Underbelly boys at Jupiters casino
Posted in Images, Red Carpet Events, Underbelly on January 13th, 2010 by admin – Be the first to comment
Simon Westaway (Mick Gatto) and Damian Walshe-Howling (Andrew ‘Benji’ Veniamin)
IT was the perfect scene — a casino penthouse, showgirls in beaded bras and plumed headdresses and the haunting strains of The Godfather theme being played on a white grand piano.
It was only fitting, then, that two of the Melbourne underworld’s most notorious gangsters, or at least the actors playing them in a top-rating TV drama, make their debut on the Gold Coast.
Underbelly actors Simon Westaway (who plays underworld kingpin Mick Gatto) and Damian Walshe-Howling (underworld hit man Andrew ‘Benji’ Veniamin) were yesterday introduced to the media at Jupiters casino.
The explosive Channel Nine drama, the number one rating program on the Gold Coast, has given birth to a resurgence of interest in Australian-made drama after a long, dry spell.
Walshe-Howling, whose character Benji sports distinct tribal tattoos, thick, silver earrings and a shaven head, was more subdued in dress yesterday but nonetheless drew female eyes.
Oblivious of the attention, Walshe-Howling said playing real people carried with it great responsibility.
“A real person, even one who is dead, has family and friends who are all alive,” he said.
Underbelly actors Simon Westaway, who plays underworld kingpin Mick Gatto, and Damian Walshe-Howling, hitman Andrew `Benji’ Veniamin, on the Coast yesterday
