I grew up going to Catholic school and I was altar boy even going back to the days where the altar boys had to learn the Latin clergy for mass.
I would not call myself Catholic anymore, but I went to 16 years of Catholic school: grade school, high school and college.
I went to Catholic school, and there was this teacher, a Brother, who saw I could go either way, good or bad. He took an interest in me and got me to do a play. I got hooked on acting, and it gave me something constructive to do. I had a lot of energy.
I grew up as a kind of nondenominational Christian. I have two uncles who are Baptist ministers. I went to a Samoan church when I was younger. I went to a Catholic school, so I was actually able to experience a lot of different religions. Mormonism, as well. My father in-law, who I’m very close with, is a Muslim.
When I was a kid I went to Catholic school, and they used to drag us out to pro-life rallies and stuff full of crazy people.
So nonetheless given the importance that was placed on sport in Australia, I wanted to be part of that scene, particularly since I had felt very strongly in my early schooling being marginalised even in the Catholic school.
The reason I went to an all-boys Catholic school was because they had the best football team. We won the state championship my junior year. It was super-competitive. We lost in the semifinals my senior year, and it still haunts me.
I’ve had a righteous streak since as long as I can remember. I never tolerated bullying from kids or authority, no matter the case. I got into trouble for calling things how I saw it in my early years at Catholic school, but I couldn’t help myself.
I spent three years at RMIT doing a bachelor of arts and media studies. It was a hugely formative experience. As someone who had a private Catholic school upbringing, the world suddenly became a much bigger and better place for me.
You know, I was the class clown in Catholic school, but I never thought I would make a living out of it!
I have real good parents. I have two brothers, and we got good educations. My parents didn’t have a whole lot of money, but they spent the money they had on private school for us, Catholic school.
My school was pretty much all African Americans, but it was still a little tough to be in because I didn’t have a lot of money. And when I came back to my neighborhood, it was tough to fit in there, too, because I was wearing Catholic school clothes, and I had two parents, which was rare.
I’ve always been interested in Catholic iconography. My dad’s from Naples and I was brought up in a Roman Catholic school.
I have real good parents. I have two brothers, and we got good educations. My parents didn’t have a whole lot of money, but they spent the money they had on private school for us, Catholic school.
My school was pretty much all African Americans, but it was still a little tough to be in because I didn’t have a lot of money. And when I came back to my neighborhood, it was tough to fit in there, too, because I was wearing Catholic school clothes, and I had two parents, which was rare.
My mom could afford to put us in a Catholic school for grades one through seven, but not after that.
I’ve always been interested in Catholic iconography. My dad’s from Naples and I was brought up in a Roman Catholic school.
I’m constantly thinking about design, shapes, patterns and colors, so I just want to be more of a blank canvas. But there is a comfort in knowing what you’re going to wear, and that probably comes from Catholic school, where I wore a uniform for 10 years.
When I was fourteen, Mom and Dad sent me to St. Joseph High School, the Catholic school up the hill from our place, housed in a 1950s-era tan brick building sometimes confused for a light industrial structure due to the surprisingly high smokestack of its old incinerator.
We didn’t have the phrase ‘style icon’ when I was young, but I have to say, I really copied Bob Dylan when I was younger: a little bit of Bob Dylan or a lot of Bob Dylan and the French symbolist poets – I liked how they dressed – and Catholic school boys.
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