Josh Heuston takes his coffee rather simply. It’s either a long black or an iced Americano for the Australian actor, and this morning, he’s already had both. It’s 9:30 AM down under, and Heuston is Zooming from his car in Sydney. He has just come back from the gym, and he’s buzzing. 

It’s not just the caffeine blanket. Josh Heuston is wired, teeming with energy and charisma. Dressed down in a loose white long sleeve as a brown LA cap pushes back flowy brunette curls, Heuston is sparky, yet calm. His presence is a comfortable adrenaline rush.

Most recognizable for his role as Constantine Corrino in HBO’s Dune: Prophecy—a television series that takes place 10,000 years before Timothée Chalamet’s Paul Atreides—Heuston is something special. He found himself at the right place at the right time: at 18 years old, the Australian native was scouted by a modeling agent while working as a waiter. 

“I was on this path, and then all of a sudden someone opens the door and there’s a new one,” he says. The evening he was discovered, everything changed in an instant. He was cast in a music video, and from then on, “It was basically the blinders on, going straight ahead.”

Heuston leaped from university to modeling for Fendi, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton, among other major fashion houses. The heartthrob then booked roles on Netflix’s Dive Club, Australia’s popular teen dramedy Heartbreak High, and Marvel’s Thor: Love and Thunder. Now, Heuston has taken his first lead film role in upcoming horror from director Sean Byrne: Dangerous Animals. The film follows Moses (Heuston) alongside free-spirited surfer Zephyr (Hassie Harrison) as they attempt to escape the gut-wrenching wrath of a shark-obsessed, ritualistic serial killer. It’s as crazy and heart-pumping as it sounds. Mere hours before our conversation, Dangerous Animals was announced to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May. 

“I was nervous because it was something new,” Heuston says. He learned to do his own stunts for the film, shooting for two months in his native country atop boats and suspended by cranes. “It was scary because it was a lot of  firsts, but then I feel like once you get rolling, you’re like, ‘This is it.’” Grinning, he adds, “That level of scariness and excitement—maybe I’m chasing the thrill of it.”

Behold Heuston’s electric power to say yes to chance. He doesn’t dispute the ink that writes his story. Rather, he follows his life line with precision and passion. “It’s the same reason why a roller coaster is scary, but it’s exciting…Those things are kind of on the same wavelength, the excitement and the level of fear associated with it,” he remarks. “[There’s a] whole system…of expectations. In reality, it’s all our first time doing this, and we’re trying to figure it out as we go. I think, especially, you only get one shot at [life], so you may as well try and risk it for the biscuit and do something cool,” he says. 

He adjusts his hat and leans back into the seat of his car. This is the picture of a man who’s resoundingly content with the path he’s chosen. Yet, is his life as simple as he takes his coffee? “No, I wouldn’t say it’s simple, but maybe my attempt of making it more simple is the point,” he resolves. 

In Heuston’s view, creativity is twofold, but uncomplicated. His stagecraft is like the waves crashing on Sydney’s beaches, the ones on which he grew up surfing. When he’s acting, as Constantine in Dune: Prophecy or Moses in Dangerous Animals, he’s powerful and cataclysmic. But, when he’s at home—skipping around in elf ears or wielding swords as he was a kid, tuning into conversations between his mother and grandmother and bantering over the fridge with his sisters—the waves calm, and he’s still. 

“That’s my favorite. You know what I mean? Those little moments where it’s not anything grand…It’s just the mundane, real life stuff…that’s what keeps me grounded,” he says. 

Heuston remains a man anchored despite his overnight fame. He goes on to tell me about how his Dangerous Animals partner covered for him when he forgot his lines during the callback. And he’ll share a few songs from the Spotify character playlists he makes for roles. “Other people might be able to let go of everything, but I don’t know. Maybe I’m too sentimental for that,” he reflects.

Heuston holds tight to his values and releases the plan. Creativity is like a sip of caffeine, and the energetic, down-to-earth Josh Heuston just loves the taste.

Photographed by Jake Terrey at Hart And Co

Styled by Andrew Hainsworth

Written by Julia Zara

Grooming: Fernando Miranda at Liminal Rep

Flaunt Film: Claudia Rose at The Artist Group