With a lot of the comedy in Wild Boys involving the mischievous Dan Sinclair, Michael Dorman, the actor who plays him, has been enjoying a change of pace.

It’s quite a distance from the darker characters he has customarily played in recent film.

“I haven’t done any comedy in the past,” he says. “Maybe a black kind, leaning to satire. But this is way left of centre for me. I don’t know if I’ve found my comic chops, but I’m looking,” he laughs.

He can stop looking. His co-stars are in agreement: on the Wild Boys set, Dorman’s comic chops are present and accounted for.

Besides – though many of his roles have been in dark films – versatility is his calling card. His parts have ranged from Ethan Hawke’s brother, a human hunter, in the vampire-thriller Day Breakers; to a love struck truck detailer in Prime Mover; to the boyfriend of a disturbed, vengeful young mother in Suburban Mayhem.
The 30-year-old has appeared in numerous guest roles on TV in between, but has not done an ongoing lead since The Secret Life of Us.

“I decided it would be fun to venture into TV again,” says the Auckland-born actor, who moved to Bundaberg, Queensland with his parents in the early 1990s. “I auditioned for Wild Boys like every actor in Australia. I was really excited about it because it’s a different kind of pitch in terms of the style of storytelling that they were going for.

“It’s heightened reality, and that makes coming to work fun. Everyone’s got guns so instantly there’s an element of danger all the time. Everyone’s got a horse. Most people are struggling. There’s lots of mining and wealth to be found, opposing camps... all sorts of things going on.”

It’s challenging work too, and that’s something the QUT graduate thrives on.

“I’d never ridden a horse before,” he says, “Well, twice before, actually. First time I fell off when I was five and decided I wouldn’t do it again. Then, a friend decided I should try again, so he chucked me on a horse that set off up a hill, galloping and jumping over logs while I was just holding on. It was horrible. And then when I was asked if I could ride a horse for this, I said yes. And then, ‘Err, about the horse-riding, no I can’t.’ I was really scared,” he laughs.

“But we’re getting there,” he smiles. “We’ve got really good wranglers.”

“I wasn’t accustomed to working so physically and I was surprised that I feel so tired when I get home,” says Dorman. “I mean all we’re doing is telling stories, but I’m stuffed when I get home. I’d never played the lead before – Daniel wears most of it, but I’ve never had this kind of workload. It’s like a boxer or any athlete: you have to build stamina in whatever area it is. It’s just getting used to it, but it’s also a joy.

WHO’S YOUR FAVOURITE WILD BOY?

“Animal from The Muppets. I love his frenzy. When he plays the drums, he has this frenetic zing. Animal is very enthusiastic for life.”

WHO’S YOUR HORSE?
“Calais. He’s a very spirited horse; young, strong, athletic. He has his own ideas about things. Sometimes he’s happy, sometimes he’s angry, sometimes he’s placid and sometimes he’s trying to buck me off. It’s great!”