Former Home and Away stars talk about their journey from coast to coast.

Moving from the comforts of your own home to the big bad city of LA isn't always easy. Chris Hemsworth, Justin Melvey, Tammin Sursok and Chris Egan talk about their experiences in Hollywood and the big roles they have played since they left the Aussie soap.

CHRIS HEMSWORTH
Played: Kim Hyde from 2004 to 2007;
Moved to LA: 2007
Recent work: Ca$h! with Sean Bean; A Perfect Getaway with Milla Jovovich; JJ Abrams' Star Trek (all due for release this year).

"If I were to think of the reason I've been offered jobs, I'd definitely put it down to having interests outside the industry," says the 25-year-old.

"If not, there's a tendency to come across as desperate. You have to stay human and avoid being the audition robot."

Chris says the casual but hard-working attitude works well for so many Australian expats. But, at first, the transition to LA wasn't so effortless.

"When you step off the plane, for the first month you don't know anybody or your way around. You have to find somewhere to live and buy a car. Now, after 15 months, it certainly feels like home."

Hemsworth says it seems as though everyone living in LA is entangled in the entertainment industry.

"In Australia, it's just a job, but it's the be-all and end-all in LA. You see celebrities all over the place and end up in funny places chatting to people you've watched on TV for years. It becomes normal pretty quickly."
"I bumped into someone the other day and told them I was an actor, they rolled their eyes and said, 'Oh God, not another one,'" he says laughing. "I thought, what are you doing in LA if you're not?"

Hemsworth's chilled approach has paid off. He's due to appear in two major films this year; Star Trek, directed by Lost producer JJ Abrams, also starring Eric Bana, and A Perfect Getaway, written by David Twohy (The Fugitive).

JUSTIN MELVEY
Played: Harry Reynolds from 1999 to 2001
Lived in LA: From 1991 to 1999 and 2001 to 2008
Recent work: Days of Our Lives (2001 to 2003); The Phone, screening Mondays at 8.30pm on FOX8.

Skiing for the Australian national freestyle team wasn't enough for ex-Home and Away star Justin Melvey.

At the age of 21, he realised his dream job was soon to come to an end. So he promptly found another one.

"I moved to LA and enrolled in drama school, because I couldn't see a future in sport," he says.

Melvey spent the following eight years modelling, studying and improving his acting skills in small roles, before he began yearning for home.

"I'd travelled all over the world with a pair of skis on my back, lived in LA and New York, appeared in commercials and TV shows, but I wanted to lay some grassroots," he says. It was then the opportunity came up to play the role of Harry Reynolds in Home and Away.

He won a Logie on 2000 for Most Popular New Talent and says the work helped him settle down personally and professionally.

"Acting on Home and Away is a lifestyle, as well as a job. With a show like that, young kids identify with you, so there's a certain pressure to live responsibly. I once jumped off mountains, but now I make sure I eat well, stay fit and get enough sleep so I can take my opportunities a bit more seriously."

He was soon on a plane back to the US for a role in the long-running daytime TV soap opera Days of Our Lives.

"When I signed the three-year contract, I was handed a green card and I realised I could now buy a home in the Hollywood Hills and a car. To me, that meant I'd made it."

"I learnt it's not about being famous - you have to be true to your values and not be caught up in the hype. Australians are known for having a humble approach to their work.

We're not divas, and that's why we're so popular in this industry. Once you understand that, you'll go a long way."

TAMMIN SURSOK
Played: Dani Sutherland from 2000 to 2004
Moved to LA: 2006
Recent work: Aquamarine (2006) with Emma Roberts; The Young and the Restless (current); Spectacular! (due for release this year).

"Leaving Australia was the hardest thing I've ever done," says 25-year-old Tammin Sursok from her home in Beverley Hills.

"I'm close to my family, and you never know what's going to happen when you come here. It's not an easy way of life but, if you want a career, sometimes you have to leave home."

"I grew up on that show [Home and Away]," she says. "It taught me everything I know today. We shot up to 50 scenes a day. You had to be on time and you had to be professional.

"I'd say that 60 to 70 per cent of the reason I'm offered a role is because of this professionalism."

Sursok is currently acting on American mega-soap The Young and the Restless, playing Colleen Carlton, for which she has earned a Daytime Emmy award nomination.

Working on The Young and the Restless requires Tammin to start her day at 8am and finish at 6pm.

"For Home and Away, it was sometimes a 5am start, and there was me, at 17, driving in the dark to the beach, drinking coffee to try to stay awake. The workload is bigger for The Young and the Restless, but it's less stressful, too."

She is still feeling homesick, even after her success. "I miss a good coffee - it's the worst thing about LA," she says.

"I miss that when someone talks to you, there's no hidden agenda. I just miss the Australian way of life, the easiness of it all. And the beaches; I love our beaches."

CHRIS EGAN
Played: Nick Smith from 2000 to 2003
Moved to LA: 2003
Recent work: Eragon (2006) with Jeremy Irons and John Malkovich; Resident Evil: Extinction (2007); Crush (2008).

"Home and Away and Resident Evil were so different, you just can't compare. I shared a trailer with a mutant who wanted to suck my blood. It was pretty annoying," jokes Egan.

He has lived "in a low-key area with good cafes and restaurants" in Los Angeles for the past five years.

Some of his most recent workmates are John Malkovich and Jeremy Irons, his co-stars on the fantasy film Eragon. "It was incredible to work with them.

They're both so experienced and I learnt a lot simply by being around them. I've watched all their movies, but I didn't ask them if they'd seen Home and Away!"

"For me, working in television or film is the same process.

The main difference is the wider variety of characters I can play now I'm older.

Working with any actor is the same, though; it's a collaborative process. Home and Away taught me how to cooperate with whomever I'm working with."

"I had some wonderful times on Home and Away and I often miss the camaraderie. I grew up on that set for three years. It was like a family."

Source: The Daily Telegraph