Rhys Sutherland is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...

from the Australian

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

Home and Away ''Home and Away'' (often abbreviated as ''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a trip ...

'', portrayed by actor

Michael Beckley Michael Beckley is an Australian actor. He has worked with major theatre companies in both Australia and the United Kingdom, and appeared on London's West End in ''A Few Good Men'' (starring Rob Lowe) and ''Cabaret'' (directed by award-winning ...

from 2000 to late 2004.

Casting

Beckley spent 20 years as a theatre actor before he joined the cast of ''

'' he told Joanne McCarthy of the

Newcastle Herald The ''Newcastle Herald'' (formerly branded as ''The Herald'') is a local tabloid newspaper published daily, Monday to Saturday, in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. It is the only local newspaper that serves the greater Hunter Region and ...

. "I went to my agent and said, 'I want to do some TV, I want some stability', and I basically fell into Home and Away, and I'm very glad I did." On production, Beckley said "You do try to be a one-take wonder because we don't have a lot of resources. You've got to grab the stuff and make it work, but that's what being a professional is about. I think people would be surprised, but we don't have a lot of out-takes where people fall about laughing. I can think of only one time in four years when that's happened. The rest of the time if you make a mistake you say, 'Oops, sorry', and you do it again and get it right." He described

Summer Bay Summer Bay is the fictional coastal town featured in the Australian soap opera, '' Home and Away''. Palm Beach, the most Northern beach of Sydney, is used for the show's exterior scenes in order to depict the Bay. Between 2010 and 2014, the ...

as a "deadly little place" and said "You've really got to watch your step. And, of course, no one does. We've often joked that you'd only survive living in Summer Bay for about three hours if it actually existed."

Storylines

Rhys, his wife Shelley (

Paula Forrest Paula Forrest (born 14 July, c. 1965) an Australians, Australian actress, best known for playing the role of Shelley Sutherland on the long-running Australian soap opera ''Home and Away'' In ''Home and Away'' (1988), Forrest played the part of ...

) and their three teenage daughters Dani (

Tammin Sursok Tammin Sursok (born 19 August 1983) is a South African-born Australian actress and singer. She is known for her roles on television as Dani Sutherland on ''Home and Away'', Colleen Carlton on ''The Young and the Restless'', and Jenna Marshall ...

Kirsty Kirsty or Kirstie is a feminine given name and nickname. It is a Scottish diminutive of Christine in English-speaking countries and is also linked to Kirsten — the Scandinavian version of Christine. People * Kirstie Alley (1951–2022), Ame ...

(

Christie Hayes Christie Lynne Hayes is an Australian actress and singer, known for her work on the television series ''Home and Away'' as Kirsty Sutherland, Kirsty Phillips (née Sutherland) who she played from June 2000 to February 2005, and again from May ...

) and

Jade Jade is a mineral used as jewellery or for ornaments. It is typically green, although may be yellow or white. Jade can refer to either of two different silicate minerals: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in the amphibole group of ...

(

Kate Garven Jade Sutherland is a fictional character from the Australian Channel Seven soap opera '' Home and Away'', played by Kate Garven. She appeared in the series from 19 June 2000 until 3 June 2004. Character development Jade is introduced into the s ...

) relocate to Summer Bay after purchasing Summer Bay House and the adjoining Caravan Park from

Pippa Ross Philippa "Pippa" Ross (also Fletcher) is a fictional character from the Australian television soap opera ''Home and Away''. Actress Vanessa Downing originated the role and made her debut during the pilot episode broadcast on 17 January 1988. Down ...

(

Debra Lawrence Debra Lawrance (born 1 January 1957) is an Australian actress. She is best known for her role on ''Home and Away'', as Pippa Ross, which she played from 1990 to 1998, and has made a number of return appearances as the character, the most rec ...

). Rhys takes over the running of the surf club kiosk. When Shelley brings home

Brodie Hanson Brodie Hanson (also Poulos) is a fictional character in the Australian soap opera ''Home and Away'' portrayed by actress Susie Rugg. She made her first appearance on 20 July 2000 and departed on 7 November 2002, she briefly returned in February ...

