Source: Newcastle Evening Chronicle
December 30 2002
Ex-rocker lands new role in Crowe's nest
By Amy Cartmell
Former rocker and aspiring actor Tony Dolan is starring in Russell Crowe's latest Hollywood blockbuster.
Tony, from Wallsend, plays a ship's carpenter in the $135 million budget Master and Commander, due to be released next summer.
During the 80s he was lead singer with Tyneside heavy metal band Venom but is now trying to make it big in Hollywood and counts Aussie actor Crowe among his friends.
The new movie is based on the novel Far Side of the World by Patrick O'Brian and is set against a backdrop of the Napoleonic wars.
Directed by Peter Weir of The Truman Show, the epic tells a tale of leadership and dedication aboard a British man-of-war, the HMS Sophie, in the 1800s.
And Tony shares scenes with Crowe who plays Royal Navy Capt Jack Aubrey, a sailor given his first command of a British sailing vessel sent to battle against French warships.
Tony spent five and a half months on location with Crowe and other cast members at Fox Studios Baja in Mexico.
The site is known for the gigantic water tank used in James Cameron's Titanic.
Two replicas of HMS Rose were built as HMS Surprise, a 28-gun frigate, to be used in scenes filmed in the tank and at sea.
Tony, 39, said: "It has been a fantastic experience and I think the movie is going to look fantastic. There is a real level of accuracy and a lot of historical research has gone into it.
"The movie is very physical and the cast spent two weeks at boot camp before filming started. There were stunt men but most of the stunts are done by the actors. We learnt how to use a canon and rig a ship and I had to find out about ship construction."
Russell Crowe has landed a reputation for his rude and aggressive behaviour but Tony found him to friendly and generous.
Tony said: "Meeting someone like Russell, they have a certain stature, but he was absolutely wonderful."