Hagar’s Hut embarks on a journey through the complexities of psychological trauma and that of the lines it often blurs between reality and fantasy as it follows Skye, a young girl fleeing from the clutches of abuse inflicted upon her by her psychiatrists, who seeks solace in the untamed wilderness.
There, she encounters Xan, a mysterious figure whose motives and identity remain shrouded in enigma. As Skye navigates the delicate balance between truth and illusion, Hagar’s Hut unfolds as a suspenseful exploration of resilience and survival.
Directed by Stephen Osborne, Hagar’s Hut features a departure performance from star Lincoln Lewis, who trades in his usual sunny smile and disposition for a darker turn, one that tests his limits as an actor.
And it was those limits that he spoke about with our Peter Gray ahead of the film’s premiere at this year’s Gold Coast Film Festival, touching on wanting to experience a role that was so far removed from his usual self, the actor that he looks to for inspiration, and what Aussie icon he would love to embody for his dream project.
Always such a treat chatting with you, Lincoln. I’m interested in hearing about Hagar’s Hut, this seems like a departure for you. Can you tell me about how this came about for you?
I bumped into Stephen Osborne, our director, here at the Gold Coast Film Festival a couple of years ago when he did Dome House Six. We were chatting away, and he said, “I really want to put you in one of my films one day.” I told him that whenever he has a script to send it on, but I told how I really wanted to branch out. I want roles with a little bit of meat on them. I want to go a bit darker. I don’t want to have blurred lines of where I am and the character begins. I do love the upbeat, energetic, larikin-ish roles. They’re fun, but there comes a point where I want to do something serious. Maybe something twisted. It’s like watching Tom Hardy do his roles, (I’m) so inspired by that. I want the opportunity to be be able to move into those darker roles, because that way you can really show your versatility.
It’s fun doing things like Underbelly and Tomorrow When the War Began, because while they were still not super dark, they were different from Home and Away and, let’s say, House Husbands. So, (Stephen) approached me when he had this script for Hagar’s Hut, and he remembered what I said about wanting to do darker roles. (Stephen) likes dark, twisted, artistic movies, so I wanted to talk, I told him to send me the script. The film is about a girl named Skye, and she’s in a rehab facility suffering quite an amount of abuse at the hands of her care. She wants to escape, and she meets Xan (my character) living in the bush by himself in his cabin, in the hut.
We shot on this beautiful private property that really shows the Australian landscape, but we did it in a way that wasn’t us saying, “Hey, we’re Australian!”, if that makes sense. Anyways, it’s obvious that Skye has escaped a horrible situation, and Xan is quite nonchalant about her. He doesn’t really want her around, but he can see that she’s too weak to go anywhere, so it’s sort of a “As soon as you’re better, you can go”, type situation. She becomes more trusting of him the more she stays around, and he feels like if she has to stay, he’s going to teach her to survive. This is not a free lunch. You have to pull your weight. And so this intense relationship builds between them. But there’s nothing romantic or sexual about it, which, I think, is really good, because that could have taken away from the intensity if something like that happened between them.
It was fun playing that with Zarlia (Chisholm). We shot 80% of the film in four days, so all my stuff with Zarlia was done in that time. I met her the afternoon before we started shooting, and then it was like, “Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow on set.” I had a quick chat with her on the phone when I was driving to location, just getting to know each other. This was a skeleton crew of less than 10 people, so all one camera for about 90% of the shoot.
As you said, we’re so used to seeing you as the nice guy. When you get something like Hagar’s Hut, are you looking at a particular performance that helps you bringing on the mentality needed for the role?
I’m so stoked you asked that question. There’s a couple of actors that I really like to watch, with one of them being Tom Hardy. Whether you see him in MobLand, or Lawless, or Warrior, he’s just so amazing with his intensity, but he does it without trying to be intense. I’ve got a long way to go. I know that I’m never going to stop learning as an actor, and especially with a character that I haven’t had the opportunity to really play. But 0ne thing I really tried to take inspiration from is, funnily enough, and I know saying this it might sound comical, but a stray dog, or a dog that’s untrusting of humans.
You can see the difference between a domesticated house dog who loves being around, right? The eyes, the ears, the tails…but then when you see a dog that’s sketchy around people, if you go to pat it, you can see the eyes, the ears…you don’t know if it’s going to let you pat it or it’s going to bite you and take your fingers off. That’s kind of what I was thinking about with Xan. I wanted him to be there, to be present, and to be self sufficient. He isn’t relying on anyone but himself. If you’re cool, then there’s no worries (with him), but at the same time, you have to keep up or you’re going to fall behind. And if you push this, whether it’s a snap moment, you’re going to know it. And that’s what I was really thinking about, like an undomesticated dog, essentially. They can be so sweet and normal, but you don’t know when that moment is going to be when they turn.
And what I loved about working with Stephen, when he was shooting a scene between Zarlia and I, we’d say our dialogue, but we’d sit there in a minute of silence just feeling each other out. (Her character would) be quite standoffish and scared of me, because she’s still untrusting and my character is sussing her out. All (Xan) knows is that he found a girl in the bush, and as much as he doesn’t want her around, at the same time he isn’t just going to let her out. It’s almost like a dance between them, or when boxers are feeling each other out with their jabs.
Sounds like you really enjoyed this experience. And off that, if someone was going to offer you a role right now that you would absolutely say yes to, what would that be?
Right now? I’ve got two. One would be fictional, the other a biopic. So my biopic dream role, Steve Irwin. I would absolutely hands down jump at that with everything I ever had if they were doing a Steve Irwin biopic. I would do every type of research required to do justice to the man who is probably Australia’s greatest ambassador. The whole world loved him. And I admired him for everything he did for animals and for nature.
Did you ever get the chance to meet him?
I never got the chance. But yeah, he would be my ultimate. And for a fictional role, my favourite book series is by an author named Matthew Reilly, who’s also an Australian. They brought a film of his to life a few years ago called Interceptor, but he’s done a couple of book series, and one of them is called “Seven Ancient Wonders.” It’s a seven book series, and the lead of that entire book is series is a character called Jack West Jr., who’s an Australian, and he’d be a mixture of Chris Hemsworth and Indiana Jones. And the book has everything I love, which is history, action, travel, archaeology and solving clues. These books are a worldwide phenomenon. That would be my ideal role.
You need to get those conversations started!
Actually, my brother, Mitch, and I have interviewed (Matthew) on several occasions. And I actually won an auction where you could have the opportunity to have your name in a Matthew Reilly novel, so there’s someone named Lincoln Lewis is one of the novels. But I remember interviewing him about 10 years ago, and Mitch and I asked him if he was going to make “Seven Ancient Wonders” into a film, or series, who would he have in mind, and without question he said Chris Hemsworth. But he knew that whoever he cast had to commit to a 10-year deal, because the character starts off at about 26-years-old and by the end of the series is about 45. The books all cut back between these ages, and I know that at 37-years-old, I could manage that age range.
But it’s the same for me as the Steve Irwin thing, if this opportunity came up I would do everything possible to make this role a reality. Whatever was needed physically, I’d make it a reality. You know, I’ve been fortunate to play some amazing characters, and “Tomorrow When the War Began” was one of my favourite book series of all time. When I found that was being made into a film, I remember calling my agent and saying I’m putting everything into this audition that I can. When you see a possibility, you can make your dreams a reality. I’m not letting anything stand in my way. So, yeah, they’re my dream roles.
Hagar’s Hut is screening as part of this year’s Gold Coast Film Festival, running between April 30th and May 11th, 2025. For more information on the festival and screening times, head to the official site here.
