His dream was AFL. Now he’s Hollywood’s new Robin Hood

There’s almost an unspoken rule that actors playing beloved characters – say, a superhero or a plastic doll – have to stress how central that figure’s been throughout their life. But Australian Jack Patten, the latest actor in a long line to take on folklore vigilante Robin Hood, holds no such pretences.

“When I thought of Robin Hood, I thought about the fox – even though I never watched that cartoon version,” he says, sitting at a café in Sydney, opposite Kings Cross Fountain. “I didn’t grow up watching Robin Hood, but I did know of him.”

Perhaps the honest answer is because Patten’s new to this. This glossy 10-part TV series, Robin Hood, acts as the 28-year-old actor’s introduction to the world, going head-to-head with action hero Sean Bean two years after graduating from the National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA).

Jack Patten stars as the titular Robin Hood in this upcoming series.Credit: Aleksandar Letic/MGM+

Far more mature than Disney’s animated fox, 2025’s Robin Hood is a decidedly post-Game of Thrones historical drama, not shy of sordid scenes or blood spills.

Made for MGM+, the US streamer behind period dramas like Billy the Kid, the series (airing on Stan* in Australia) is a gripping drama for fans of classic stories told well and with a prestige TV budget.

It’s Hollywood’s first take on the folk legend since 2018’s box-office failure starring Taron Egerton, and arrives ahead of A24’s The Death of Robin Hood starring Hugh Jackman, due next year. “I think that theme of justice is forever going to be something that audiences are attracted to,” says Patten, when asked why we keep coming back to Robin Hood. “It’s timeless.”

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Tracing the origins of the long-standing English folk hero, Patten is a more grounded Rob, a soon-to-be teenage orphan surviving in the dark-and-gritty Middle Ages. In his grief, he rises up against Norman conquerors who have stolen his pagan community’s land and outlawed their religion.

“It felt really human, despite it being quite genre, being set in the 1100s, with romance and swords and all that stuff,” he says. “That’s what really perks my ears.”

Wrangling a band of outlaws and with help from Norman love-interest Marian (Lauren McQueen, Masters of the Air) who acts as a spy, Rob bends his bow towards justice – and against the corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham, played by the imposing, steely Bean.

The cast has a few more familiar faces, such as Connie Nielsen (Gladiator) and Steven Waddington (The Last of the Mohicans), but is filled with newcomers, which kept the eight-month shoot in Serbia energetic, even at -7°C.

Connie Nielsen and Sean Bean as Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood.Credit: Aleksandar Letic/MGM+

As far as debut roles go, a classic hero with a heart of gold is a potential star-making turn – and “a pretty awesome Christmas present”, as Patten landed the role last December.

“I was speechless,” he says. “And then I went over to Serbia in mid-January to get the bow and arrow under my belt and learn how to ride a horse. There were a few boxes to tick.”

Patten loved that three-week training intensive, a process reminiscent of his time in the Sydney Swans Academy as a teen, working towards his childhood dream of being a professional AFL player.

[This] stuff used to be really wanky to me ... we spoke differently at footy

Raised by a single mum in Western Sydney’s Hills District, Patten obsessed over footy, first from afar – his mum wouldn’t let him play until he was 13 – before later landing a spot in the Academy. In 2017, a knee injury finished a superstar career before it started. At least, that’s how it felt at the time. Nearly a decade later, Patten sees it a little differently.

“I loved footy. Loved watching it. Loved playing it,” he says. “Ultimately though, I wasn’t good enough. Okay, I had injuries, but I just wasn’t there. I don’t know whether that was a pill that I couldn’t swallow, if it was in my subconscious a little bit.”

Jack Patten was ‘speechless’ when he was offered the role of Robin Hood last year.Credit: Janie Barrett

Spending the next few years working at a school, slightly adrift, it was a colleague who first suggested acting classes in Chippendale. But his first class at The Hub Studio, run by veteran teacher Kevin Jackson, featured no acting at all. Instead, they went around the class discussing what they’d been watching, with Jackson pressing them to examine why they liked it.

“It was immediate. I was like, ‘Oh, this is the best’,” says Patten. “It was the art of conversation, about stuff that used to be really wanky to me, because we spoke differently at footy,” he says.

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Patten found his years of persistent AFL training transferred well into acting, with the process of rehearsal, character study and working together on scenes a new type of drill.

“I don’t know if it’s my deep sports roots, but I love working in a team,” he says.

Soon, NIDA became the new goal – even though he knew little about it, beyond that Cate Blanchett had gone there. Slightly bashful, he keeps the story short: “So I auditioned. I got in.”

I can see he’s not going to say it, so I ask. Was he accepted to this extremely competitive school his first year auditioning? Patten nods. “I hadn’t had a game day in so long,” he says. “So I was really prepared. I also didn’t have anything to lose.“

“Even to get a call back and be in the room with all these people, I felt like a bit of a fraud. I was just happy to watch them, I hadn’t seen a play before I auditioned. I needed to study up.”

Jack Patten at the premiere of Robin Hood in Los Angeles.Credit: Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP

That studiousness has treated him well. While Robin Hood will introduce Patten to a whole new level of audience (a week before the show’s debut, he has just over 300 Instagram followers), he’s been booked consistently since graduating.

His first role was small, a guest spot on NCIS: Sydney last year as a surfer named Craig Beachley. But it made a big impression, as he paid attention to how the leads acted on and off-camera.

“It’s a well-oiled machine,” he says. “And the four lead actors are so lovely, professional and respectful.”

From there, Patten took part in local theatre before landing a role alongside action titans Dennis Quaid and Reacher’s Alan Ritchson in the upcoming Netflix sci-fi film War Machine. His attentiveness and talent impressed the film’s producer Todd Lieberman, who recommended him as the lead of Robin Hood. Now, like any good teammate, he’s already thinking a season ahead.

“If we get green lit for a second season, I’ll be practicing my horse riding and archery at home,” he says.

Robin Hood premieres November 2 on Stan, with new episodes dropping weekly.

*Stan is owned by Nine, which also owns this masthead.

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