Extreme makeover
PETER MITCHELL
22/05/2004
Newcastle Herald

THE video tape was postmarked ``Australia" and landed at Stephen Sommers's Los Angeles office about 18 months ago. 

Sommers, a Universal Studios golden boy after directing a string of profitable hits for the movie house, was searching 
for actors for his most expensive project yet, the $US150million ($A204million) horror film Van Helsing, starring Hugh 
Jackman. 

Before the tape landed on his desk, Sommers had never heard of David Wenham. 

Wenham gambled. He taped an audition in Australia then mailed it across the Pacific, hoping it would grab the attention 
of Sommers, or one of his producers or studio executives. 

``I get this tape, pop it in, and this guy comes up," the 42-year-old American director says. 

``First of all he has no neck, bad haircut and big floppy ears and I'm like `He looks perfect'. 

``Then his performance was amazing." 

Wenham had auditioned for the role of Carl, an odd-looking, hunched-over 19th century friar who plays Jackman's offsider. 

Carl is not aesthetically pleasing. He's not like Diver Dan, the character in the ABC series SeaChange that made Wenham a 
sex symbol in Australia. 

It would help, the director thought, if the actor playing Carl was ugly. 

Sommers saw the audition tape and could see Wenham was ugly. 

Even better. Wenham was extremely ugly. 

Jackman had already been cast as the monster-slaying lead, Gabriel Van Helsing, so Sommers gave Jackman a call to find out 
more about this mysterious, beauty-challenged actor called David Wenham. 

The phone call, Sommers said, went like this. 

Jackman: ``David Wenham? Oh, he's fantastic, I love him, but, as the sidekick? David is this really great-looking guy." 

Sommers: ``No, Hugh. He's got no neck, he has these big ears." 

Jackman: ``No, he's a really handsome guy." 

The phone call sealed it and Sommers arranged to meet Wenham in person. 

``When I met him I go: `Wow, this guy is a really handsome guy, what did you do?"' Sommers recalls. 

Wenham replied: ``Well, I gave myself a really bad haircut, slumped and put this (tape) behind my ears." 

Sommers laughs about it today. He has since discovered Wenham, 38, was voted one of Australia's sexiest men. 

Van Helsing opened in Australia earlier this month and Wenham's performance was a key to the film, generating some huge 
laughs in all the right spots. 

``It's a hard role because you are the comic sidekick, and yet you have to deliver the story and people have to buy it," 
Sommers says. 

``When David Wenham is talking about vampires and werewolfs and the mythology, you're listening and you're believing it 
because he's believing it. 

``He's so honest. A lot of actors couldn't pull that off because he's the comic sidekick and yet, when he's serious you're 
buying every moment that he's serious."