Ben Mendelsohn’s hard-won path back to success

Larry King: Do you get better roles as you get older?

Ben Mendelsohn: Oh yeah.

Larry King: How do you account for that?

Ben Mendelsohn: Luck. And hopefully not dropping the ball when an opportunity is given. I spend an enormous amount of time not doing really much of anything.

Larry King: Why?

Ben Mendelsohn: Like out of work, just…

Larry King: You were a star early, right?

Ben Mendelsohn: Yeah I was a star at around about, you know in Australian terms, from about 17 I suppose, into my early 20s.

Larry King: You were a leading man?

Ben Mendelsohn: Yeah, yeah. The aforementioned wide doe eyed love-seeking lad. And then, you know these things run their course, and then you know in my 30s it was a lot of really dry years. And I had some good jobs and stuff like that. But since “Animal Kingdom,” really without “Animal Kingdom” it’s hard to see any of the rest happening at all.

Larry King: Was it hard to be a star early and then have that drop off?

Ben Mendelsohn: Oh yeah, look it’s never, I mean – Basically I had thought by the time I’m in my mid-30s I thought ‘this is – well clearly it’s all over. And I’m gonna have to look at what I might do from now on.’ It’s always irksome I think, when you feel like you have the ability to do the job but it’s just not happening.

Larry King: So how’d you get the “Animal Kingdom” part?

Ben Mendelsohn: That was David. David has asked me to do that as well. I’ve been very, very lucky with the right people asking me to do the right things.

Larry King: That plays a big part in life.

Ben Mendelsohn: Oh it’s a huge part in life.

Larry King: You’ve got the talent to take advantage of it.

Ben Mendelsohn: You gotta turn up, you gotta do it. You can’t drop the ball, but luck is pivotal.

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