‘The worst thing that’s ever happened’: Richard Roxburgh on renovating

Richard Roxburgh never thought he would one day be helping an average Aussie family to sell their house.

The Australian actor – who has played the brilliant but self-destructive Sydney barrister Cleaver Greene in Rake; the Duke of Monroth in Moulin Rouge!; Dracula in Van Helsing; bad guy #2 in Mission Impossible: 2; and a host of other strange characters across movies, theatre and television – clearly enjoys diversity.

So when real estate agency Ray White asked if Roxburgh would like to be in a property advertisement directed by all-round creative Nash Edgerton (whose work spans directing music videos for Bob Dylan to doing stunts for films such as The Matrix and Star Wars) he thought, why not?

“I was sent a briefing by my agent … that mentioned this wacky, outlandish idea that Nash Edgerton was going to direct a little short film about this particular property, and would I be interested?” Roxburgh said. “I just thought it was a great kind of creative piece of thinking.”

In the ad – titled No.33 The Movie – Roxburgh plays a buyer reluctant to leave a beachside home.

Actor Richard Roxburgh stars in real estate agency Ray White’s newest property ad. Credit: Ray White

The property at 33 Shorebird Parade, Greenhills Beach, was chosen because it represents what buyers most want in a home, Ray White executive director Todd Alexander says.

The agency used its NurtureCloud technology to find the most commonly searched features Australian buyers seek in a house.

After analysing 110,921 houses listed for sale with Ray White between January 1, 2024, and August 25, 2025, they found that most people wanted a family house with a garden, located near water that includes four to five bedrooms, two bathrooms, a home office and airconditioning.

The house Ray White chose to represent what most Australian buyers are looking for in a new home. Credit: Ray White

“There were so many moving pieces,” Alexander says. “We had to find a property that was suitable and a director that was available to do the video at the same time as [the house] was coming to market.”

When they found out Roxburgh was also available, “it was the final piece [allowing us] to do something unique”.

Roxburgh, who at one point jumps off the balcony (spoiler: it’s not actually him – “I always defer to people who can do those things … they look great doing it, which makes me look great”), says the project had a “proper film crew … I knew quite a few of them from my life in this business”.

He hadn’t worked with Edgerton since Blue Murder 30 years ago.

Nash Edgerton on the set of Ray White’s newest property video of a Sydney home. Credit: Ray White

Like all Sydneysiders, Roxburgh says he is “inextricably linked to property” despite finding renovating “the worst thing that’s ever happened in human history”.

“It’s a horrendously stressful moment in your life, isn’t it? Yet we moved out of our home here in Newport to completely tear our house to pieces and start again two years ago ... I’m hoping that that’s the last one ever,” he says, laughing.

Roxburgh also recalls a time in the ’90s when his friend “accidentally” purchased a Coogee apartment on his behalf.

“I was in the Czech Republic when it [the apartment] came on [the market]. I was on the phone to my mate and my brother-in-law, who’s a lawyer, who were there in the room, and our wires got really badly crossed, and he accidentally bought an apartment for me,” he says.

“At the end of all the bidding I said, ‘Oh, so who got it?’ And he said, ‘Oh, don’t worry, mate, we did.’ And I said, ‘you what?’ Bidding opened beyond where my max point was, so I knew I was in a sea of financial confusion.”

The set-up for a Sydney property video featuring Richard Roxburgh. Credit: Ray White

Vendors Lorraine and Glenn Jackson were also confused – but in a good way – when they were told Roxburgh would be selling their home.

“We were absolutely thrilled … that we were chosen,” says Lorraine, a flight attendant. The couple, who designed their home with the help of an architect nearly a decade ago, are downsizing.

Lorraine and Glenn Jackson’s Greenhills Beach home in Sydney was chosen to feature in the video. Credit: Ray White

“It was filmed over two days, and there were three days of planning,” Lorraine says. “There was Hollywood make-up, lights … 60 people in our house; it was all happening.”

The house, which the couple built with help from an architect after purchasing vacant land in 2015 for $1,670,000, is guided at $7 million and above.

The median price for a house in the Sutherland region is $1,720,000, on the most recent Domain House Price Report data.

Lorraine and Glenn’s home. Credit: Ray White

“They’ve made our house the star attraction,” Glenn says.

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