New Zealand’s Antony Starr will be leading the Netflix surfing series Breakers, currently in production in Western Australia.
Produced by BBC Studios Clerkenwell Films, the makers of Baby Reindeer and The End of the F***ing World, in association with BBC Studios Productions Australia, the series follows two American backpackers who are drawn into a perfect surfing community led by a charismatic but mysterious figure.
Starr, the only cast member announced so far, will play a character known as “Brando.”
Breakers is the brainchild of BAFTA-winning author Pete Jackson, known for The Death of Bunny Munro and Somewhere Boy, who is executive producing alongside Gavin O’Grady, Petra Freed and Wim de Grief. Mary Nye (Say Nothing, Industry) will serve as lead director, with Ng Chun Ping (What It Feels Like for a Girl, Femme) directing additional episodes.
The eight-part series was supported by ScreenWest and the WA Government through the Western Australian Production Incentive and is the first Netflix production to be filmed in WA. The project is expected to inject $19 million into Western Australia’s economy and directly employ more than 100 local residents.
Western Australian department heads include production manager Shelby Shaw, script supervisor Linda Duras, production designer Emma Fletcher, costume designer Lian Shi Leung, sound director Trevor Hope, first director Mark Voskell and Stuart Morris, gaffer Dan Spriggs, grip Greg Stirling, safety director Alex McArthur and production treasurer Susie Campbell.
Jessica Brooke Casting last week appealed for extras for the series, which will be filmed on location across the South West and Perth until June.
“ScreenWest is delighted to welcome Netflix to Western Australia for the first time,” said ScreenWest CEO Ricki-Lee Bestall.
“The Breakers provides a fantastic opportunity for Western Australian department heads, staff and cast to work on a prestigious series and continue to grow their careers here in the South West. We look forward to seeing the series come to life over the coming months.”
The star will next be seen in the final season of Amazon’s The Boys, which premieres in April. He recently finished production on “Neon Samo Lives,” in which he plays Andy Warhol. His other notable credits include Netflix’s Banshee and Amazon’s action thriller G20, in which he starred opposite Viola Davis.
