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Tim Draxl is Professor Mike French
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With several published texts, a stratospheric IQ and a stint as an underwear model behind him at only 20-something, Professor Mike French should know a thing or two about the way the world works.
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Instead, he is naïve, emotionally backward and looking for a hero to worship. That hero, he decides, is Paul.
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Mike is a child prodigy. He never had much of a childhood, and still identifies with the Mensa kids who occasionally visit the observatory. He graduated from a string of universities at an early age and was then forced into modelling by his parents.
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He was a high-profile underpants model for two years before returning to astronomy, much to the disgust of his mother.
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His trilogy on Time Space Acceleration, published when he was just 18, remains a seminal text. His most treasured possession is a collection of physicist action figures, among them Einstein and Stephen Hawking.
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Mike and Jude are great mates, sharing a sense of humour lost on people like Kat. They can be like naughty children, up to mischief one minute, bickering the next.
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Mike dotes on Paul because he's never had a father figure.
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Tim Draxl says Professor Mike French is by far the quirkiest role he has ever played.
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"The appeal of the part was in its difference. I'd never done anything like it before. There are some aspects where I've drawn on myself – usually when Mike is at his silliest or funniest, and some of his mannerisms are like me.
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"I consider myself quite kooky and moody, which Mike is. Mike is over-emotional, which I am. Part of Mike thinks he's cool and with it, but in reality, he's not."
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He describes Mike as someone who has had limited contact with the real world, and who is "personally, way behind the eight-ball", despite his brilliance.
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"He's completely engrossed in his passions for astronomy, collection of action figures of physicists, Dr Who and scientists."
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But there's also the small matter of modelling underwear…
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"It played a bit on my mind, and fed quite a few of my own insecurities. I spent a bit of time in front of the mirror checking things out and trying to figure out if it was believable or not! But in the end, that's just a small part of Mike. Being a model is just a fun back story."
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Supernova marks Draxl's first foray into comedy.
"I've never done comedy before, so Supernova was a great learning experience, especially watching Rob (Brydon) – his timing is so impeccable.
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"Supernova for me is in the same comedic vein as Friends. When I read the script, I saw the comedy as big and outrageous. It's very theatrical, so it's easy to go over-the-top.
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"Mike is the most energetic, and the silliest, so it's easy to go too far. It's all about trying to find the limit.
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"But Matt Lipsey has pared it back so it's much more realistic and subtle. This is accessible comedy. And Matt is a director you can completely trust and have confidence in."
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Tim Draxl is known for his versatility, which has seen him perform on stage, screen and in his own cabaret show.
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He is best known for his performances in the television drama Sharknet, for which he was nominated for a Most Outstanding Actor in a Drama Logie, and the films Swimming Upstream and Dirty Deeds. Ìý
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