Carlos got a 95 ATAR. It was 95 more points than he needed
By Abby Seaman
It’s almost like he never left high school.
Carlos Sanson jr, who plays Santi in the Stan* series Bump, graduated from Reddam House in 2016 but had to mentally return to those days when cast as a teen dad in the hit show in 2020.
Carlos Sanson jr’s ATAR never mattered but the lessons learnt from year 12 have served him well.Credit: Wolter Peeters
His own high school journey was very different to Santi’s. Sanson jr was part of the cohort that first catapulted Reddam – the only non-selective school – into the top 10 in the HSC.
Now Sanson jr is sharing what he learnt with the class of 2023 in Monday’s HSC Study Guide.
“We had a really special cohort, I owe a lot to my classmates. When I moved to Reddam, what was considered cool and the culture of the school, was to do well,” said Sanson jr who attended Cranbrook School for years 7 and 8. “I felt there was an importance placed on your studies and there was a really rewarding satisfaction when I started to apply myself.”
“I got such a good ATAR, but I haven’t used it ... It didn’t help me get into drama school, didn’t help when I left drama school. I was in the top 4.25 per cent of the state, and it hasn’t meant a thing.”
Sanson jr achieved high marks in his HSC exams, including a band 6 in Drama, English Standard, Legal Studies and a 95.75 ATAR. He quickly learnt that to achieve his dream career, a good ATAR couldn’t help him.
“I got such a good ATAR, but I haven’t used it,” he said. “It didn’t help me get into drama school, didn’t help when I left drama school. I was in the top 4.25 per cent of the state, and it hasn’t meant a thing.”
He left his final year of school with something he deemed more valuable.
“I can’t remember anything from any of my subjects, but I do remember how I learnt how to apply myself and I use that to this day.”
Sanson jr says pursuing acting comes with a lot of rejection.
The first rejection he faced was missing out on a place in the HSC drama showcase Onstage for his risk-taking individual monologue, which he wrote himself.
Sanson Jr as a teen dad in Bump with costar Nathalie Morris.Credit: John Platt
“Writing your own monologue was advised against. A big no-no,” he said. “But I felt strongly about it. I based it on a video game I loved, Call Of Duty. I wrote it on my own, but I leant on my friend a lot for feedback and on my dad, who gave me a great idea.”
Borrowing his friend’s wheelchair and fashioning a pretend amputated leg out of too-big pyjama pants while sitting on his leg, Sanson jr delivered what he deemed as some of his best acting as an injured war veteran.
It was after this that he considered whether this was his calling and began trying to plan the steps into an industry he knew little about.
“My goal from trials to HSC was that I needed to get into Onstage,” he said. “This is going to set me up to then find an agent. I didn’t really know how the industry worked.”
And when that path didn’t work out for him, he found an agent after completing a diploma in acting at Screenwise Film & TV School.
Looking back on his school days, Sanson jr reminisced about the times he and his friends would frequent the UNSW library to study, leaning on each other for support during high-stress periods.
“We put a lot of pressure on ourselves and people put a lot of pressure on students to do well.”
But seven years on and Sanson jr wouldn’t change his approach to the exams.
“Keep going. You are doing the right thing. I see you and what you are putting yourself through, and it’s going to pay dividends in ways you can’t even comprehend right now.
“I would tell my year 12 self, as long as I put in the work it’ll be OK.”
*Stan is owned by Nine, the owner of this masthead.