The Boston Herald
Dec 7, 2001
'Unknown' hunk ready to be a star.

Stephen Schaefer.

Clearly, Mel Gibson, Russell Crowe, Heath Ledger and Hugh Jackman weren't enough, for here comes David Wenham, another hunky young Australian actor poised for American stardom.

He plays half of a couple in the new film "Better Than Sex," one of those sex-and-relationship pictures where two people meet, have sex and then try to figure out if a commitment's coming. Yet the Australian import isn't the first Wenham film to hit the States: He had a small part in "Moulin Rouge."

Like Aussie actors who have preceded him, Wenham possesses that unforced guy's guy aura that travels well. He certainly hopes so anyway: In pursuit of a career beyond Australia, he has been touring the world to make movies and promote them.

This fall, he played an American cowboy with a touch of Clint Eastwood's Man With No Name in the Balkan western "Dust," which opened the Venice Film Festival. He showed up in Toronto to screen "The Bank," a thriller, and then came to New York for "Sex."

It must be odd to be famous at home and unknown everywhere else, but Wenham, at 35, has seen enough to remain good-humored about the situation.

"Three years ago, I did a show called 'City Change' in Australia," he said. "It was a piece of television on the ABC network . . . and drama shows on the ABC don't get huge audiences. But this show became the most popular show in Australia and just burned into the Aussie psyche. . . . That certainly made me a recognizable figure on the Australian landscape, but nobody overseas sees that show."

So here Wenham sits, amused to find himself grouped among Australian heartthrobs. "I don't know if I'd feel comfortable as being described as 'the next Aussie hunk,' " he said. "I think I'm more left of center."

Once he scored locally with his television series, he found himself the star of another Aussie smash, a film titled "The Boys." " 'The Boys' was probably the film that opened a few doors," he said. "It's hard to design a career, but I try to some extent with a group back at home."

Yet for now he's content to continue on his international journey in pursuit of fame, fortune and better roles. "Have suitcase, love traveling," he said. "I really do feel comfortable wherever I am."