Secrets of A Reluctant Star

When Philip Quast saunters through one of Brisbane's al fresco eateries not a head swivels in his direction.

No one, it seems, has the foggiest that only the night before he'd brought an enraptured audience to its feet at an opening performance of the new musical, The Secret Garden.

But then Quast, the consummate performer, has become remarkably adept at deflecting unwanted attention.

He does so now by fronting for an interview dressed like a house painter on a tea break.

Baggy paint-spattered board shorts, a loose fitting shirt, Wayfarer sunnies and a baseball cap yanked as low as it will go over his forehead.

Off-stage it seems Quast feels in no way compelled to embrace the part of a star.

"That's because I don't think my life is any more interesting than anyone else's," he says.

"In fact, I find all the star treatment a bit embarrassing.

"See, it's never happened to me ... last night was the first time I was driven in a stretch limo.

"But then I've never had billing like this before, so driving around Brisbane and seeing your name all over the place comes as a bit of a shock."

At 38, with a string of stage triumphs to his credit, Quast continues to think of himself as the son of a Tamworth farmer who accidentally fell into acting.

"People think that what I do somehow makes me extraordinary. But nothing could be further from the truth... to me it was like a natural progression. I don't see any difference, say, between being a golfer or a tennis player and being an actor."

The comparison would no doubt be applicable were it not for one glaring difference. The Voice.

Quast's rich baritone thrilled audiences when he played opposite Anthony Warlow and Marina Prior in Les Miserables.

And it's doing so again in The Secret Garden, the new Broadway musical that opened to rave reviews in Brisbane last week.

Surprisingly, Quast remains riddled with insecurities about his singing.

"It's been two years since I've sung so I thought it was time to do another musical.

"But still I find it so nerve wracking. I'm so hard on myself because I didn't have that musical background."

Quast confesses there's an almost masochistic need to put himself -- and others -- through a considerable amount of angst: "I put myself and everyone else through hell with my work ... I tend to make it as difficult as possible.

"I agonise about things. And I feel that if it's too easy there must be something wrong with it."

That internal struggle, however, seems to be less acute thanks to a season with the Royal Shakespeare Company in London.

Quast has, since 1989, been dividing his time between England and Australia. Although it's put terrible demands on his wife Carol and their three young sons he feels there've been enormous professional benefits.

"It's just so nice to sometimes disappear. I'm no one there and it's sort of nice in a way to just go away and be a little family ... it feels like an adventure."

Parenthood is one role that Quast has embraced with a confidence befitting someone born to it. And when he's not performing or rehearsing he's with his three sons aged 5, 3 and five weeks. "It's quite strange, I now tend to gravitate to people with children," he laughs.

He recounts having rented a large house with Peter Cousens when they were in Adelaide doing Les Miserables.

"We decided to share the house with our wives and children. I still remember it as one of the greatest experiences in my life.

"At the time both Peter and I were weaning ... so it was up to the men to be up all night. We used to pass each other in the corridor with children and then go to work having only three hours sleep."

As a father, Quast treats himself far more charitably than as an actor. He is proud of the fact that he cooks for the family, is fastidious about washing up and gets the kids dressed and fed in the mornings.

"The great thing about my job is that I get to spend a lot of time with my children during the day."

When Quast's time is not taken up with his twin roles as father and performer he can be found in the company of a very beautiful and regal lady, Dolcie Bella.

She's the other great love in his life: a 27ft antique motor sailer that's been lovingly restored by him and fellow actor Peter Bensley.

"She's quite famous, our little boat, and everyone on Sydney harbour knows her," he says proudly.

"It's a bit like having a boys' room ... she's my little hidey hole. And now that I've fully renovated our house in Redfern she gives me a chance to get my hands dirty."

At this stage Quast is uncertain whether he and his family will be returning to England once The Secret Garden completes its run in Australia.