Hey Gyton! Beneath Hill 60 follows Aussie sappers as they fight an underground battle beneath no-man’s land during WWI. But a lot of people were completely unaware of the story of the Tunnelling Company before this film. Do you think it’s helped the, er, underground go mainstream?
Yeah, it was an eye-opener. It’s a great story to tell because no-one really knows about it. I’d never heard of that aspect of the war before.
Did you have family who were in WWI?
My name actually comes from a man named Colonel Leopold Gyton. My name, Gyton, is actually a surname, and he fought in the First and Second World War. But that’s all I know, really. I don’t know where he was or what he did, just that he fought and he was a Colonel.
The film was set in Belgium, but you shot it in, er… Townsville? How did that work?
Full props to the art department, because you wouldn’t know that this film was shot in a backlot on a farm in stinking-hot North Queensland. It’s incredible what they managed to achieve with the look of it. Once you got on-set and into the trenches, you just felt like you were there.
Did Brendan Cowell get into “Todd the Builder” mode during set construction?
Ha ha! Well, we didn’t really build much of it ourselves, so… it had been done for us by, y’know, people who have building licences. But we learned a lot about drainage systems, props, struts and tunnelling equipment — we all had a little bit of an introduction to the type of equipment the diggers used, how it worked, and the type of tools that they came up with. During the war, the Aussies were especially creative in making tools out of God-knows-what to get the job done.
If the roof of a tunnel collapsed and you, Brendan Cowell and Harrison Gilbertson were trapped in a mine for real, who would get eaten first, and why?
Ha ha! None of us would get eaten first. There’s no point in prolonging the inevitable.
You’d eat each other simultaneously, then?
I think it’s going to be more about who’s going to knock the other one... actually, it wouldn’t happen. I’m not going to make fun of this film because it’s a very important and sensitive issue, especially when you realise what these guys actually went through. Basically, it did happen — tunnels did collapse because the Germans were doing the same thing. Often they were breaking into each others’ tunnels and bayoneting each other in the dark, and shooting each other 50 feet underground, or blowing each other up from underneath and from the side, or above. Men were trapped in tunnels, and unless they were dug out by their comrades, they’d die. So, in answer to your question, we wouldn’t eat each other, we’d just sit there and think of our loved ones.
The same hill, Hill 60 near Ypres in Belgium, was the setting of a ferocious battle in WWII. Is a sequel in the works?
I didn’t know that. Right... I wouldn’t think so. We did joke about a sequel, Beneath Hill 61, but I wouldn’t be counting on it, no.
This movie follows your famous turn in Underbelly. When are you going to appear in a film where you get to be on top of things instead of under them, Gyton?
Ah…. let’s see. Actually, I was “on top” of a lot of things in Underbelly. A lot of my mates were quite impressed and excited about that. If you get my gist...
We don’t. You’ll have to spell it out for us.
Umm... Underbelly’s pretty popular for, er, a certain style which involves some of the main characters being on top of some of the other, lesser characters...
We see what you’re getting at there.
Yeah, so I’ve certainly had my share of being “on top of things” in my career.
True. You won a Logie for Underbelly. Was that better or worse than sex?
It’s different. A Logie doesn’t put out as much, but it doesn’t nag you as much, either.
You’ve also got an AFI award, and it strikes us that if you win one more big award, you’ll have enough to juggle. Can you juggle such hefty mantelpiece ornaments?
Yes. I just hope that I don’t get impaled by the AFI. They’re sharp.
You’ve made a short film called Being Carl Williams where crims mistake you for the real guy and kidnap you. Did you ever have crazy fans thinking you were actually Carl?
Look, I don’t think anyone actually thinks I’m Carl himself, but I do get called “Carl” a lot, and I get, um, included in some conversations that I wouldn’t normally venture into. I have met certain colourful dudes in certain bars, etc. I do remember when he died… I’m not a Twitterer myself, but I was alerted to Tweets that said “Gyton Grantley has been killed”. It was quite interesting to see people Tweeting their dismay at my death.
When do you think the Underbelly producers will look at the colourful history of your home town, Brisbane?
I’m sure they will, and I think they actually have got plans for it. Fortitude Valley was a cesspit of fun and games back in the ’70s and ’80s. Possibilities everywhere.
Do you reckon Underbelly has gone downhill since the first series?
I’m not one to judge them because they’re different stories, periods, characters and actors. Whatever, it’s silly to compare them. But if people think the first series was better, then I’m really chuffed to hear that — I’m just thrilled that it’s so successful.
Just heading back to Beneath Hill 60 for a second — what’s the biggest hole you’ve ever dug yourself out of?
When I was seven, my cousin dug this massive hole on the beach, and I climbed in up to my head. And while I was in there playing in it, my other cousins decided to fill it in. I was literally stuck — I couldn’t get out, and they left me there for a good 20 minutes or so, screaming my head off, until they finally came and dug me out. So I’d say that’s the biggest hole I’ve ever been stuck in.
Beneath Hill 60 is out now on DVD
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