Nineties hunk unrecognisable 32 years after quitting soap – as he pops up in new drama

A NINETIES hunk looks unrecognisable 32 years after quitting an iconic soap.

Popping up in a new drama on ITV, eagle-eyed fans went wild when they spotted a familiar face from more than three decades ago.

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North Shore is a thriller on ITV, which follows Australian and British detectives who team up to investigate a murder.

In the process of their investigation, they uncover an international conspiracy with political consequences - alongside a clash of cultures.

And fans were quick to spot Kristian Schmid, who played Todd Landers in Neighbours.

Starring as Hamish in four episodes of North Shore, viewers were overjoyed to see him on screen again.

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"Anyone see who was in ITV's Australian drama North Shore?" asked one person in a Neighbours-dedicated Reddit group.

"None other than Kristian Schmid, Todd Landers himself," they added, "It was only a minor role but funny seeing him again as a 50-year-old, still very recognisable."

One person replied saying: "I haven't seen that, but I did watch a NZ drama last week called Friends Like Her as I saw Morgana O'Reilly was in it, aka Noami Cunning from Neighbours.

"Tbf it wasn't that great but it was nice seeing some familiar faces from Shortland Street which I use to watch several years ago."

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While another added: "Yes, I really liked it."

Kristian played the role of Todd Landers in Aussie soap Neighbours from 1988 until 1992.

He then went on to appear in The Tomorrow people from 1992 until 1995 as Adam Newman.

After that, Kristian got a four-year work permit in the UK where he popped up in several British TV shows such as Noel's House Party.

Kristian also appeared in the 2002 Scooby-Doo movie, which starred Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr.

He has performed on stage and worked on three different versions of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Neighbours stars who made it big

The long-running Aussie soap has launched the careers of some of Hollywood's biggest stars. Here are some of the Neighbours alums who went on to make it big after starring on the soap...

Kylie Minogue

• Before she hit the big time with her music career, Kylie shot to fame playing Charlene Mitchell on Neighbours. Shortly after her arrival, Kylie began an on and off-screen romance with co-star Jason Donovan, who played Scott Robinson, which gained the couple an army of adoring fans. 

Jason Donovan

• After his stint as Scott, singer and actor Jason became an international popstar and had his pick acting of roles. He moved to the U.K., married, had children and has since starred in over a dozen West End show, most notably Joseph and his Technicolour Dreamcoat.

Alan Dale

• New Zealand born actor Alan was one of Neighbours 12 original cast members having made his debut as Jim Robinson on the soap's first episode on 18 March 1985. As the head of the Robinson clan, widower Jim lived at Number 26 Ramsay Street with his children Paul, Julie, Scott and Lucy, and was a real anchor in the community. He stayed with the show for eight years, before his character was killed off in dramatic scenes aired in 1993 but which still reverberate through the soap to this day.

Margot Robbie

• Way before she was Barbie or Harley Quinn, Margot was best known as Ramsay Street resident Donna Freedman. Her notable storylines included her marriage to Ringo Brown and becoming a young widow following his tragic death. After three years she bid farewell to the soap and Australia with a plan to make a name for herself in Hollywood which she did when she bagged the role of Naomi Lapaglia opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf of Wall Street.

Jesse Spencer

• Jesse rocked up on Ramsay street in 1994 with the rest of the Kennedy clan. He stayed for five years, literally growing up in front of the camera, but in 2000 felt it was time to spread his wings and head for Hollywood. It was certainly a smart move as he went on to bag leading roles in popular shows like House and Chicago Fire.

Russell Crowe

• New Zealand-native Russell had a brief arc on Neighbours, appearing in four episodes of the soap 1987 as Kenny Larkin, the former cellmate of Street resident Henry Ramsay. The role obviously got him noticed though because he quickly went on to become a fully-fledged Hollywood A-lister, winning the Best Actor Oscar for his standout performance as Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius in Gladiator. 

And Neighbours isn't the only Aussie soap Kristian has starred in.

In 2016 until 2017, the Aussie actor starred in Home and Away as Mick Jennings.

The hunky actor has been married to Deborah Clay since 2003, and the couple share two sons.

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