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Peter Kowitz is Max Talbot
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Max is the unpredictable, rage-ridden head technician at the Royal Australian Observatory. He's in his late forties, and in rage management.
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His job is guiding the telescope and noone does it better than him. But he is very unnerving.
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Especially for an outsider like Paul. Max's power lies in silent, baleful stares that occasionally erupt in a holocaust of violence. Only Pip can really control him.
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Max collects strange things, is on medication, and thinks of the observatory like a space ship.
Max is unsophisticated, uncouth, rough and tough – but his heart is in the right place.
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His comical, edgy brooding is always in evidence, whether he's tackling venomous wildlife, steering the 'ship' or meting out tough but unexpectedly paternal advice.
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Max emerges at the most unlikely moments to smack a fistful of plain-speaking into the rarified intellectual environment around him.
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Peter Kowitz says Max is a larger-than-life figure, reminiscent of some of Australia's best-known exports.
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"Max is as much a theatrical device as a full-blown character," Peter says. "He's a caricature in the style of Crocodile Dundee or Steve Irwin. Max knows the terrain, he's oblivious to what others think and he's single-minded in what he does. As a device, he's a counterpoint to everything being experienced by the British new boy, Paul."
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An actor with a strong stage background, Peter has worked extensively in comedy.
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"Harry Cripps has delivered a very tightly-written script. His characters are very clear and easy to imagine. Playing Max, I relied a lot on (director) Matt Lipsey for what the character actually does – there was no psychological profile as such.
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"Matt's direction let me see Max in various ways, and that makes the experience so much more interesting."
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He continues: "Max has some very theatrical moments, and my tendency was to play them big. Matt directed me back from that. When Max meets Paul for the first time he's talking about English vermin and wielding a machete, and my instinct was to be very threatening. To do that in a quieter way makes Max even more threatening."
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Peter is one of Australia's most prolific stage performers, equally at home with comedy and drama. He has had roles in classics like Summer of the Seventeenth Doll, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and A Doll's House, as well as numerous Shakespearean plays.
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He is also a familiar face on Australian television, with credits including Murder Call, Rafferty's Rules, Wildside, Big Sky and Halifax f.p.
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He has won two AFI awards – in 1986 when he was named Best Lead Actor in a Telefeature for The Long Way 91Èȱ¬, and in 1989, when he was awarded Best Performance by an Actor in a mini-series for Body Surfer. Ìý
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