Actor Mahesh Jadu is enjoying the blank canvas of his new Kardinya home.
Camera IconActor Mahesh Jadu is enjoying the blank canvas of his new Kardinya home. Credit: Supplied/Supplied

Kardinya actor Mahesh Jadu finds reward in his roles

Headshot of Josh Zimmerman
Josh ZimmermanMelville Gazette

ACTOR Mahesh Jadu purchased his Kardinya home more than three months ago but you would never guess it from the barebones interior.

The smell of recently applied paint and a garden filled with flourishing young native plants are the only giveaways that anybody actually occupies the unassuming face-brick abode.

Minimalism comes easy to Jadu, who has spent large parts of the last two years filming in exotic locations all over the world.

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“It wasn’t until I started getting rid of the majority of my personal belongings that I started getting a lot of work,” he said.

“It was just an emptying of the figurative and literal clutter in my life, when I started getting rid of things I felt the path starting to clear a little bit and I was able to be ready for opportunity.”

Jadu is perhaps best known for his time playing Dr Doug Harris in Australian institution Neighbours.

Since leaving the show in 2011 he has also picked up roles in Australian drama Taj, fantasy horror film I, Frankenstein and most recently historical Netflix television series Marco Polo.

Jadu also played a minor role in the latest instalment of blockbuster Hollywood franchise Pirates of the Caribbean, Dead Men Tell No Tales currently in post-production and due to premiere next year.

“I didn’t have a very big part to start and it was drastically reduced because I sustained a broken nose during the filming of a sword fight,” Jadu said.

“That put me out of action for a little bit and there were also some famous delays; Johnny Depp’s dogs and his broken hand and all of that.

“But just being there and watching the likes of Javier Bardem and Geoffrey Rush perform together just a month before I started filming Marco Polo was quite auspicious for me.”

A big fan of Netflix’s freedom to approach story telling without the formulaic constraints of traditional commercial television, Jadu has quick to throw his support behind streaming services.

“As a viewer myself, I’m only in acting because I love reading and watching and hearing stories, so I find it very rewarding to be part of a model I believe in,” he said.

Currently between sets, Jadu is using the time to rebalance – and put some TLC into his new home.

“It feels like an off-season almost,” he said.

“There are times that you have three or four jobs lined up, other times you have nothing.

“I’ve been putting a lot of time into the garden but the inside I’ve intentionally kept empty because I’ve been using it mainly as a rehearsal space.

“When I’m in one place my mind can be a bit more diversified, whereas when I’m on the go filming and travelling my mind is very focused on that one project.

“I think that is the balance that for me I’m finding very beautiful and renewing.”