Learn more about ‘Bandit Heeler’
Bandit is Bluey and Bingo’s dad who loves to be silly and play fun games with them. When he has time, he loves being with Chilli and watching cricket.
Learn MoreTwo minutes with… Dave McCormack!
Dave McCormack – the voice of Bluey’s Dad ‘Bandit‘- sits down with Bluey.tv for the second in a series of rapid-fire interviews with the cast and creatives behind ‘Bluey’.
In a game of musical statues are you dancing in the middle of the room, or controlling the music?
Oh, I’m controlling the music, but quite poorly.
I find with with modern phones; the pause is a little bit dodgy. Sometimes you go to pause it or play it, and it doesn’t always do it. In the old days, even an iPod had had a better stop and start.
So I’m controlling the music, man.
Top tip to stop yourself getting bored on a road trip?
Have you heard of that game, Spoto? Whenever someone sees a yellow car they yell out Spoto! And it’s just as simple as that. Who can see the most yellow cars!
Don’t ask me why it’s yellow. Maybe it’s rare, but not super rare and keeps it interesting. You can play Spoto, for hours!
What is your favourite flavour of ice cream?
Vanilla… boring. Is lemon sorbet in ice cream?
Yeah, of course!
Okay, I’ll go lemon sorbet!
What was your favourite game to play as a kid?
Probably hide and seek. Although ( and this this relates to Bluey specifically), when I was growing up in Kenmore we played Keepy Uppy. We even called it Keepy Uppy! That was one of my favourite games to play.
Now, when I tell people they think “Oh, that’s just because it’s in a Bluey episode.” Dude. It’s not. My brother, my cousin Justin and I played it and it was called ‘Keepy Uppy’! It’s just universal.
What item would you bring for show-and-tell?
Like now or when I was a kid?
Let’s do both!
When I was a kid it would have probably been a remote control car. And now for show and tell I’d bring some delicious meat that I’d have slow cooked. Like a corned beef or roast lamb shoulder… something slow cooked and meaty!
Show and tell… and taste!
AND smell!
What was your favourite thing that happened today?
My eldest daughter is doing a science assessment where they have to do a 3D Model of a plant cell. Like a cellular thing. So I had to go to the shops and buy plasticine clay, pipe cleaners, straws, electric glue gun… just like rounding up all the crafty things. That was a great part of my day!
Hide or Seek?
Geez! They’ve both got advantages, don’t they? I’m going to go hide.
What would you spend your 5 Dollar-bucks on at a farmers market?
A donut. A cinnamon doughnut.
If you owned a magical instrument, what would it be?
It would be a drum kit that somehow you could play like normal, but you don’t have to pack it away afterwards. It just disappears and reappears when you click your fingers.
What’s your Favourite thing to do at the beach?
I like to do a little bit of body surfing. I don’t go out any further than where I can’t touch the ground, that’s a hard and fast rule to me.
Like if if I’m on a boat and someone says, “Let’s go for a swim”, I don’t. I need to touch the ground.
I also love just sitting on the beach and looking at the waves.
What’s your favourite episode of ‘Bluey’?
Grandad. It’s just that last scene where Chilli and her Dad are sitting looking at the kids swimming in the creek and Grandad says “Oh, I used to bring you here when you were little.”
Chilli says something like “Oh, man! That was ages ago” and he’s says it seems it’s like yesterday. It’s so sweet. It sums up the whole journey of life in in just a couple of seconds. You could write 10,000 hours and it not say as much as those final few seconds of ‘Grandad’.
I also like all the classics. Sleepytime, Takeaway. They’re all great. I don’t think there’s a bad one.
Does the answer change if we asked what your favourite to make was?
Anything with Unicorse in it is good because I get to do the Unicorse voice. When I first read the episodes, the creativity and sort of psychedelic surreal humor – I just love it. It’s the perfect show for me.
Who’s your favourite character?
Bandit.
What ‘Bluey-ism’ has made it into your personal vocabulary?
“Dude!” There’s an episode where it’s like, “Hey, dude! Pass the sauce dude!” and that’s huge around our household now. Everyone and everything is dude.
Would you prefer a slice of duck cake or a piece of pavlova?
Not pavlova. I’ll go Duck Cake. I don’t vibe with no pavlovas.
More an edamame bean guy?
Oh yeah, love edamame beans.
A Bluey moment that made you laugh?
When Bandit says he has bum worms in ‘Bumpy and the Wise Old Wolfhound‘. What’s the real life term for bum worms? Everyone just calls them bum worms…
A Bluey moment that made you cry?
Well, the aforementioned ‘Grandad‘ moment is pretty sweet. ‘Sleepytime”s pretty sweet I think, in ‘The Sign‘ there’s a couple of pretty incredible moments.
Pass the Parcel: Everyone gets a present or ‘Lucky’s Dad’s Rules’?
Oh, man, that’s a this is a really good question… Can can I get some clarity from you?
Of course!
Are the kids at the party under 5 or over 5? I say if they’re under 5: I think everyone gets a present. But if they’re over 5; Lucky’s Dad rules. Hard rules. All the way.
We’ll call these Dave’s rules.
Yeah, Dave’s rules!
But what happens if you’ve got a party full of kids, some are over 5 and some are under 5?
You’ve just got to abandon the game. Or have two factions. Two leagues.
What’s your favourite room in the Heeler house?
The toilet.
Have you ever played one of Bluey and Bingo’s favourite games?
Floor is Lava. I’ve played that both as a child and as a Dad. That’s a good one.
Describe Bluey (The Show) in three words.
D.F.S.
D.F.S?
Yeah in the business we call it a D.F.S. Dog. Family. Show.