Dieter Brummer made such an impact during his stint on Home and Away it took close to five months and more than 7,500 auditions to fill the void when he left.
The ’90s heartthrob’s oldest friend, Rob, returned to his Glenhaven home in Sydney’s north on Tuesday to begin the devastating task of sorting through his belongings.
Brummer was found dead inside the home he shared with his parents on Saturday after police were asked to perform a welfare check on the actor-turned-window washer.
The 45-year-old stepped away from the spotlight and ran a commercial window cleaning business which he referred to as his Plan B career.
Dieter Brummer made such an impact during his stint on Home and Away it took close to five months and more than 1,700 auditions to fill the void when he left
A resurfaced interview shows late Home and Away star Dieter Brummer revealing why fame never went to his head despite being named ‘Australia’s favourite actor’ in the ’90s
But the company was struggling, made worse by citywide Covid lockdowns which deemed the work he performed non-essential.
Rob, his best mate of more than 30 years, tearfully told Daily Mail Australia that Brummer was the brightest, most intelligent person he’d ever known.
He said Brummer’s death was still too raw to talk about, but that he understood why it had broken the collective hearts of a generation of Aussies who grew up with posters of the teenage Home and Away heartthrob Blu-Tacked to their walls.
‘My wife had [the posters] too growing up,’ he said, smiling through glassy eyes at the memory.
Rob met Brummer when he was 11 – four years before he was cast in the television soap – and said from the outset he ‘was just the best mate’.
The ’90s heartthrob’s oldest friend, Rob, returned to his Glenhaven home in Sydney’s north (pictured) on Tuesday to begin the devastating task of sorting through his belongings
He brought so much to his role as Shane Parrish between 1992 and 1996 on the long-running soap that it took industry experts months to fill the void after he left. Pictured with Emily Symons during filming
‘I can’t say anything other than that he was the greatest person I knew. Intelligent, bright, just so good.’
He brought so much to his role as Shane Parrish between 1992 and 1996 on the long-running soap that it took industry experts months to fill the void after he left.
Danny Rizk was working at Mullinars – the casting agency which gave Brummer his big break – when word spread that he’d been written out of the show.
‘They had to find an alternate,’ he said. ‘It took the respected unit at Mullinars four and a half months and over 7,500 auditionees to fill that void.
‘Of all the deaths in the creative services business, this one has unnerved me… To anyone reading this, mental illness is not a hoax. It is significant on every border because it truly eats away at one’s core.’
Brummer appeared in a total of 557 episodes of Home and Away, winning Most Popular Actor at the Logie Awards in 1995 and 1996.
Brummer went on to score several guest roles on Neighbours (pictured), Underbelly and Medevac
Brummer appeared in a total of 557 episodes of Home and Away, winning Most Popular Actor at the Logie Awards in 1995 and 1996
The following year, Heath Ledger would appear on the show in a guest role. He enjoyed a similar cult-like following from fans before going on to find international fame with the movie 10 Things I Hate About You.
Brummer, meanwhile, scored several guest roles on Neighbours, Underbelly and Medevac.
He traded it all in for a career washing windows, once revealing he preferred the solitude of the gig in comparison to waiting tables or bar tending between roles.
‘The good part about it is I don’t have to deal with people too much,’ he said in 2009.
‘If I was pulling beers I would have to put up with guys saying: ”Oh you’re pulling beers now and you used to be in Underbelly”.’
But a source told Daily Mail Australia he was particularly reflective in recent years of ‘what could have been’ if his career had followed a different trajectory.
He traded it all in for a career washing windows, once revealing he preferred the solitude of the gig in comparison to waiting tables or bar tending between roles. Pictured with co-star Melissa George
Brummer questioned whether he would have gone on to have industry success if he’d never been cast as Shane Parrish, and felt restricted by his role in such a successful series
His dream was to always return to acting at some point.
Brummer questioned whether he would have gone on to have industry success if he’d never been cast as Shane Parrish, and felt restricted by his role in such a successful series.
‘You get typecast. It’s hard for producers or casting agents not to remember. I’m still ‘that bloke from Home And Away’ 20 years later,’ Brummer said .
‘Sometimes you sit back and think, ‘I wonder what it would’ve been like if I didn’t get that job at 15?’
Brummer was living at home with his parents at the time of his death.
Daily Mail Australia understands his parents were not home on Saturday, and have not yet returned to the property
His family released a statement on Monday farewelling the ‘handsome, talented, funny, complicated and beloved Dieter’
Pictured: A headshot of Dieter Brummer
His family released a statement on Monday farewelling ‘handsome, talented, funny, complicated and beloved Dieter’.
‘He has left a massive hole in our lives and our world will never be the same. Our thoughts go out to all of you who knew him, loved him, or worked with him over the years.
Daily Mail Australia understands his parents were not home on Saturday, and have not yet returned to the property.
Instead, Rob spent about an hour inside on Tuesday morning, carting things between his car and the garage as he reflected on Brummer’s short life.
He said of all the ways Brummer has been remembered; a hard worker, talented, a heartthrob, the most important should be that he was simply a good man, through and through.
Lifeline: 13 11 14 or lifeline.org.au
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Beyond Blue’s coronavirus support service: 1800 512 348 or coronavirus.beyondblue.org.au
Headspace: 1800 650 890 or headspace.org.au
A source told Daily Mail Australia he was particularly reflective in recent years of ‘what could have been’ if his career had followed a different trajectory
Pictured: Dieter Brummer at the “127 Hours” Australian premiere in February 2011