12-04, 10:24 AM
It might be the sanest thing ever done by a person involved in a reality television show. Vadim Dale, star of Outback Jack, is fleeing the country before his series is seen.
"I am making sure that I won't be here when it airs," laughs the 28-year-old former construction worker from Melbourne.
Dale is chiefly worried about his mates' reaction to the show, in which in full Crocodile Dundee regalia, he fends off not just outback wildlife but worse - 12 very pampered American girls who are parachuted into the West Australian wilderness to vie for his affections.
Over the course of eight episodes, Dale has to whittle the girls down, The Bachelor-style, to find the woman he loves.
It wasn't as easy as he expected. "I'm sure my mates will give me grief about the tears," admits Dale, who got far more swept up in the emotion of eliminations at the end of each episode than he expected.
Then there is the ostentatious pig knife that is always strapped to his side, the narrator's countless references to his croc-wrestling skills and the constant use of the word "sheila" which doesn't seem to come entirely naturally to a chap who went to the same school as Prince Charles.
"I went to boarding school for 10 years so a lot of my mates and I are very close and they know the person I am and they're all waiting in anticipation to see the show," says Dale, who attended posh Geelong Grammar, including a stint at the prestigious Timbertop campus attended by the Prince Of Wales.
"I expect them to give me a lot of s..t, that's what blokes do. And anyway, as I said, I won't be here when they see it."
As unlikely as it seems, Dale - who comes from the genteel blue-blood suburb of East Melbourne - actually does have genuine Outback Jack-style credentials.
After a modelling career in his late teens and early 20s, he worked as a jackaroo and stationhand and, yes, he really can wrestle crocodiles.
"My experience with crocs came in Papua New Guinea," he explains. "A friend of mine from boarding school lived there and his family had a crocodile farm. I'd go over there on holidays and he basically taught me from a young age how to deal with crocodiles and it just went from there."
Understandably, the producers of the series - which aired in the United States earlier this year - could not believe their luck when they found a man with model looks and Outback cred.
"Once they found out I had my own python they were like, 'Oh yep, that's what we want to hear'," says Dale.
Before they found Dale, the producers had a much tougher time finding a suitable Outback Jack than they had imagined.
"(The second time) they came back out, they put a finder's fee up and friends of mine heard about it and thought, 'Here we go, we'll make some money here'.
"They were the ones that contacted the producers and when they called me I wanted nothing to do with it. I was expecting them to make a fool out of me on TV."
However he eventually took a couple of hours off work as an occupational health and safety officer for a construction firm and did an audition.
"Next thing you know I had a phone call saying, 'We're flying you to LA'. "
The series was a big hit in the States and Dale has found himself not just with a new love - yes, he and the woman he falls for on the show are still together and planning marriage - but a whole new career.
"I've had a few offers to do my own show and things like that and we've had movie offers. I've spoken with people like David E. Kelley (The Practice, Ally McBeal) and Aaron Spelling (Dynasty, Beverly Hills 90210) about projects as well.
"It's amazing - it has been a transformation of life. I never thought I needed it but once it came along it was like a breath of fresh air."
Best of all, Dale has been promised that whatever project he does next he'll be able to go by his own name (pronounced Vay-dm) rather than Jack.
"Mind you," he laughs. "I was happy to live with Jack for a few months. It was the first time in my life I had no problems with anyone understanding my name. It was quite a relief."
SOURCE (http://entertainment.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4459,11697832%255E10229%255E%255Enbv,00.html)
"I am making sure that I won't be here when it airs," laughs the 28-year-old former construction worker from Melbourne.
Dale is chiefly worried about his mates' reaction to the show, in which in full Crocodile Dundee regalia, he fends off not just outback wildlife but worse - 12 very pampered American girls who are parachuted into the West Australian wilderness to vie for his affections.
Over the course of eight episodes, Dale has to whittle the girls down, The Bachelor-style, to find the woman he loves.
It wasn't as easy as he expected. "I'm sure my mates will give me grief about the tears," admits Dale, who got far more swept up in the emotion of eliminations at the end of each episode than he expected.
Then there is the ostentatious pig knife that is always strapped to his side, the narrator's countless references to his croc-wrestling skills and the constant use of the word "sheila" which doesn't seem to come entirely naturally to a chap who went to the same school as Prince Charles.
"I went to boarding school for 10 years so a lot of my mates and I are very close and they know the person I am and they're all waiting in anticipation to see the show," says Dale, who attended posh Geelong Grammar, including a stint at the prestigious Timbertop campus attended by the Prince Of Wales.
"I expect them to give me a lot of s..t, that's what blokes do. And anyway, as I said, I won't be here when they see it."
As unlikely as it seems, Dale - who comes from the genteel blue-blood suburb of East Melbourne - actually does have genuine Outback Jack-style credentials.
After a modelling career in his late teens and early 20s, he worked as a jackaroo and stationhand and, yes, he really can wrestle crocodiles.
"My experience with crocs came in Papua New Guinea," he explains. "A friend of mine from boarding school lived there and his family had a crocodile farm. I'd go over there on holidays and he basically taught me from a young age how to deal with crocodiles and it just went from there."
Understandably, the producers of the series - which aired in the United States earlier this year - could not believe their luck when they found a man with model looks and Outback cred.
"Once they found out I had my own python they were like, 'Oh yep, that's what we want to hear'," says Dale.
Before they found Dale, the producers had a much tougher time finding a suitable Outback Jack than they had imagined.
"(The second time) they came back out, they put a finder's fee up and friends of mine heard about it and thought, 'Here we go, we'll make some money here'.
"They were the ones that contacted the producers and when they called me I wanted nothing to do with it. I was expecting them to make a fool out of me on TV."
However he eventually took a couple of hours off work as an occupational health and safety officer for a construction firm and did an audition.
"Next thing you know I had a phone call saying, 'We're flying you to LA'. "
The series was a big hit in the States and Dale has found himself not just with a new love - yes, he and the woman he falls for on the show are still together and planning marriage - but a whole new career.
"I've had a few offers to do my own show and things like that and we've had movie offers. I've spoken with people like David E. Kelley (The Practice, Ally McBeal) and Aaron Spelling (Dynasty, Beverly Hills 90210) about projects as well.
"It's amazing - it has been a transformation of life. I never thought I needed it but once it came along it was like a breath of fresh air."
Best of all, Dale has been promised that whatever project he does next he'll be able to go by his own name (pronounced Vay-dm) rather than Jack.
"Mind you," he laughs. "I was happy to live with Jack for a few months. It was the first time in my life I had no problems with anyone understanding my name. It was quite a relief."
SOURCE (http://entertainment.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4459,11697832%255E10229%255E%255Enbv,00.html)