Meet Rarmian Newton, the Australian Actor Who Plays the Lovable Maashous in "Rise"

Rarmian Newton explains how his personal experiences relate to Rise's Maashous.

While most parents would bite their fingernails over the prospect of their child pursuing a full-time career in theatre and television, Rarmian Newton's parents were onboard from the start.

"My parents really just wanted me to do whatever I wanted to do," Rarmian explains to Student Edge from New York.

In fact, the 24-year-old Melburnian has practically been on the circuit his whole life, starring alongside Hugh Jackman in The Boy From Oz and appearing as the titular character in the original Australian production of Billy Elliot the Musical.

But, after finding his feet in television, he's landed himself the role of the shy but self-assured Maashous on new high school musical drama, Rise.

"I'm lucky that the competition for being a dancer and actor, especially working in TV, is a lot more slim than [for] somebody who's [solely] an actor," he confesses.

"It's harder to find somebody who does both."

Rarmian also admits that his experience in musical theatre helps him to better understand these characters.

"I'm probably 100,000 times more inspired by it which makes me do better work," Rarmian says.

"I put my heart and soul into and I can relate.

"As an actor, you have to have an imagination—you take your own experience and you raise the stakes a little bit."

So, how did Rarmian relate to Maashous, who is 17, homeless and, seemingly, parent-less? He explains that, while he had a great upbringing, it was the hard times he faced when he moved to America by himself at 21 that helped him understand what Maashous was going through.

"I got to experience what it was like to lose your home and feel lonely," Rarmian says.

"I didn't have my mum down the street or my family or friends or that support group."

And it only compounded when he was cast in the American ABC show The Family, which meant uprooting his new life in Los Angeles for the hustle-and-bustle of New York City.

"I had to restart again in the space of a few months," he explains. 

"It became so hard that you kind of give up and that's what happened with Maashous."

Maashous' appearance in the pilot episode of Rise is one of intrigue. After the new drama director, Lou Mazzucchelli (or 'Mr Mazzu'), finds him homeless, sleeping in the lighting room of the school's theatre, he decides to take him in to live with his own family.

"He's had the experience of gaining a family and getting to know people, but then something would happen and he'd get ripped from that family and thrown into a new one," Rarmian says. 

"The major challenge with Lou [in regards] to Maashous is... he sees this boy and the pain that he's in, it's really just trying to get him to trust people again."

It's certainly been noticed, with some suggesting that maybe Mr Mazzu is just a bit too involved in some of his students' lives. But Rarmian thinks it's something that real-life schools are really lacking in; that personal connection to their students.

"Mr Mazzu is really taking initiative to get to know his students on a more personal level," Rarmian believes.

"He's a mentor to all these kids… he shows them he cares."

Rarmian explains it's an important aspect that schoolteachers sometimes forget due to the robotic nature of teaching by the curriculum.

"I think one of the biggest problems with school, and high school, in today's age, is that it's so impersonal," Rarmian explains.

"I think kids should realise that their teacher just wants the best for them and they really care."

Back home, for other Australian actors out there, Rarmian recommends working smarter than working harder. He means sorting out the logistics: Get to know how the industry works, think like a businessperson and sort out your working visa before you get to the United States.

"I'd love to share this quote, it's an Einstein quote," Rarmian adds: "'A ship is always safe at shore, but that's not what it was built for.'"

"In Australia, it feels like there's a roof to your career when it comes to this industry, especially in film and TV,"

"But if you never try and you never take that leap then you’ll never really know."

However, he jokes: "Take that leap of faith but really work hard on [getting] that visa first."

You can watch the first episode of Rise on Stan now.

Photo: Stan