Sam North first came onto our screens as bully boy Dom.

He gave Ric an appalling time at the garage when he was a trainee apprentice, even going as far as burning him with battery acid. He then re-emerged selling dodgy car parts to Drew for the love of his life ‘The Beast.' Dom comes across as a bit of a loser, although there’s something a little disturbing but charismatic in his character. His fixation on Belle becomes fascinating when they share a kiss and we see a flicker of chemistry.

After setting fire to ‘The Beast’ and admitting to his involvement with the stolen car parts, he was sent to prison. But just when you thought it was safe to relax…he returns.

His continued obsession with Belle reaches a new level, and we will see some powerful acting from Sam and Jessica Tovey.

I was interested to find out how Dom’s character traits had been developed and so spoke to the man himself.

Sam is tall and quite imposing, like his character, but it’s hard not to be intrigued by his brooding dark looks.

He had an unusual upbringing. “We didn’t have a TV until I was eight and when we did, we were only allowed to watch the news” he revealed. His parents were missionaries and they travelled extensively, which meant changing schools constantly. “I moved at least twice a year for the first ten years of my life. We did a lot of South-East Asia and pretty much, you name it, anywhere on the Eastern Coast of Australia.”

Change can be tough when you are young. “It got a lot easier when I got a dog, but I think I found it a bit hard as a kid, because you just never get settled, you never spend more than six months at a primary school” he reflected. “You miss out on having that ‘memories of one place’ thing, so I guess it was disruptive, but I had two sisters and a brother, (Anna, Grace and Michael) so I had plenty of things to keep me occupied and I got a dog (Malcolm) when I was about six, he was my dog, and that made it easier.” He conceded.

The call to acting did not surface until High School “There were a bunch of guys who were a couple of years older than me, who did all the lead roles in all the plays at school. For a public school it had quite a strong drama company, so an opportunity came up to audition for a production of Sweet Charity when I was in Year 8. In Year 10 I joined the NSW Public Schools Senior Drama Company, and that is when I really started taking it seriously because you worked with good directors and in professional theatres. We did shows at the Zenith, The Opera House and Newtown Theatre and got used to doing shows for longer than a week.” he said.

Sam’s extensive list of theatre productions include Cosi, Lord of the Flies, and Pan, which also took him to London, Stratford, St Albans and Harrogate. “A lot of the trip was spent on a bus to be honest..” he said ruefully. A couple of years later he went to Belfast with the Australian Theatre for Young People with a production of Skate . The most recent production was ‘Capture The Flag’, written and directed by a friend of Sam’s, Toby Schmitz. It was about three boys from the Nazi Hitler Youth, who are caught in a drain under the city at the penultimate hour as the Russians are invading Berlin.

Sam talks passionately about these true events at the end of the War and how he played an eight year old! “It seems to be a bit of a career choice at the moment, I played a ten year old in Lord of the Flies.” He went on to explain that the set was built in a way to make them look small and they were wearing baggy peasant clothing. “It was really fun to do,” he added.

So what is the future for this talented actor? “Well if I could make all my money from theatre I would,” he says honestly. “But the work is so scant…especially with the Actors Company leaving only five or six roles a year that aren’t taken by the Company, it makes it tough,” said Sam.

After just missing out in a lead role in the Stephen Spielberg epic ‘The Pacific’, Sam returned to Home and Away as Dom to pursue Belle. He admits to quite liking the character. “I’d much rather play him than some love interest,” he says emphatically. “I find some of his choices a little questionable, he’s kind of irrational, but he knows how to get what he wants.”

So will he or won’t he get Belle? Well we can’t reveal anymore, so keep watching and keep your eye on this actor, you may see him follow the Home and Away talent stream to the US as he is an American citizen. Let’s hope it’s not too soon.

Interview by Tania Seager