He rose to fame playing the handsome heartthrob Drew Kirk on the long-running Australian soap, Neighbours.
And now Dan Paris has revealed his surprising new career, which came about due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The 47-year-old actor and photographer revealed to the ABC that after a downturn in work, he’s now a farmer or a market gardener, operating from his property in Esperance, Western Australia.
Remember him? Former Neighbours star Dan Paris revealed his surprising new career to the ABC this week, revealing he’s now a farmer. Pictured on Neighbours with co-star Kym Valentine
His property is called Mystwood Harvest and according to the ABC, grows around 30 different types of fresh produce including herbs and vegetables.
Dan and his wife Tanya Jenkyn decided to tackle the idea of the community-supported agriculture (CSA) with the farm, rather than selling at the local markets.
According to the publication CSA ‘asks consumers to invest in shares in a grower’s projected harvest for a set period, and then when it yields, they receive regular deliveries.’
Country life! The 47-year-old actor and photographer revealed to the ABC that after a downturn in work, he’s now a farmer or a market gardener, operating from his property in Esperance, Western Australia. Pictured with a fan
‘I guess it’s similar to crowdfunding, in that you can promote online in a forum, you raise an interest and you see who’s out there,’ Dan said.
‘So they gave us capital up front, and that allowed us to get some structures in the ground, get through COVID as an unemployed photographer and start to do some work,’ he added.
Talking about how he lost some photography work amid the coronavirus pandemic, he said: ‘I think I had 12 jobs booked in for the next few weeks, and three a day [were] getting cancelled.’
He said he first came to the idea of selling produce so that he could make ‘$500 every few weeks just to keep things ticking over.’ But it seems like things are going well for Dan and his wife.
Familiar face: Dan played Drew Kirk on Neighbours from 1998 to 2002, until his character was killed off in a tragic horse riding accident
Dan played Drew Kirk on Neighbours from 1998 to 2002, until his character was killed off in a tragic horse riding accident.
After leaving the soap, Dan enjoyed travelling the country as a photographer in Western Australia.
In 2017, Dan told News.com.au that the first thing he bought after leaving the Ramsey Street was a nice camera to fuel his passion for photography.
‘It started off as landscape and now I work a lot with marketing companies in Perth,’ he said, adding that he also does photo shoots for Tourism WA.
‘Most of my work is actually doing video now and that’s pretty much what I’ve been doing professionally since Neighbours. Life is great at the moment.’
His passions: In 2017, Dan told News.com.au that the first thing he bought after leaving the Ramsey Street was a nice camera to fuel his passion for photography. Pictured on the soap
During his time on the show, his character married Libby Kennedy, played by Kym Valentine, and together had a son Ben Kirk.
Dan revealed he never had plans to be an actor, but said he was at the right place at the right time after doing one audition, despite having no experience.
He admitted that he did find it challenging remembering his lines, but said he enjoyed his job.
The former actor said it was his love of the wilderness and wide open spaces that spurred him to leave the show in 2002.
He also revealed that despite the despair of fans, he wanted his character to be killed off.
‘I said, “You know what? I think I need the door shut… I needed to do other things in life and at the time that felt really right,’ he told the publication.
Lucky: Dan revealed he never had plans to be an actor, but said he was at the right place at the right time after doing one audition, despite having no experience. Pictured on the show