| Brody Morgan | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Home and Away character | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Portrayed by | Jackson Heywood | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 2016–2019 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 7 June 2016 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | 10 June 2019 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Lucy Addario | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Brody Morgan is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Home and Away, played by Jackson Heywood. The actor had previously appeared in the show as Lachie Cladwell in 2009. During the audition process, Heywood was paired up with several different actors until the producers found the right combination for the Morgan family. Heywood began filming his first scenes in December 2015. He made his first appearance as Brody during the episode broadcast on 7 June 2016.
Brody was introduced to the show along with his three siblings; Tori Morgan (Penny McNamee), Justin Morgan (James Stewart) and Mason Morgan (Orpheus Pledger). The family received immediate comparisons to the show's popular Braxton brothers. Brody is a passionate and ambitious chef. He is also portrayed as being loyal, smart, and occasionally pessimistic. For the first few weeks after their arrival, Brody and his siblings concealed the fact that they were in witness protection. They were later held hostage by their parents' killer and involved in a plane crash, which left Brody badly injured. Brody was originally created to be a gay character but the storyline was blocked by Seven Network. Jeannie Woods (Anna Bamford) was introduced as a love interest for Brody in late 2016.
The character became the focus of the show's first storyline about ice addiction, which was a prevalent issue in Australia at the time. Series producer Lucy Addario implemented the storyline, as she felt the show could no longer ignore it. Heywood carried out extensive research, so his portrayal of Brody would be as accurate as possible. Brody uses ice to help him cope with the pressures of running a restaurant. He soon gets into debt with his dealer, leading to major consequences for himself and his family. While recovering from his addiction, Brody begins a relationship with Bay newcomer Ziggy Astoni (Sophie Dillman), whom he later marries. The marriage ends when Brody begins an affair with Simone Bedford (Emily Eskell). The storyline led to the character's exit on 10 June 2019.