On the set of Home and Away he’s known as surfer Mali Hudson. Now Kyle Shilling is showing Australia his best cha-cha moves on Seven’s upcoming Dancing with the Stars. Editor in chief Michelle Giglio reports from Summer Bay.
From the way Kyle Shilling talks about his dancing injuries after several gruelling weeks of Dancing with the Stars – calf strain, swollen knee and swollen ankle (‘My left leg was just gone!’), you would think he was discussing damage after a rugby league match.
The charismatic actor, who plays surf board shop owner Mali Hudson on popular Aussie soap Home and Away, has just wrapped filming of Channel Seven’s Dancing with the Stars (DWTS), which pairs celebrities with a professional dancer in a knock-out competition. The celebrities must learn four traditional ballroom or latin dance styles in just five weeks, then fight it out for the Mirrorball trophy – under the eagle eyes of four judges, keen to point out if a finger is out of place – or gasp at a lift gone wrong.
Hosted by gorgeous actor-come-television host Sonia Kruger and Bondi Vet’s Chris Brown, DWTS is now in its 22nd season and has become a well-watched staple in Australian households, with 6.9 million viewers last year.
What makes it so popular, I ask Narrabeen’s Kyle, 31, as we sat down at Palm Beach’s iconic Barrenjoey House for a chat. “Seeing all these (celebrities) in different elements of their careers and seeing them actually just be human, and also struggle,” he surmises. “It’s a good wake up call for people that see us and realise that we are not robots. And we’re not good at everything!”
Kyle is no stranger to dance, as he picked it up in high school and joined professional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) company Bangarra Dance Theatre in his 20s. But the style he learnt was very much free-form, unlike the strict requirements of DWTS. “Everyone was saying ‘You’ve got this!’ But the whole confidence thing going into the show actually wasn’t there because I haven’t danced properly for almost 10 years,” Kyle explains. “And knowing that it was all ‘ballroom’ stuff, that’s completely opposite to what I’ve ever done. Everything I’ve done is ‘feel free, be grounded, feel the music, feel the movement.’
“It was actually quite challenging trying to have my body not do what I used to do.”
Dancing was something of a salvation to Kyle in his youth, growing up as a proud Widjabul man of the Bundjalung Nation in Taree, and then Tweed Heads. A twin with brother Jesse, the boys grew up with their mother, and had no contact with their father, who was Aboriginal. They were the only Aboriginal members of their family, the eldest brothers of five siblings, with a stepfather that Kyle has always called ‘Dad.’ While that made no difference inside the family home – ‘We are a really, really close family,’ Kyle states fondly – the boys endured a lot of racism in the community.
“It wasn’t all smooth sailing, you could say,” says Kyle. “There is a strong percentage of indigenous people in Taree. Two young Aboriginal boys, and two white parents didn’t really sit too well with a lot of people.
“We were quite abused racially. And it was when we were about 13, my (step) dad Daniel – who’s been there my whole life – made the decision to pack us up and leave Taree because there was nothing there for us.”
Performing lore with Bangarra
Despite the racism and disconnect from their culture, the boys took it upon themselves to learn about their Aboriginal heritage, with a lot of support from their family.
“We were different in our family and copping things that no one else in the family did in terms of racism, physically and mentally. And that was the switch for us to realise that we were different. It was that drive that pushed us. (We thought), ‘If people are going to label us, at least we (should have) a strong understanding about what it is they’re labelling us.”
School was a real struggle as the boys sought their place in the community. “It was me and my twin brother versus the world at that point!” Kyle laughs. “We were very angry young teenagers. When we first went to school at Tweed Heads, we put on that tough guy demeanour and there were fights almost daily.
“We’d been put down for so many years. (We felt) it was time for us to give ourselves a podium that we could stand upon.
“We got a bit lost throughout our early to late teens. We were trying to make a name for ourselves in any way we could.”
Luckily for the brothers, their school, Kingscliff High, had an Aboriginal dance group. Kyle had already taught himself the didgeridoo, and his brother became a lead dancer. The boys were able to learn a lot about their Aboriginal culture through trips organised by the school, but Kyle admits he was ‘on the wrong path’ and did not do well academically. He left at 17 in Year 11, and a friend who attended the National Aboriginal Islander Skills Development Association (NAISDA) suggested he audition there.
The successful audition led to four years of growth and cultural immersion for Kyle. Based in Kariong on the Central Coast, Kyle learnt all disciplines of dance, from ballet to jazz. One of the reasons Kyle attended was because of the ‘strong cultural studies.’ This included trips to the Torres Strait to learn traditional dances and language.
