{"id":2241078,"date":"2026-01-19T17:48:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T17:48:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2241078"},"modified":"2026-01-19T17:48:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T17:48:11","slug":"police-swarm-sydney-audition-after-actor-david-howells-scene-mistaken-for-real-robbery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/police-swarm-sydney-audition-after-actor-david-howells-scene-mistaken-for-real-robbery\/","title":{"rendered":"Police swarm Sydney audition after actor David Howell\u2019s scene mistaken for real robbery"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2026%2F01%2Fnewspress-collage-0nviuyo54-1768844540972.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall%261768826575\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft wp-block-nypost-editor-partner-article-links\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>There\u2019s method acting \u2013 and then there\u2019s David Howell.<\/p>\n<p>The Aussie actor was so spectacular when he auditioned for the role of a bank robber in the new\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/binge.com.au\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">BINGE<\/a>\u00a0series\u00a0\u201cRun,\u201d that concerned neighbors believed he was actually a criminal and called the police.<\/p>\n<p>Needless to say, Howell got the role in the\u00a0miniseries based on the life of notorious Aussie <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/tag\/bank-robberies\/\">bank robber <\/a>Brenden Abbott, aka \u2018The Postcard Bandit\u2019. But first the crew had to convince police that Howell was in fact an actor when they rocked up in a fleet of cop cars to the Sydney studio.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Aussie actor David Howell\u2019s audition for a bank robber role in the\u00a0series\u00a0\u201cRun\u201d was so believable that concerned neighbors called the police. <span class=\"credit\">BINGE<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>David Howell was cast as Glenn Abbott in the show, the brother of Australia\u2019s most notorious bank robber, Brendan Abbott. <span class=\"credit\">BINGE<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Howell\u2019s co-star George Mason, who was cast as Brenden in the series, recalls being so impressed after seeing Howell at the audition dressed like a complete criminal, that he\u2019s not surprised he fooled the police.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m pulling up, I see David, he\u2019s pacing around his car and he\u2019s smoking a cigarette \u2013 he doesn\u2019t even smoke,\u201d Mason recalled to news.com.au to promote the series, which is now streaming on BINGE.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo he\u2019s obviously just dropping into character. And I just sort of acknowledged him, but I was like, \u2018I\u2019ll let him do his thing.\u2019 I\u2019ve got nothing but respect for him.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>George Mason and David Howell in \u201cRun.\u201d <span class=\"credit\">BINGE<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>However, Mason knew they were in for trouble when he heard Howell burst into the studio already in character as Glenn Abbott, Brenden\u2019s little brother.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNext minute I hear him start the scene. It\u2019s the hold-up scene and I\u2019m going, \u2018Oh, that\u2019s loud,\u2019\u201d Mason shared. \u201cI\u2019m in the street two blocks down in Surry Hills and I can hear him screaming his head off, \u2018Get on the effing floor!\u2019 And straight away I went, \u2018The cops are going to come.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMost people in Sydney live in apartments and what not. So you can\u2019t just scream at the top of your lungs, \u2018This is a hold-up, everybody on the floor.\u2019\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Director Ben Young recounts the audition. <span class=\"credit\">BINGE<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Just as he predicted, police showed up\u2026 with the tactical response group.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNext minute, the sirens are coming and I\u2019m going, \u2018Sh*t,\u2019\u201d Mason said. \u201cAnd I\u2019m dressed up looking like [a robber]. I think I was wearing a white singlet and I had a pretend gun as well because I kind of had the same instincts \u2013 I was going to hold them up as well with a balaclava.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mason said that despite appearing suss himself, he thought he\u2019d help ease tensions by informing the cops that it was all for a TV show.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI run down the road and then I thought I should probably start walking because I can see the police filing into the frigging room,\u201d he shared. \u201cI stopped the first guy and I was like, \u2018Hey, just letting you know there\u2019s an audition room. I\u2019ve got the script here, just don\u2019t go in there and shoot. It\u2019s my mate in there.\u2019 And the cop turned around and said to me, \u2018Well, you should have a permit.\u2019 And I was like, \u2018Don\u2019t shoot the messenger, bro.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>George Mason portrays Brenden Abbott in the six-part series. <span class=\"credit\">BINGE<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>After the debacle, which saw nearby apartment buildings being evacuated, Mason praised Howell for his method acting.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019ll see him in the show and he\u2019s an absolute standout,\u201d Mason said. \u201cI mean, he\u2019d also just been working with [Aussie director] <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2015\/12\/03\/michael-fassbender-and-marion-cotillard-shine-in-a-dark-dank-macbeth\/\">Justin Kurzel<\/a> [on the miniseries<em>\u00a0The Narrow Road to the Deep North<\/em>] before he did that little method stunt. So I think maybe that\u2019s the school of Justin Cosell right there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf they didn\u2019t give him the part after that, I don\u2019t know what gives,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Mason plays the lead role in\u00a0\u201cRun,\u201d which follows Abbott\u2019s unprecedented career in crime in the 80s and 90s during which he was dubbed \u2018The Postcard Bandit\u2019 for robbing more than 40 banks across the country, all while evading police for five years.<\/p>\n<p>After escaping maximum security prisons twice, Abbott was eventually arrested and jailed in 1998. To this day, he remains Australia\u2019s longest-serving prisoner not convicted of murder. He is eligible for parole in August 2028.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRun\u201d is now streaming on BINGE.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source celebrity.land \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There\u2019s method acting \u2013 and then there\u2019s David Howell. The Aussie actor was so spectacular when he auditioned for the role of a bank robber in the new\u00a0BINGE\u00a0series\u00a0\u201cRun,\u201d that concerned neighbors believed he was actually a criminal and called the police. Needless to say, Howell got the role in the\u00a0miniseries based on the life of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2241079,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25174],"tags":[25538,387324,21823,21741,23181,22814],"class_list":["post-2241078","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gossip","tag-actors","tag-auditions","tag-australia","tag-entertainment","tag-police","tag-world-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Police-swarm-Sydney-audition-after-actor-David-Howells-scene-mistaken.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2241078","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2241078"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2241078\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2241080,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2241078\/revisions\/2241080"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2241079"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2241078"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2241078"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2241078"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}