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"Strike Back was just relentless day after day. Even the final two weeks of filming, we still blew up a car a day, every day in Budapest. Then there were speedboat chases in Croatia. Warren [Brown] and I did our own stunts. Boats were exploding everywhere. Lead actors get to be right in the mix, which is so fun." The stunts take a lot of preparation, which meant needing to get into great shape before filming. Dan began preparing for the role of Sergeant Samuel Wyatt five to six months before filming began. "I approach all of my roles with an athlete's mentality. I was also able to call up friends, like dietitians, who know my body so well. This was so physically demanding day in and day out. The lead cast took on such a responsibility as good, if not better, as they had been in previous seasons." Dan has never had any trouble with physical feats or stunts. Over the past twenty years, the six-time Ironman finisher has been competing in triathlons and marathons and represented Australia at Olympic, Half Ironman, and Ironman distance Triathlon World Championships. Additionally, he has run in multiple endurance events to raise money and awareness for charities such as World Vision, Reclink, Charity: Water, and The Indigenous Marathon Project, for which he is an ambassador. Knowing this, it's not surprising to find that Dan was discovered by a talent scout while competing in the Kurnell triathlon in south Sydney at the young age of 16. The now 37-year-old actor found success less than two years later, at 18, starring in the Australian series, Neighbours, as Joel Samuels. During his four years on the show, he won a T V week Logie Award for Most Popular New Talent and was nominated twice for the Silver Logie for Most Popular Actor. He then travelled to the United Kingdom, where he starred in the British production of the musical Godspell, where he alternated the lead roles of Jesus and Judas with English enter tainer, Jonathan Wilkes. After completing that, Dan was offered the role of PC Cameron Tait in the British drama The Bill. He would then head back to Australia to work on other projects, including presenting the Australian version of The X-Factor in 2005 and playing Detective Simon Joyner in City Homicide, Australia's #1 show in 2007. "Luckily par t of the Australian DNA is traveling, which I got to do a fair amount of." In 2008, GQ Magazine recognized him as Australia's Most Popular Television Personality. "But then, I got to a point in my career where I was ready to really start to focus in on one specific thing that I was passionate about. I'd always had my feet in two camps. That's when I made the decision to put 110% into my acting and move to Los Angeles." Though the transition didn't come easily, Dan found success and landed roles on TV series such as MTV's The Shannara Chronicles, and the FOX series, APB. This year, Dan appears in Disney's adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time starring Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, and Mindy Kaling. In the highly anticipated film, which hit theaters March 9, Dan plays Calvin's (por trayed by Australian actor, Levi Miller) father. "It was so great to be a par t of this huge, epic film, even though I have a very small par t. Getting to work with Levi Miller and play his father was incredible. I got to set, walking around just pinching myself. And working with Ava DuVernay [the first African-American woman to direct a live-action film with a budget exceeding $100 million] was on my bucket list! I'm so inspired by her strength and authenticity." Dan has a few other projects lined up, though he's not allowed to talk about them—yet, he teases. Taking a break from memorizing lines and jumping out of burning vehicles, Dan is calling this the "year of new skills," where he aims to do a lot more mobility work, including CrossFit and gymnastics to stay focused on his health. One of his recent Instagram posts suppor ts his new lifestyle, he writes: "I wanted to improve myself. Physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, creatively. I wanted to improve my key relationships, my friendships, my work and my life... So I looked inwards, and it's been the most rewarding few months. From the words we speak, the books we read, what we choose to put in our mouths, and in our brains. From how we chose to spend our waking hours to the way we prioritize rest and recovery. From the teachers we choose to listen to, to how we choose to deal with the challenges that come before you. You wanna change something? Your physical health? Mental well-being? The quality of your sleep? Your lifestyle? Or you just want to star t something new to inspire you into a new phase of your life? I say go for it. Get after it. Make it a daily practice. It's right within your grasp." So, what inspired this transformation? "I turned 35 and looked around at a lot of my friends who are at the top of their game —Chris Hemsworth, Luke McKenzie— and knew that really specializing myself in one thing was the best decision. There's this window in your life, where you have to tell yourself, I am going to set out for something special." Speaking of fellow Aussies, does Dan see himself following in the footsteps of friend Chris Hemsworth and Hugh Jackman and taking the action/super hero route? He laughs. "Hey, who knows? A role like that where you're dedicated to working on your physique sounds right up my alley. We'll just have to see what the future holds." ML Keep up with Dan on Instagram and Twitter @DanMacPherson.