He is known for starring in the ABC drama Rake as criminal lawyer Cleaver Greene.
And Richard Roxburgh has moved to clear any link between his character and real-life controversial barrister Charles Waterstreet, after the latter was accused of sexual harassment.
The 55-year-old strongly denied on Friday that his character is based on Charles’s real-life exploits, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
‘There is no real Rake’: Richard Roxburgh shuts down claims from controversial barrister Charles Waterstreet that Rake is based on him
‘To be crystal clear, there is no real Rake … Cleaver Greene is a fictional character,’ he told the publication.
‘[He] is the result of the brilliant imaginations of the Rake creative team and the writing of Peter Duncan and Andrew Knight.’
The Australian actor added that any day is a ‘good day’ if he doesn’t hear Charles’s name.
Charles was credited as co-creator after he was contacted by the show’s creative team when it was decided Cleaver would be a lawyer.
Cutting ties: Richard has moved to clear any link between his character Cleaver Greene (pictured) and real-life controversial barrister Charles Waterstreet, after the latter was accused of sexual harassment
‘Cleaver Greene is a fictional character’: The 55-year-old strongly denied on Friday that his character is based on Charles’s (pictured) real-life exploits
However, Richard claims Charles only had creative input a solitary episode in season one.
‘He told us one good story which we adapted and used in an episode in season one. As a result, it was agreed that he should be credited as co-creator,’ he said.
He reiterated that Charles has had ‘precisely zero creative input’ since.
But Charles rejected the claims, saying Richard is a good actor ‘but a poor historian’, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
‘He told us one good story’: Richard claims Charles only had creative input a solitary episode in season one
Hitting back: But Charles rejected the claims, saying Richard is a good actor ‘but a poor historian’, the Sydney Morning Herald reported
Charles has come under fire this week after University of Sydney law student Tina Huang, 21, said she quit working for him just three hours into her first day as a junior paralegal because of sexual situations she was allegedly put in.
Tina outlined her brief experience working for Charles in an article for the New Matilda, saying he told her he enjoyed sex parties and women snorting cocaine off his body.
But in a statement to the Sydney Morning Herald, Charles refuted the allegations about those parties and drug use – and said she’d only been shown explicit material because it was relevant to a case.
Allegations: Charles (pictured) has come under fire this week after Tina Huang, 21, said she quit working for him just three hours into her first day as a junior paralegal because of sexual situations she was allegedly put in
Denying the claims: Charles (right) refuted the allegations about those parties and drug use – and said she’d only been shown explicit material because it was relevant to a case