‘WHY I WALKED AWAY FROM FAME’
The TV heartthrob finally breaks his silence on why he quit acting at the height of his fame 20 years ago
He was one of the biggest heartthrobs in Australia with a generous pay cheque, a string of famous girlfriends and millions of adoring fans around the world, yet Scott Michaelson gave it all up in 1999 just as he was given his big Hollywood break.
“I’ve been exceptionally private, almost borderline reclusive,” reveals Scott, who decided to walk away from the international launching pad Neighbours provided to chase his dream of business success.
ON THE FAME WAVE...
With his dad’s warning that he would probably lose his famous blond hair at an early age ringing in his ears, on top of the insecurity that comes with a stop-start career in showbiz, Scott quit the world stage at the age of 30.
Fast-forward 20 years and lifelong surfer Scott, now 52, still has most of his hair, and keeps in shape with regular gym sessions. He has also coached AFL and soccer, but these days, he struggles to find the time to catch a wave!
“I don’t get a chance to get in the water any more,” he laments, explaining that his business, Smile Elite, comes with a demanding schedule and back-to-back meetings as he manages top real estate agents to help them reach their potential.
It may seem like an unusual career move for an actor who banked millions from his TV work. However, Scott insists he has no regrets about swapping fame to focus on his business aspirations.
TOUGH INDUSTRY
“I was lucky to be a working actor, but I wasn’t happy with not being able to control my own destiny and wanted a sense of security around my future,” reveals Scott, who went from Neighbours to starring in Flipper, Sabrina Down Under and Young Hercules.
“It’s a tough industry and you’re always at the behest of someone else, and I just felt that people who control their
own destinies seemed a lot more content with their lives. And I do love what I do now so it doesn’t even really seem like work.”
It’s been 30 years since Scott quit university in his final year of an accountancy degree for a “life-changing moment” when he was cast as Brad Willis opposite singer and actress Natalie Imbruglia, who played his love interest, Beth Brennan, in Neighbours.
But even when he started on the soap, he was also working on the side to build up his business skills, and after being successfully managed by both Foxtel boss Brian Walsh and legendary Bee Gees manager Robert Stigwood, he got a taste for celebrity management.
His first client was actress Kimberley Davies, who came to the attention of producers when she and Scott were dating and scored her own role on Neighbours, before he also dated and co-managed another Neighbours star Nicola Charles, after meeting her in the UK.
But his biggest celebrity management success was Holly Valance, who he launched as an actress on Neighbours before guiding her recording career and No.1 chart success in the UK.
‘I loved my acting career but I felt it had a shelf life’
The personal relationships with Kimberley and Nicola didn’t last but his passion for management and mentoring did, and he was soon running his own management company on the side, before branching out into a number of other businesses – and ultimately starting Smile Elite six years ago.
“I’d been very lucky and fortunate in my life to be given some incredible opportunities as an actor, after starting at the age of 13, but I never thought of myself as the quintessential actor,” he says. “I loved my acting career but I felt it had a shelf life... there comes a point when you have to know when your 15 minutes of fame is up, and I had more than my 15 minutes. I don’t have any regrets.”