How Australian actor Jack Patten went from AFL to working with Sean Bean

There’s an almost unspoken rule that actors playing beloved characters (say, a superhero or plastic doll) must emphasize how central that figure has been in their lives. But Australian Jack Patten, the last actor in a long series to take on the role of Robin Hood, the lawgiver of folklore, has no such claim.

“When I thought of Robin Hood, I thought of the fox, even though I’ve never seen it. cartoon version“I didn’t grow up watching Robin Hood, but I knew him,” he says, sitting in a cafe opposite Sydney’s Kings Cross Fountain.

Maybe the honest answer is that Patten is new to this. This brilliant 10-episode TV series Robin Hood, It takes on the task of introducing the 28-year-old actor to the world, as he faces action hero Sean Bean two years after graduating from the National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA).

Much more mature than Disney’s 2025 animated fox Robin Hood It is definitely an article.-Game of Thrones The historical drama doesn’t shy away from disgusting scenes or bloodshed.

Produced for MGM+, the US broadcaster behind period dramas such as Billy KidThe series (which airs on Stan* in Australia) is a gripping drama for fans of classic stories well told and with a prestigious TV budget.

It’s Hollywood’s first take on the folk legend since its 2018 box office flop starring Taron Egerton, and it precedes A24. The Death of Robin Hood The movie, starring Hugh Jackman, will be released next year. “I think the theme of justice will be something that will forever appeal to audiences,” Patten says when asked why we’re returning to Robin Hood. “Untimely.”

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Tracing the origins of the long-standing British folk hero, Patten is a more down-to-earth Rob, a soon-to-be orphaned young Rob surviving in the dark and gritty Middle Ages. In his anguish, he rebels against the Norman conquerors of his pagan community, who have stolen their land and outlawed their religion.

“Even though it was a genre set in the 1100s, full of romance and swords and stuff, it felt really human,” he says. “That’s what really sounds good to my ears.”

A fight with a group of thugs and the loss of Norman’s love interest, Marian (Lauren McQueen, Masters of the Air) spy Rob hones his bow against justice and the corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham, played by the imposing, steely Bean.

There are a few other familiar faces in the cast, like Connie Nielsen (gladiator) and Steven Waddington (The Last of the Mohicans), but being packed with newcomers kept the eight-month shoot in Serbia energetic even at -7°C.

As debut roles go, he’s a classic hero with a heart of gold, a potential star-making turn, and “a pretty great Christmas present” for Patten, having landed the role last December.

“I couldn’t keep my promise,” he says. “Then in mid-January I went to Serbia to get the bow and arrow under my belt and learn to ride. I had a few boxes to tick.”

Patten loved the intense three weeks of training, reminiscent of his time at the Sydney Swans Academy as he pursued his youthful dream of becoming a professional AFL player.

[This] These things used to be so disgusting to me… we talked differently in football

Jack Patten

Raised by a single mother in Western Sydney’s Hills District, Patten was initially obsessed with football from afar (his mother wouldn’t let him play until he was 13), before gaining a place at the Academy. A knee injury in 2017 ended his superstar career before it even began. At least that’s how it felt at the time. Almost a decade later, Patten sees the situation a little differently.

“I loved football. I loved watching it. I loved playing it,” he says. “In the end, I wasn’t good enough. OK, I had scars, but they weren’t there. I don’t know if it was a pill I couldn’t swallow, if it was a little bit subconscious.”

It was a colleague who first suggested acting classes at Chippendale, though he spent the next few years working somewhat adrift at a school. But there was no acting involved in his first class at The Hub Studio, led by veteran teacher Kevin Jackson. Instead, they walked around the classroom discussing what they were watching, and Jackson pressed them to examine why they liked it.

“It happened right away. I thought, ‘Oh, this is for the best,'” Patten says. “It was the art of talking about things that were really disgusting to me because we talked differently in football,” he says.

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Patten found that his years of persistent AFL training translated well into acting through the process of rehearsal, character study and working together on a new type of practice on scenes.

“I don’t know if this is my deep sports roots, but I love working in a team,” he says.

Soon NIDA became the new target; Even though Cate Blanchett knows very little about it beyond the fact that she’s been there. A little sheepishly, he keeps the story short: “So I auditioned. I got in.”

I can see you won’t tell, so I’m asking. Was she accepted into this highly competitive school through first-year auditions? Patten nodded. “I haven’t had a game day in a long time,” he says. “So I was really prepared. And I had nothing to lose.”

“Just getting the callback and being in the same room with all these people felt like a bit of a fraud. I was happy to watch them, I hadn’t seen a play before I auditioned. I had to study.”

This diligence served him well. During Robin Hood It will introduce Patten to a whole new audience (she has just over 300 Instagram followers, a week before the show’s debut), which she’s been consistently booking since graduating.

His first role was a small, guest star. NCIS: Sydney last year as a surfer named Craig Beachley. But it made a big impact because he paid attention to how the leads behaved on and off camera.

“It’s a well-oiled machine,” he says. “And all four leads are lovely, professional and respectful.”

From there, Patten appeared in local theater before appearing alongside action giants Dennis Quaid and. reachingAlan Ritchson in upcoming Netflix sci-fi movie War Machine. Her attentiveness and talent impressed the film’s producer, Todd Lieberman, who suggested her as the lead actor in the film. Robin Hood. Like any good teammate, he is already thinking about the postseason.

“If we get the green light for the second season, I will practice horseback riding and archery at home,” he says.

Robin Hood It will premiere on Stan on November 2nd and new episodes will be released weekly.

*Stan belongs to Nine, who also owns this imprint.

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