Angus McLaren (born 3 November 1988)[1] is an Australian actor. He is best known for his roles in the television series Packed to the Rafters as Nathan Rafter and H2O: Just Add Water as Lewis McCartney.

Angus McLaren
McLaren in 2023
Born (1988-11-03) 3 November 1988 (age 36)
Wonthaggi, Victoria, Australia
OccupationActor
Years active2000-2023

Early life

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McLaren was born the youngest of three boys, for mother Kerena, growing up with brothers Rhett and Aidan in Wonthaggi, Victoria,[1] and grew up on a dairy farm near Loch, belonging to his ancestors from Scotland (his family still lives there).[2] He attended Mary Mackillop Catholic National College in Leongatha, Victoria. He was the drummer of the Sydney-based indie band Rapids (Ballet Imperial) and also played bass guitar in the punk band Bogey Lowensteins.[2]

Career

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2000–2013

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McLaren in 2009

He appeared in a number of school and amateur productions for the Leongatha Lyric Theatre. He made his professional debut when he was 12 years old with a recurring role on the ABC series Something in the Air. Further TV credits followed, including the children's series Worst Best Friends, The Saddle Club and Fergus McPhail, along with guest roles on Blue Heelers, Comedy Inc. and a recurring role on Neighbours.

McLaren's first main cast role came in 2004 with the children's series Silversun, which aired on both the Seven Network and the ABC. His feature film debut followed in 2005 with the low budget Melbourne feature Court of Lonely Royals, directed by Rohan Michael Hoole. 2005 also saw McLaren work on Last Man Standing, and achieve a solid footing on the advert voiceover circuit. In 2006, McLaren began working on the children's series H2O: Just Add Water, appearing from series one through midseason of series three as the character Lewis McCartney (he also briefly appeared at the end of season three, in the finale).

From 2008, he appeared in Packed to the Rafters in the role of Nathan Rafter. He appeared in 102 episodes over the show's six seasons.

2013–present

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McLaren at Coogee Beach, Sydney, in 2023

Through 2013 and into 2014 he took a variety of master classes in New York, LA, Sydney and Melbourne. He then studied a Bachelor of Acting at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts in Perth, Western Australia. While at WAAPA, Angus appeared in eight WAAPA stage productions. He was The Marquis De Sade in WAAPA's production of Marat/Sade,[3] The Man in Tender Napalm and, in his graduating year, received great reviews playing the title role in Shakespeare's Coriolanus.[4]

In 2016, he played the character of William "The Crimson Fiddler" Graham in Quartermaine.[5] He won the Nine Network Channel 9 Best Actor Award at the WA Screen Academy Awards[6] for his portrayal of Will in this short film.

In 2018, it was announced that McLaren had joined the cast of Seven Network soap opera Home and Away as recurring character Lance Salisbury during the show's thirty-first season. He made his first appearance in episode 6860, broadcast on 17 April 2018.

McLaren has now been seen working at Amaze n’ Things on Phillip Island about 2 hours away from Melbourne.[7]

Filmography

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McLaren (left) in 2011

Films

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Year Title Role Notes
2002 Shuang Tong St. Louis Murder Victim
2006 Court of Lonely Royals
2009 Sunset Over Water Andrew Short film
2012 Quietus Sam Short film
2016 Quartermaine William Graham Short film
2018 The Naked Wanderer Jake
2018 Hotel Mumbai Eddie
2018 The Merger Carpet Burn

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2000–2002 Something in the Air Jason Cassidy Season 1–2 (recurring role, 7 episodes)
2002 Worst Best Friends Eddie Season 1, episode 5 (guest role)
2002–2003 Neighbours Michael Toohey Season 18 (guest role, 2 episodes)
Jamie Clarke Season 19 (recurring role, 4 episodes)
2003 The Saddle Club Danny Season 2 (recurring role, 4 episodes)
2003–2005 Blue Heelers Brad Delaney Season 10, episode 7 (guest role)
Max Harrison Season 12, episode 36 (guest role)
2003 CrashBurn Ben (aged 15) Season 1, episode 10 (guest role)
2004 Fergus McPhail Bob Season 1, episode 4 (guest role)
2004 Silversun Degenhardt Bell Season 1–2 (main role, 26 episodes)
2005 Last Man Standing Brendan Delaney Season 1, episode 19 (guest role)
2006–2010 H2O: Just Add Water Lewis McCartney Season 1–3 (main role, 65 episodes)
Season 3, episode 26 (guest role)[a]
2008 All Saints Angus Wilson Season 11, episode 15 (guest role)
2008–2013 Packed to the Rafters Nathan Rafter Season 1–4, 6 (main role, 100 episodes)
Season 5 (guest role, 2 episodes)
2017 Doctor Doctor Dr. Toke Season 2 (recurring role, 6 episodes)
2017 600 Bottles of Wine Pat Season 1 (main role, 6 episodes)
2018–2019 Home and Away Lance Salisbury Season 31 (recurring role, 18 episodes)
2019 Bloom Young Frank Season 1, episode 5 (guest role)
2020 Operation Buffalo Dalgleish Miniseries (4 episodes)
2021 Back to the Rafters Nathan Rafter Season 1 (main role, 6 episodes)

Theatre

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Year Title Role Notes
2015 Tender Napalm The Man Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts stage production
2015 Marat/Sade Sade Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts stage production
2016 Coriolanus Coriolanus Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts stage production

Notes

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  1. ^ McLaren appeared in 65 episodes over the three seasons; he departed the series in the thirteenth episode of season three as a main character, following an absence of twelve episodes, he made a guest appearance in twenty-sixth and final episode of the third season.

References

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  1. ^ a b "About the Stars: Angus McLaren as "Lewis"". ZDF-Enterprises.de. Archived from the original on 10 February 2010. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
  2. ^ a b "Angus McLaren - Biography". IMDb. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  3. ^ Review of Marat Sade - WAAPA, Perth Theatre Reviews (13 March 2015)
  4. ^ "Swordplay For Our Times, The West Australian (15 March 2016)". Archived from the original on 4 November 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  5. ^ Quartermaine, on Channel 9's 9Now site (3 November 2016)[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ West Australia Screen Academy Awards 2016, broadcast on Channel 9's 9Now site (3 November 2016)[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ Cullen, Tamara (16 April 2018). "Packed to the Rafters' Angus McLaren joins Home and Away!". TV Week. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
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