Outspoken actor Firass Dirani is causing a stir on Channel Seven’s SAS Australia – and not always for the right reasons.
WATCH: Firass Dirani shares hilarious throwback video
His fellow recruits have been forced to endure gruelling physical punishments as a result of “Number 11” stepping out of line and post-show, co-star Shannon Ponton unleashed on Firass for his seemingly self-centred antics.
But prior to pushing his limits on the hit reality show, the actor has managed to forge a storied career in the television industry.
One of his surprising early roles was on kids’ TV show, Power Rangers, where he stuck up a romance with his co-star Melanie Vallejo, who went on to Winners & Losers fame.
While they were forced to keep their romance relatively low-key due to it being a family-friendly Disney production, the chemistry between the pair was sizzling.
“It was a Disney production, so we didn’t even get to hold hands for the cameras, though I was pushing for it,” Melanie previously told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“People say men look good in suits, but let me tell you, depending on the man, Spandex can be pretty damn attractive.”
But it was his leading role in 2010’s Underbelly: Golden Mile that really thrust Firass into the spotlight.
The gig, which saw Firass portray controversial Sydney identity John Ibrahim, earned him two TV WEEK Logie Awards in 2011. He nabbed the gongs for Most Popular New Male Talent as well as Outstanding Newcomer.
“It was full on,” Firass told The Daily Telegraph of the vast number of raunchy scenes involved on the job.
“Getting naked in front of six people is quite bizarre. I’ve warned Mum; she’s trying to prepare herself.”
From there, his star power was on the rise and in one of his biggest roles to date, Firass played young father Justin in Channel Nine hit House Husbands.
The show, which aired from 2012 to 2017 also starred Gyton Grantley, Rhys Muldoon and Gary Sweet as the “house husbands”.
“He’s a bad boy full of heart but he’s slipped up a few times. He had a lot of success thrust upon him and he couldn’t handle the responsibilities. He made a few mistakes and now he’s trying to redeem himself,” he told TV Tonight in 2012 as he explained his character.
“He had heart and a sensitivity about him that I wanted to explore. I wanted to make him heartfelt and have a strong connection with the audience so that people can relate to him.”
Meanwhile, Firass admits he took on the challenge of SAS Australia “to test my Duendè. My Qalb. My heart. My resilience.”
He added, “I wanted to get punished, and that’s exactly what I manifested.”
