Interview with Steve Jacques Du Casse

You were presumably born and raised in France. How did you come to move to Australia?
I was actually born in South Africa. My father had a six-month contract with the French opera company there and my mother was pregnant when they flew over - and I was born there. My father, Pierre Du Casse, was French, from Marseille, and my mother was half-English and half-French.

Had you acted (either in France or Australia) before you appeared in Sons and Daughters?
A lot of stage productions, commercials, modelling, dancing, and I was also in the Sydney Opera Company.

How did you land the role of Phillipe Souchon?
I went to Grundy to audition for the part of a sick French sailor on a series called Runaway Island, but the producer thought I looked too healthy for the part. As I was leaving the audition, Don Battye spotted me and thought that I'd be perfect for a role he had in mind. He just grabbed my arm and said to me, "Say a few things with a French accent," so I did! He then took me into a room and made me auditon in front of a camera. He said that he'd be in touch, so I thanked him and left.

I had to walk through the reception to leave the building and as I walked through, the receptionist called me and asked if my name was Steve. I said, "Yes." She said that Mr. Battye was trying to catch me before I walked out of the building and she told me that he was on the line and wanted to say four things to me. I got on the phone and I heard, "You've got the part!" At that moment I thought I was in a dream world and didn't want to wake up. It was so overwhelming and I had never felt that happy in my whole life - I was floating on cloud nine and thought, "How lucky can you get?!"

The role was of Phillipe Soulet. I told Don Battye I didn't like the surname because it sounds like 'drunk' in French, so I was the one who suggested 'Souchon'. Mr. Battye was one of the nicest human beings you could meet - it was a privilege for me to have known him. I don't know what happened to him - the last I heard was that he was living in the Philippines.

Did you enjoy your time on Sons and Daughters? Do you have any interesting stories about your time on the show that you can share?
I loved every second of being on Sons and Daughters. The two most down-to-earth people were Stephen Comey (Kevin Palmer) and Tom Richards (David Palmer).

Tom was a very cheeky person - I remember once I had a scene with Sarah Kemp (Charlie Bartlett) where we were sitting on the sofa and she was trying to seduce me. In that scene she wore a very low-cut dress that showed a lot of cleavage, and do you know what that cheeky bastard Tom did? - he put four cubes of ice down her cleavage! It was so cold in the studio! Sarah grabbed a lamp and ran after him - boy did Tom have wings on his heels! The whole crew was keeling over with laughter! Tom later said we wanted to see some nipples as well, that's why the ice! Tom is a great guy!

What sort of things did you do after you left Sons and Daughters?
Ballroom dancing, quite a few stage productions, I had the lead in Dracula the Play, also Scaramouche, Wuthering Heights, etc. I also teach fencing at the Sydney University. I've always had a passion for swords - I've been tracing my family tree and was surprised to find out that a lot of my ancestors in France were notorious swordsmen: Counts, Marquises, Barons, etc. Maybe that's why the passion for swords - it must be in my blood!

You now perform as an Elvis tribute artist. How did you get into that?
I've always been a singer, but everywhere I go people are always saying I look like Elvis and I've always liked the King. Once, I was helping my father-in-law at the club where he's a chef - I'm a chef as well - and a singer called John Rowles was performing there. He came into the kitchen and said to me, "People are saying out there that you look like Elvis but can you also sing like him?" Anyway, he dragged me out on the stage to perfom and to my amazement I brought the place down and had a standing ovation! I ended up performing about 14 songs that night - they just didn't want me to get off! My wife thought this would be a great career move, so I then started performing in clubs and at weddings. I want to do a marriage celebrant course so that I can perform Elvis weddings.

How do you see your future?
My family is the source of my inspiration - I have the most beautiful and wonderful wife and if it was not for her then I wouldn't be where I am today. She's also my best friend and my manager, so my future is in her hands - she's the one that will make it all happen for me. And with my children to inspire me as well, then the sky is the limit.

Steve - many thanks for answering these questions.

Steve would be delighted to hear from fans: write to the_count_of_provence@yahoo.com.au to get in touch!