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THESE MATTS HAVE A GLOSS FINISH

The coincidence of their names extends to the fact that they turn up in their respective TV series within a week: Matt Day, 18, in A Country Practice, and Mat Stevenson, 20, in Home And Away.

Here are two young men whose faces may already seem a little familiar. Stevenson - on the right in our photograph below - has appeared on Channel 10's Neighbours and Day - on the left - had a minor role in the ABC's House Rules.

For the moment, Matt and Mat, both from Melbourne, are too busy concentrating on the next day's shoot to contemplate possible star status.

Stevenson has joined the Home And Away cast as 20-year-old Adam Cameron.

Cameron turns up in Summer Bay "just to grab a hamburger" but ends up staying a while - at least a year, Stevenson plans.

Both Cameron's parents have died and with his inheritance money he buys a yacht and plans to sail around the world.

When he sails into the show, three of the main cast are being hassled by a group of hooligans and his attempt to make peace between the two groups lands him in deep water.

The bullies trash his yacht and he is stuck in Summer Bay until he scrapes together some money to fix it.

Day's character in A Country Practice is not quite as friendly as Adam Cameron. He has joined the cast as Luke Dean, a young man who has Frank Gilroy as his probation officer. Need we say more? Dean, who has come from a boys'home in Sydney after notching up a few car stealing charges, is brought to Wandin Valley in the hope that Frank and Shirley will help curb his ways.

Day hopes the valley will keep Dean on the straight and narrow for at least a year. "Luke is a nice kid although he can be pretty rotten," Day said.

"Basically, he's a bit of a smart arse."

Stevenson, who played rough and tumble street kid "Skinner" in Neighbours, said the chance to play Cameron was something of a role reversal - "from a scum to a nice boy". He said his Neighbours role helped him become more level-headed.

"I really got my act together," he said. "In this industry you need to be level-headed."

Day sacrificed his HSC for his acting career. "This (acting) is what I've always wanted to do and I had to leave school to come up here and work on A Country Practice," he said.

It was an opportunity he thought was too good to pass up. He first became interested in acting when he went along to a drama class with a friend. An acting career was something that Stevenson had also had in his mind for years

Both Day and Stevenson are extremely proud of where their careers have taken them: from Melbourne to Sydney and Channel 7 where their characters are being introduced to viewers.

They have already won the respect of their peers, and their producers are confident the two guys will be around for years to come. In A Country Practice, Lorrae Desmond, who plays Shirley Gilroy, is particularly impressed with the abilities shown by her new co-star.

In Home And Away, Day is also settling in well and has quickly made friends with the young cast members.

And the future?

In such an insecure industry they are not making too many plans just yet, just concentrating on the year ahead of them.

However, both would like to try their hand in mini-series and films.

"They are the greatest medium, to be able to reach a lot of people," Day said.

"But I would like to do some more work in the theatre and explore every aspect of acting. It's a job but it's also a lifestyle." Stevenson said he was happy looking just as far as his current role. "Hopefully I have got a good year's work ahead of me in which I will be able to learn a great deal," he said.

"I want to have a secure future and I don't want to be 40 and still living on a dream."

The two up-and-coming young actors are not living on dreams at the moment and are taking the business very seriously. There are no stars in their eyes, and definitely no record deals up their sleeves |