Clayton Watson grew up in the Australian outback, and began acting at the age of 12. Three years at The Australian Film & TV Academy saw him land numerous roles in film, TV, and stage – his first lead role was in “High Flyers”. After winning an AFI for his portrayal of army brat Mickey Steele in Always Greener, Clayton landed the prestigious role of “The Kid” in the Matrix trilogy – this earned him a nomination again for Best Newcomer in a Sci-Fi. Clayton has since written six feature length scripts, a TV pilot, and continues to take on projects that are both challenging and very character driven. A great character actor, more focused on the product than the commercial viability – a lead actor in the making.
1. You’ve written a number of screenplays. Would you like to share a little about them? Do you see your foremost as an actor or a writer?
I have 8 feature length screenplays which I am currently pitching in the US, the stories are under lock and key, but they range in genre from Sci-Fi to an 1800’s true story adaptation! I always started acting in front of the camera to learn how to direct, finding that writing was a very strong forte of mine lends itself perfectly to this direction in my career.
2. What has been the highlight of your acting career to date and why?
Two years on Matrix 2 and 3 is unbeatable, the experience, the scale, and the friendships forged has opened a world to me that I read
in Sci-Fi books! Also the tour of the world with the premieres was amazing, from LA to London to Cannes, I look forward to doing that again soon!
3. Has been an Australian made it harder in Hollywood or is it an advantage?
It’s an equal playing field, right time, right place, right face, with the right talent is all it comes down to – it’s a circus, and you got to be a damn good clown!
4. What would you like to be doing in five years time?
The same as the last twenty, acting, writing, and making the move to directing and producing – there’s a whole lot of things that I keep discovering in this business, and to me, that’s a pinnacle of my life.
