Sunday Herald Sun<br>
SUN 03 APR 2005<br>
whispers<br>
By FIONA BYRNE<br><br>

A drawer full of new designer underwear has been an unlikely perk for
David Wenham while he stars in the Melbourne Theatre Company's production,
Cyrano de Bergerac.<br><br>

Busloads of Japanese tourists flock to the show to see Wenham. The fans,
who sit in the front section, see the show up to four times.<br><br>

Each night Wenham has been met by his Tokyo-based fans at the stage door
where he spends about 20 minutes signing autographs.<br><br>

He has been inundated with letters from his international fans. And then
there are the gifts. During the show's sixweek run, Wenham has been
inundated with boxed Calvin Klein underwear and top-of-the-line
aftershave. Wenham's popularity in Japan extends from his brief appearance
in the second and third chapters of the Lord of the Ring's trilogy.<br><br>