New chapter for Brockett

By Mitchell Jordan

He’s the friendly face of Middleton Interactive Learning Centre and now Keith Brockett has returned to Australia’s most dysfunctional library for series two of The Librarians.
The 30-year-old Melbourne-based actor who made his television debut playing the fashionable, flamboyant gay librarian, Ky, in the 2007 ABC comedy, told the Star he never intended upon a career as an actor. Acting was originally just a hobby during his university days.
I don’t know if I actually pursued an acting career, rather I think I was lucky enough for it to find me, he said.
Finishing his studies, Brockett applied to the National Theatre Drama School where he graduated in 2004, and began to make a name for himself in Melbourne theatres. In 2007 he won Best Actor at the Short & Sweet Play Festival and last year starred in the lead role of the play Porcelain, part of Midsumma Festival.
His role as John Lee, a gay Asian man accused of murdering his white lover in a public toilet, seems a long way from his humorous antics at the chaotic Middleton Interactive Learning Centre where Ky appears to be the only level-headed member of staff in a sea of public servants hiding criminal records and other scandalous secrets. Brockett enjoys playing a diverse range of characters.
I’d like to think there’s a little bit of Ky in me, tucked away somewhere, Brockett said. For the most part, though, I’m probably a lot more serious than he is -” and not quite as extroverted, either.
Returning to film series two of The Librarians this year was a surprise for Brockett, who was happy to reprise the role.
I was more thrilled to be in the first series, let alone thinking about doing a second, he admitted. So when I got the call from our director, Wayne Hope, saying we were going ahead with series two, I was over the moon. I couldn’t wait to get back together with the old cast and crew. It was like a family reunion.
Working with long-time comic identities Robyn Butler and Wayne Hope was a highlight for Brockett. It was such an honour to learn from some of the best in the industry, he said.
Brockett was evasive as to whether there will be a third series, but a fondness for playing his character means there is the chance of Ky returning to the small screen again. There is still so much of Ky that’s undiscovered. I’m not ready to give him up, he said, adding he would not mind creating a Ky spin-off series.
While there may be more life left for Ky on television, don’t expect to see Brockett trading acting for a career in a library any time soon.
There’s no way could I keep up, he said. There is much more to being a librarian that just saying -˜ssshhh!’
info: The Librarians screens on ABC1, 9 pm Wednesday.