Cameron Daddo may have just returned to local TV with a new ‘Home and Away’ role, but the Australian star has done some deep soul searching before making his acting comeback.
The 55-year-old travelled from Hobart to the Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey to trace back his family roots, an experience that’s been documented in an episode of SBS show ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ which is airing tonight.
“One thing about being an actor and to tell a story, you need to know where you’ve been and you need to always have that in the back of your mind because what you’ve done always informs your choices in the present moment,” Cameron told HuffPost Australia.
The TV star said he “knew nothing” about his family history besides “some snippets of information” from his parents.
“There’s always been a curiosity on my part about it, to the point where a few years ago I did try one of those DNA testing things but it wasn’t very conclusive,” he explained. “So when this came up, I thought I’ve just got to have a go at it.”
Cameron learned of convicts in his family from his mother’s side and traced a family tree going back 34 generations on his paternal side, leading him to discover he has noble roots.
He made the trek in August last year, and while COVID-19 travel restrictions are currently in place, he hopes others can make a similar journey when international borders eventually open.
“Hopefully we will get back to that place where we can fly overseas to do things like this because it’s such a wonderful adventure, and I was grateful for the opportunity of it,” he said.
“It’s the way to do it. I would encourage anyone to do it if they could.”
‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ airs Tuesday at 7:30pm on SBS.