Home and Away star Ethan Browne almost played a different character before landing the role of Tane Parata.
The actor made his first appearance as Tane in 2020 and was introduced as the brother of Ari and uncle of Nikau (Kawakawa Fox-Reo).
The trio formed the soap’s first ever neo Māori family, with all three actors working closely with directors to make sure the family were authentic.
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After coming close to giving up on his acting dream, Ethan landed an audition for Home and Away during his final semester at Nida, Australia’s National Institute of Dramatic Arts.
Speaking to The New Zealand Herald, Ethan revealed he initially auditioned for the role of Ari, played by Rob Kipa-Williams, who departed the soap in 2022 after his character died of cancer.
“Tane didn’t exist,” the soap star explained. “I got a callback saying, ‘We want you to read for a new character called Tane, he’s the younger brother of Ari’.”
Ethan, who hails from the New Zealand town of Wairoa, confessed he felt intimidated after encountering numerous famous faces during his audition.
He explained: “I’d grown up watching these people, I thought, ‘I’m way out of my league here’.”
However, just a few days later, Ethan received the news that he had secured the role.
Heading into his fourth year on the Aussie soap, the actor admitted the feeling of walking on set is still surreal.
“It still feels surreal. I never thought it would happen,” he told the publication. “When I was a kid, I wanted to be a lot of things but I always wanted to be in a movie the most.
“I never thought it would be possible, especially coming from a place like Wairoa.”
During Tuesday’s instalment (August 29), Tane’s wife Felicity (Jacqui Purvis) revealed she was being blackmailed after being sexually assaulted.
Despite Tane wanting to alert the police, Felicity insisted no one could find out, including her brother Cash (Nicholas Cartwright).
After receiving a follow-up text, Felicity told Tane she planned to pay her attacker.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