( Susie Rugg) from the local drop-in centre, Rhys has reservations at first but they foster her. Rhys is enraged when he learns Dani has been raped by

Kane Phillips Kane Phillips is a fictional character from the Australian Channel Seven soap opera ''Home and Away'', played by Sam Atwell. He first appeared during the episode airing on 9 April 2001 and made his final appearance on 5 March 2009. In 2004, vi ...

(

Sam Atwell Samuel Atwell (born 6 April 1979) is an Australian actor, producer, writer and director. Born in Nambour, Queensland, he and his family lived in Indonesia for 6 years before returning to Queensland where he grew up in Brisbane. He has always h ...

) and this causes friction within the family. Matters are made worse when Kane is found not guilty and Rhys tries to drive him out of town. Kane eventually leaves of his own accord. Rhys' brother,

Pete Pete or Petes or ''variation'', may refer to: People * Pete (given name) * Pete (nickname) * Pete (surname) Fictional characters * Pete (Disney), a cartoon character in the ''Mickey Mouse'' universe * Pete the Pup (a.k.a. 'Petey'), a character ...

( Christopher Mayer) and his son Max (

Sebastian Elmaloglou Sebastian Elmaloglou (born 29 September 1989) is an Australian actor best known for portraying the role of Max Sutherland on the long-running Australian soap opera '' Home and Away'' from 2002 to 2004. Background Sebastian trained at the Keane ...

), arrive for a visit. It soon becomes apparent that Pete is on the run facing gambling debts and he flees leaving Max in Rhys and Shelley's care. Kirsty's rebellion begins to test Rhy's patience and matters are not helped when she begins seeing Kane, who had saved her and Shelley's lives on a cruise. Rhys forces Kirsty to choose between the family and Kane. Kirsty initially choose's the family but runs away with Kane for a while. Kane eventually dumps Kirsty leaving her to return to the family.

Angie Russell Angie Russell is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera ''Home and Away'', played by Laurie Foell. She made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 26 September 2002. Foell departed on 21 March 2003, but her cha ...

(

Laurie Foell Laurie Foell (born Laurence Foel on 10 February 1968) is an Argentinian-born Australian actress. She is best known for her portrayal of both Angela "Angie" Russell and her cousin Josie, in the successful Australian television soap opera ''Ho ...

), a former flame of Rhys, arrives in the bay for their 40th birthday and causes havoc by alleging that Rhys is the father of her son, Dylan ( Brett Hicks-Maitland). This news threatens to tear the Sutherland's apart. It's later revealed to the shock of Angie and the Sutherlands, that Rhys is not Dylan's father but the damage to Rhys and Shelley's marriage is done and Shelley moves to the city, leaving Rhys and the girls Heartbroken. Kane later returns and gets back together with Kirsty provoking Rhys' anger even further. Dani is later jailed for running over Kane and Rhys struggles to forgive Kirsty for siding with Kane over her sister. Rhys begins a new relationship with

Beth Hunter Elizabeth Ann "Beth" Hunter (also Walters and Sutherland) is a fictional character from the Australian Channel Seven soap opera ''Home and Away'', played by Clarissa House. She made her first on-screen appearance on 17 April 2003 and departed o ...

(Clarissa House) and they later become engaged despite the arguments between their respective broods. On Rhys and Beth's wedding day, everybody is present except for Kirsty who has eloped with Kane. After Dani slowly warms to Kane, Rhys drops his hostilities with Kane. After Kirsty is diagnosed with a kidney problem and miscarries, Shelley returns to donate her kidney. The Sutherlands later discover Jade was switched at birth with another baby, Laura DeGroot (also played by Hayes). Shelley and Rhys began to spend a great deal of time together and eventually fall in love again. Rhys breaks Beth's heart and reunites with Shelley in the city and they remarry a year later.

Reception

Sacha Molitorisz of ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'' said that the episode featuring Rhys and Beth's wedding was better suited to "die hard fans". They criticised the plot for being "unengaging" and opined that the music, performances and dialogue were "painful" and "patchy".

References

External links

Character profile
at the Official AU ''Home and Away'' website {{DEFAULTSORT:Sutherland, Rhys Home and Away characters Television characters introduced in 2000 Male characters in television