Aussie actor Sullivan Stapleton returns in sexy thriller Cut Snake Sullivan Stapleton is home to play "not the nicest of blokes" in Aussie crime thriller Cut Snake. SULLIVAN Stapleton knew he was home when he woke up to the sight of two kangaroos boxing outside his window. The actor, whose profile is rocketing in Hollywood with movie roles in Gangster Squad and upcoming action blockbuster 300: Rise of an Empire, is back in Australia shooting the new film from director Tony Ayres, Cut Snake. Described as a "sexy crime thriller," Cut Snake has been shooting for the last three weeks in and around Melbourne. Locations include Williamstown, Kensington, West Footscray and a pole-dancing club in Northcote. "There's a whole lot of Australia in this," Stapleton said of the movie during a break in shooting atop a hill in Warrandyte. Here we are in beautiful Warrandyte. It's fantastic to wake up in the morning and outside my trailer are a mob of kangaroos - two kangaroos actually started boxing each other, getting stuck into each other. And there was a kookaburra just here at lunch. It's really nice. Set in the 1970s, Cut Snake will tell the story of Sparra (played by Alex Russell), a young man trying to make a new life for himself with fiancee Paula (Jessica De Gouw). But the couple's world is rocked by the arrival of an old mate, Pommie (Stapleton), from Sparra's violent past. "He's not the nicest of blokes," Stapleton said of Pommie. Career criminal. Basically spent his life in and out of jail. He's one of those guys that gets off on crime and power over people. We pick him up when he gets released from prison, trying to get his cellmate back. But the kid's grown up and moved on; Pommie hasn't, so he does him best to entice him back into that life of crime. Stapleton came straight to the Cut Snake set - albeit with a five-day detour to Los Angeles - from shooting Red Dog director Kriv Stenders' new movie Kill Me Three Times in Perth. Prior to these two local stories, the actor struggled to remember when he'd last worked at home. Since another Melbourne-set crime drama, Animal Kingdom, launched his career overseas, "I just haven't stopped," Stapleton said. Which is a great spot to be in. But I am kind of looking forward to just hanging out with some friends, sinking some beers and heading down the beach. Jessica De Gouw is enjoying the "70s outfits her tough character wears in Cut Snake. Sullivan believes Cut Snake has a "special feel" similar to that he experienced on Animal Kingdom. Cut Snake is also a homecoming for Russell, who will this month be seen in the remake of horror classic Carrie, and De Gouw, who has two US TV series - Arrow and Dracula - on the go. De Gouw spent seven months of this year in Budapest making Dracula. The 25-year-old said the 1970s costumes of Cut Snake made for a nice change from the TV series' corsets and bustles. While Cut Snake calls for many intense scenes - Stapleton joked that he was strangling De Gouw a week earlier - she said her character Paula is no damsel in distress. I've had enough of being a damsel! No more! She's quite a force, actually, especially given the time it's set in. She's a very forward-thinking, independent woman. Queenslander Russell, who most recently made an indie comedy in Texas, described Cut Snake as "one of the most intense projects I've ever done." It's a story that I have never seen before on film. I've never done anything like it. Absolutely never anything like it. It's been one of the biggest challenges I've ever had to face as an actor. He added that both of his cast mates were "crushing" their roles. I think it has been cast perfectly. We all bring a really great, specific feel and texture. There's a really great dynamic between the three of us. Cut Snake will premiere at the Melbourne International Film Festival in mid-2014.