“I’m just a regular, laid-back, good-looking, wealthy, funny, charming football player,” says Ben Nicholas, introducing his character Steve Papakonstantinou in the online series Footballer Wants A Wife.
Since its premiere on Tuesday 8 September, the show seems to have found its way into the hearts of the audience as the parody counterpart of The Bachelor.
“I’m pretty sure we can say this now, it’s the biggest web series that’s ever been made in Australia,” Nicholas told 891 ABC Adelaide.
The six-part web series follows three professional sportsmen drawn from different footy codes in their ‘journey’ looking for love among a cohort of 14 women who desperately want to become a WAG (wives and girlfriends).
Nicholas, who is also the creator of the show, appears as AFL player Steve Papakonstantinou, and admits that when he first invented the role he searched online for the longest Greek name he could find.
The fictional cast also includes rugby player Justin Cox and soccer player Camden Silversack who has had a very unsuccessful career as a goalkeeper.
After some fruitless efforts to land acting jobs in the US, the former Neighbours star decided to write something from scratch and came up with the idea of creating his own show.
The initial concept has been on Nicholas’ mind since 2012, until it was finally funded through Screen Australia’s Multiplatform Drama program, whereas the shooting lasted roughly a week.
Described as a comedy that criticises the vanity and fabricated sentiment of modern day reality shows, Footballer Wants A Wife could even appeal to overseas audiences.
“Everyone’s got football. You just repackage it – take out all the Australian jokes so Americans get it – and show them the template.” Nicholas said.
Source: ABC
