Packed to the Rafters star Ryan Corr has been busy since winning IF’s Out of the Box award last year.
While he has continued to work on the hugely popular television show, which is currently in its fifth series, he also recently finished filming the romantic comedy Not Suitable for Children in Sydney.
The film – the first feature from Academy Award-nominated director Peter Templeman (The Saviour) which also Ryan Kwanten – presented a new challenge for Corr, who has primarily worked in television.
“In television you carry a character through a long timeline, often a number of years or months," he said. "Whereas a film just sort of sits on its lonesome and so you’ve very much got a responsibility to tell this arc of this character and share this one-off story. They’re similar in a number of ways but very different in others but I think both enjoyable for different reasons.”
The IF Out of the Box Award is voted for by the public and presented to an actor who has shown great promise on television and who audiences believe will be the next to break "out of the box".
“When your audience is sort of saying ‘hey, good on you mate’ it’s wonderful and a little boost of confidence and just, once again, to let you know that you’re going in the right track,” said Corr of last year’s win.
Corr isn't resting on his laurels though. As well as his up-coming visit to the US (a part of his 2011 Australians in Film Heath Ledger Scholarship package), he’s also set to make his debut with the Sydney Theatre Company in September when he stars in Sex With Strangers with Jacqueline McKenzie at the Wharf Theatre.
An intergenerational romance, Sex With Strangers tells the story of a Tucker Max-esque blogger, whose recent novel details a year worth of sexual escapades, and the older woman with whom he falls in love.
“It explores what happens to a person who’s once been there and has put that out into the ether and then he actually falls in love. I mean, to a certain extent it’s the boy who cries wolf,” said the actor, who went on to reveal his excitement about his return to the stage.
“You get to come out and whether you like it or not, however you’re feeling, you take a breath and you walk out onto that stage and I think there’s a huge amount of excitement and there’s something really creative about that… There’s not the middleman of directors and editors and there’s no cuts and no retakes or anything like that. It’s a really different experience but it’s something that I really love and enjoy so I’m really looking forward to it.”
This year’s Out of the Box nominees include Corr’s Tangle co-star Blake Davis, Laid's Alison Bell, Crownies' Todd Lasance, Spirited's Annie Maynard and Anna McGahan, and Paper Giants: The Birth of Cleo's Jessica Tovey.
Public votes are still open and can be cast here. The winner will be announced at the IF Awards at Luna Park on November 16. Tickets to the event can be purchased here.
Ryan Corr accepting the IF Out of the Box award 2010.