Working on his first film, The Cup, set around events leading up to the 2002 Melbourne Cup won by Media Puzzle, and hosting Dancing with the Stars, Macpherson can look back on a series of starring roles and forward to film and television roles in Hollywood.

All this and he has only just turned 30.

Melbourne has been his home, on and off, since playing the role of Joel Samuels in Neighbours (262 episodes between 1998 and 2002) but he loves coming home to Cronulla to catch up with friends and ``to bring my washing home for mum''.

When we met at the Channel Seven studios in South Yarra, Macpherson looked cool, calm and collected, which was a surprise because he had just finished a charity run organised by the Melbourne Age. He ran 10 kilometres in the respectable time of 38 minutes.

We were in the City Homicide green room where actors relax and read scripts in between appearing in front of the cameras. In fact, after 46 episodes as Simon Joyner, MacPherson left City Homicide two weeks ago but ``I still have visiting rights''.

The time was about noon on Sunday, but it would be hours before the actor could head home. Ahead were rehearsals for that night's episode of Dancing with the Stars and then the show itself, which goes live to air.

Macpherson is excited about The Cup.

"It's the story of the Oliver family who have known tragedy, and in particular it is the story of the jockey Damien Oliver who won the Melbourne Cup riding Media Puzzle in 2002,'' he said.

"I play his brother Jason Oliver who was killed in a race fall just days before the Cup that year. Their father was killed in a race fall.''

In The Cup, proficient actor Stephen Curry, fondly remembered for his role as Michael Caton's son in The Castle, plays Cup-winning jockey, Damien Oliver. The film is scheduled for release late this year or early 2011.