It was a huge change for Kyle, who had grown up with four siblings – and several other children that his parents fostered. “When I moved out at 17, I had my own space for the first time in so many years. It was really odd to fend for myself all of a sudden.”
There was also an emotional void. “It was rough at first. Leaving home at 17, I guess running away from my problems to try and start something new, is why I did it. And I felt like I was leaving everyone behind to deal with those issues themselves. I got homesick very quickly.”
Kyle did find the sense of belonging that he had been searching for. “All of a sudden I was surrounded 24 hours a day by just indigenous people. And I was learning stuff from their homes and their cultural ways,” he explains.
“To only be surrounded by your own mob was quite rewarding.”
After graduating, Kyle joined Bangarra as a professional dancer, and toured with the company in 2015 performing lore. The experience deepened his connection to culture. “I had a really strong sense of pride while I was performing,” Kyle reflects. “It really gave me a strong sense of belonging and a very deep understanding about who I am.
“And that’s sharing my culture, sharing my stories, not just with non-indigenous people, but with all people. I think it’s just a great way to showcase that we are strong individuals, but we’re also strong together as a culture.”
Kyle feels being able to portray First Nations people in a positive light is important to counter negative stereotypes.
Kyle hotting up the dance floor with Lily Cornish
Kyle did his own stunts for the bomb scene in Home and Away
“I want people to realise that yes, we have difficulty. So does everybody in the world, so do all cultures. But to stop looking at the small percentage and look at the greater percentage of those who are also doing amazing things.”
After just one year, injury saw Kyle sidelined from Bangarra. As one stage closed, the theatre beckoned, and Kyle joined a small theatre company, learning his trade on the road around NSW and Victoria, performing to high school students. During his early years of acting, he auditioned four times for Home and Away, always coming away empty handed. But after the last audition, which Kyle thought was another ‘let down,’ the producers called to say they had written the character of Mali based on his performance – the first ever main role for a First Nations actor in the 37-year history of the show.
As Mali Hudson in Summer Bay
“I was quite blown away. I honestly couldn’t believe it,” Kyle says of his reaction. “I thought I was going to be stuck doing theatre because I’d never had any previous acting (experience). It’s a great opportunity for anyone starting out.”
From his first day on set, Kyle felt comfortable straight away. “Everyone’s amazing. Everyone’s welcoming, and you just get that sense of family as soon as you step on set.”
And it really is like a family, with veteran actors such as Ada Nicodemou, Georgie Parker and of course Ray Meagher, who has played Alf since the show’s inception in 1988. It’s been a wild ride over the last two years for Kyle’s character Mali, a surf board shaper. He’s been blown up, roughed up in a gang fight and almost drowned. Not to mention the love triangle!
Kyle says the writers do a great job trying to weave in the issues many ATSI face into the storyline. “Mali didn’t have a great relationship with police. And they wrote that because that is how indigenous people are seen by a lot of police. So then they had me dating a police officer (which was) a chance to showcase this beautiful black love in the show, which I don’t think had been seen before.”
He’s been able to showcase his physical theatre skills, refusing a stunt double in the bomb scene (“It was so much fun!” he enthuses), but more than anything else, he has been exposed to a wide range of acting. “I couldn’t ask for any better,” he says.
With his upcoming stint on DWTS, Kyle is treading a well-worn path, with actors from Home and Away regularly appearing on the show since it first screened on Seven in 2004. Paired with ‘amazing’ professional dancer Lily Cornish, Kyle and his partner seem to have had great fun preparing for the show in his sneak peaks on socials. “We get along so well and she’s going to be a lifelong friend,” he remarks.
While Kyle jokes there is ‘no way’ he’s akin to a professional dancer, he manages a fair few lifts in the series, and admits he did push himself. “There’s always that sense of wanting to be the best, not just version of yourself, but you want to stand out from the crowd.” Kyle says that while DWTS is a competition at heart, all the celebrities mingled nicely during filming, with some big names on the dance card including Olympic swimming great Susie O’Neill, veteran actor Rebecca Gibney, and model/influencer Mia Fevola.
Reflecting on what he has achieved in his career, Kyle says it has been ‘a lot of hard work.’
“There have been a lot of ups and downs. I always say in this industry, I feel like you’re told ‘no’ more times in your life than you are ‘yes’ than any other job, because you’re doing so many auditions a week.
“It still wigs me out that this is my career. I step out at Palm Beach, I look at the ocean, I’m like, ‘This is my office today.’ And I have to pretend to be upset on a camera!” he laughs. “I couldn’t be more proud of myself, that’s for sure.”
Dancing with the Stars airs Sundays 7pm on Seven. Kyle’s chosen charity is the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.
