Sam Atwell made a splash in Home And Away from 2001 to 2009, playing bad boy Kane Phillips and here we take a look into what he’s up to now and his transformation…
Sam Atwell from Home And Away has undergone a significant metamorphosis since his abrupt departure from the soap opera 14 years ago.
The 42-year-old actor was on the show as Kane Phillips from 2001 to 2009; he had long blond hair and a baby face. He now has a shaved head and beard, giving him a very different appearance.
Kane became involved in several significant plotlines on Home And Away. The character’s sexual assault on Dani (Tammin Sursock), Kirsty Sutherland’s sister (Christie Hayes), was the most contentious.
Despite the assault, Kirsty started a covert relationship with Kane and subsequently got married to him. Kirsty stated to Digital Spy in 2019 that she doesn’t think a plot like that would work now. In this day and age, I don’t think they could get away with something like that,” she remarked.
“Hell no. I can’t imagine a lot of that stuff going down now – not at all. It wasn’t even that long ago, but I look back on storylines that we did on Home and Away and I think: ‘That would never be okay now!’”
Sam left the soap in 2009 when his character realised his wife no longer loved him and he went to his new job alone.
Sam is currently residing in Dublin and works as a producer for the Irish serial opera Fair City. Speaking to ITFN in 2015, he disclosed how his wife Alison McGirr had aided in his employment.
This whole thing came together, he said, thanks to my wife. I questioned her about how I might start writing over here since she works here.
She grabbed my resume and handed it to Brigie (de Courcy, executive producer), so I met with her and she said if I was interested in working on “Fair City,” they were looking for directors who could direct multi-cam. I took that job, and when this one opened up, I applied for it.
Additionally, he played Barbie Man in an episode of the program. However, he is certain that Irish audiences are unlikely to be familiar with him from Home and Away.
He said: “We’ll see if they remember [me from Home and Away],” in a statement to the Irish Sun. “The time period and the beard were different.
“I’m not sure whether I’ve ever been a heartthrob, but I like to think of myself as the bad guy. It was a lot of fun.
At the time, Sam was subject to a few nasty comments about his receding hairline and his age. But he admitted that now he’s made of tougher stuff and can handle comments like that.
Sam now posts pictures of his current activities on social media. He and his dog were captured in a sweet photo together in Dublin.
“Summer in Dublin,” he wrote. We consumed ice cream. Another former Home And Away cast member, Christie Hayes, commented: “Can’t handle the cuteness!”
Another snapshot of him received comments from fans who called him a “total bushranger” due to his new appearance. There’s still a bushranger movie in you, another person said.
