George Mason is taking on the role of convicted Australian bank robber Brenden Abbott in Binge’s mini series RUN, who’s reported to have stolen and hidden millions of dollars from banks across WA, but the money’s largely never been recovered.
In an interview with Chattr, George revealed how he got inside the mind of the notorious criminal — and whether he spoke to Brenden personally to gain insight into the role.
“I couldn’t talk to Brendan, unfortunately, just because he was going through a trial at the time,” George told Chattr.
However, he revealed he did sit down with now-retired detective Glen Potter, who led the 1995 hunt to catch Brenden Abbott.
“Glen was actually one of the first people that I sat down with, too and actually recorded,” he said. “He just gave so many amazing facts. But I think more than anything, as well, I kind of learned that this story, even though it’s Brenden’s story, it’s quite a universal story as well. A lot of people have been failed by the system. I don’t think it works. It doesn’t. There’s no rehabilitation.”
George was referring to the fact that Brenden kept getting sentenced to jail, only to commit more robberies afterwards.
As well as talking to the detective, George revealed that he also found insight into Brenden’s mind by doing research into his story.
“There’s a wealth of information out there as well. I used the scripts, but also Derek Bell books, Training Outlaw and No Fixed Address, which, I think, yeah, they’re both really good resources.”
George on the biggest misconceptions about Brenden Abbott
George told Chattr that he hopes Run will help viewers understand that Brenden isn’t two-dimensional — and that he’s so much more than just a thief.
“I hope their misconceptions are sort of remedied by a show, in a way. I hope that they see this and have a deeper understanding, you know, of why people make the choices that they make,” he explained.
George added that he believes that Brenden regrets the choices he made.
“I know for a fact that Brenden would prefer to have been on the outside and not done the things that he did. If he could go back, he would have, because he wants to spend time with his son outside of prison.
“I just hope that [viewers] see all sides to the story, and don’t have any judgement on him, you know, or his story.”
Run is available to stream on Binge.
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