Heartbreak High: What are the original cast from the 90s series up to now?

Australian teen drama Heartbreak High was a huge hit in the '90s. Set within the tumultuous walls of Hartley High, the show tackled an array of social and personal issues that resonated with audiences of all ages across its seven seasons. The show, which was a spin-off from the successful film The Heartbreak Kid, launched the careers of many of the actors.

With the reboot of Heartbreak High proving to be a success for Netflix and the second season about to premiere, it's only natural to reminisce about the original series and how it may have influenced the new version.

Speaking to Yahoo Lifestyle, actress Ayesha Madon who plays Amerie in the reboot said that they had tried to make the new series their own.

"Personally, I felt like this was more of like a reimagining than a reboot," she said. "And I think just given the energy with all the creatives, we were all trying to make something new and cutting edge and fresh. So we're excited to bring in the attitude of the old one being cutting edge for its time, but it was very much our own thing."

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Added Will McDonald who plays Ca$h, "Some of us were fortunate enough to meet some of the original cast, and they talked to us about their experiences and how much working on the show meant to them."

So, let's look at what the core cast of the original series is up to today.

Alex Dimitriades - Nick Poulos

Alex made his acting debut and gained national recognition playing Nick Polides in the 1993 rom-com The Heartbreak Kid, a role which he played, with a slight name change in the spin-off TV show the following year.

He only appeared in one season of the show, dying at the end of the season from a brain aneurysm.

Since his days at Hartley High, Alex has been quite busy, enjoying a varied career in film, television, and theatre and is recognisable from his roles in Wildside, The Slap, Underbelly, Three Blind Mice, Secret City, Total Control, Amazing Grace and The Tourist.

And while he is very good at keeping his private life private, he does share his love of music as a DJ.

"I've just always loved records, but most importantly quality, inspired music and not necessarily what you can access so easily," he told news.com.au.

But he still remembers both the film and the TV series fondly.

"We're all very proud to have been part of a series that was not only daring and brave during its heyday, but one which also stands up today. It's found a whole new audience," Alex told New Idea.

"Timeless themes and solid character performances age well, and that’s a credit to the writers."

Ada Nicodemou - Katerina Ioannou

Ada Nicodemou might be Aussie TV royalty now but it was actually Heartbreak High that gave Ada her acting break.

From there she got regular roles in Police Rescue, and Breakers as well as a role in The Matrix film.

But it is as Leah in the iconic Aussie soap Home and Away that Ada is most recognised for – understandably as she has played her for 23 years (and four husbands).

"It's amazing, really, I have been really lucky — I have gone from job to job. And I honestly never really expected that I would," Ada told The West Australian.

"I thought I'd just do this 12-week (guest role) on Heartbreak High and go to university, and that would be the end of it.

"I never even really wanted to be an actor! I sort of just fell into it, and kept going."

But when Netflix re-released the original Heartbreak High series ahead of the reboot, Ada couldn't bring herself to watch.

"I did Heartbreak High when I was sixteen… Heartbreak’s now on Netflix and I just can’t watch it because I’m too scared to see what my acting was like, and my dancing as well," Ada told New Idea.

"It was so groundbreaking at the time. It had people who looked like me on it, and we'd never had that on Australian TV… It still holds up I think but I am scared to watch it."

Abi Tucker - Jodie Cooper

Singer Abi Tucker gained national attention after appearing on TV talent show New Faces so it was no wonder that she contributed to the soundtrack of Heartbreak High when she landed the role of Jodie in the series, a role she remembers fondly.

"Heartbreak High set up some lifelong friendships for me," she told the AU Review. "There is still a sense of community that we share. I think that goes for a lot of long-running productions, you build a strong community with the people, and within it, you experience the highs and lows."

Abi went on to star in many iconic Aussie TV series including Wildside, The Secret Life Of Us, Water Rats and McLeod's Daughters. But she is probably most recognisable now if you have children as she has been a presenter on the ABC kids show Play School since 2010.

Salvatore Coco - Costa 'Con' Bordino

Salvatore Coco played Nick's cousin and best mate Con in Heartbreak High. But he had already cut his acting teeth with guest roles in G.P. and Brides of Christ.

He left Heartbreak High to play Joseph Cardillo in Police Rescue and while he has had a few long-term roles such as in Underbelly and as Dimitri Poulos in Home and Away, he has enjoyed fairly consistent work in the industry.

And he's pretty impressed with the new remake of the show.

"I thought it was fantastic. There were concerns about it being too 'woke' and too predominant with the LGBT points of view," he told TV Blackbox podcast.

"But no, it touched on the topics and wasn't in your face. It was quite subtle," he added.

Corey Page - Steve Wiley

Corey played Aussie rugby player Steve in the series. He left the series after three seasons and enjoyed some success in the US in soap operas Loving and The City before returning to Australia in 2003.

Since then Corey has appeared in episodes of a number of Aussie TV shows such as Home And Away and McLeod's Daughters as well as doing a number of short films.

Scott Major - Peter Rivers

Scott played troubled bad boy Peter Rivers in the film The Heartbreak Kid before his character was also reprised in Heartbreak High.

After the show. Scott had regular roles in Aussie soaps Home and Away and Neighbours and has worked consistently in the TV industry in Australia both as an actor and as a TV director as well.

But in a surprising development, Scott has returned to Hartley High in the reboot of Heartbreak High as his character Steve Rivers who is now a dad to non-binary queer teen Darren.

"Rivers was a horrible, racist, sexist human being," Scott told the Sydney Morning Herald of his character’s original iteration. "But by the time he left, he was no longer that person and in this new series, he’s on a whole new journey.

"The reboot is so different to the first TV version, which looked gritty, with lots of handheld cameras, and really showed the ugliness of racism and sexism in an inner-city school. This reboot is more stylistic than gritty but I think there’s more beauty and honesty as well," he adds.

"The young cast are amazing and full credit to the writing team because they worked closely with them to give each one their individual voice."

Callan Mulvey - Bogdan Drazic

Callan played Bogdan Drazic, joining the series in the fifth season and immediately becoming a fan favourite.

Known for his iconic eyebrow piercing and bad boy attitude, Drazic captured the hearts of viewers and also Anita Scheppers (played by Lara Cox) with whom he had an epic romance (the pair were also a couple in real life).

Since his stint on Heartbreak High, Callan has enjoyed local roles on Home and Away, McLeod's Daughters and Underbelly. He has also had some international success in Zero Dark Thirty, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

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In 2003, the actor was seriously injured in a head-on collision while driving. He underwent major surgery and had 17 titanium plates inserted to repair fractures in his face and jaw and also permanently lost his vision in his left eye.

Lara Cox - Anita Scheppers

Lara played sweet, 'good girl' Anita Scheppers who had a relationship with Drazic, resulting in the pair getting engaged.

Since appearing on Heartbreak High Lara has had guest roles on Home and Away and Kangaroo Jack.

In an interview with New Idea in 2020, Lara said that she and Callan were still in touch and good mates, despite their real-life romance not going the distance. “I had dinner with Danny [Raco] and Cal [Mulvey] and Marcel [Bracks] about two months ago because Cal was in town,” she told the publication.

“So we went to Danny’s and all caught up and checked in on each other’s lives."

Reflecting on the popularity of their on-screen love, Lara said, “I always thought my character was popular because of the relationship between Drazic and Anita. It seemed to be something that people resonated with - the bad boy and the good girl. I always thought that was why my character was liked. It’s an interesting thing."

Season 2 of the new series of Heartbreak High premieres April 11th on Netflix .

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