Celebrity Scoop: Nicholas Bishop

Nicholas Bishop can't resist a glance out the windows lining the room on the top floor of a swanky Beverly Hills hotel. The view pretty much shouts: You have arrived!

As Peter Dunlop on ABC's late-season hit "Body of Proof," Bishop plays the collected partner to Dana Delany's Dr. Megan Hunt.

"I'm kind of like her conscience," Bishop says of his character's relationship to Delany's.

Bishop has bounced around enough to be grateful for a hit, and long before the network put this on air, he and everyone who saw this knew it had the makings of a solid success.

"I did a series for Fox last year," Bishop says in his natural Australian accent. "It was called 'Past Life.' Now it is 'Past Life.' "

Bishop moved his family to Los Angeles and was well aware of how children can adapt to a move.

"I'm an army brat," he says. "My dad was in the Australian army for 35 years. They are a tough bunch."

Though he was born in England, his family moved to Australia when he was an infant, and that was home.

"They certainly know how to have a good time," he says of his countrymen. "The bars are open 24 hours. It's crazy!"

It seemed unlikely that Bishop was destined to become an actor. He recalls his first time onstage, in fifth grade, when his mother had to bribe him with ice cream to just take the stage as a Roman soldier.

"I fainted in front of her," he says. "My mother was in the front row, and I fell flat on my face."

Bishop conquered stage fright, handily. And he's keenly aware of how competitive his field is, saying, "Ninety-seven percent of the actors are unemployed in Australia. If you slip, the next person will come through."