For second-year Griffith University musical theatre student Caelan McCarthy, 2025 brought more than just a return to classes, it also marked the year of his screen debut.
Cast as Chum Fahey in the Prime Original Series The Narrow Road to the Deep North, Mr McCarthy finished filming just three days before he started his university course.
After sending in a self-tape audition in April 2023, months went by before he got a callback in August.
"It was a long wait, but suddenly everything sped up," he said.
"I kind of got thrown into it a little bit, but I had some really good mentors to learn from in there-established actors like Jacob Elordi and Thomas Weatherall," he said.
"Two weeks later, they told me I'd got the role."
Having grown up doing musical theatre, Mr McCarthy was brand new to the world of screen acting.
"I was a lot younger than the rest of them, being only 17 at the time, with the next youngest about 23, but they really took me under their wings and showed me the ropes."
His character Chum Fahey was based on a young Australian soldier who lied about his age to enlist in the war efforts.
Known for his cheeky and friendly nature, Chum became a prisoner of war, forced to work on the Burma 'Death Railway'.
Playing the role required more than just emotional depth from Mr McCarthy, who had to lose 10 kilos after the first few weeks of filming.
"I'm already a pretty skinny guy, so that was a lot," he said.
"We had a group of nine all doing it at the same time so that made it a bit easier, but we had a nutritionist and dietician who gave us meal plans and a personal trainer, so everything was monitored."
Now at the Queensland Academy of Excellence in Musical Theatre, he is embracing his studies with renewed confidence.
"It's been so supportive here, learning a bunch of new skills last year and now learning to apply them to our performance," he said.
"It's a really cool experience and my cohort is great-I love everyone in it."
Asked what could be next on the cards for this emerging star, Mr McCarthy said only time would tell.
"I'd love to get into the film industry, as well as more musical theatre," he said.
"I'm going to take every opportunity and see where the wave takes me."
