Mason began his career starring in a number of independent short films and television commercials during 2008 and 2009 . The actor rose to prominence playing the role Chris Pappas on the Australian television soap opera '' Neighbours '' . Mason 's agent secured him an audition for the role of Andrew Robinson . Actor Jordan Smith won the role of Andrew , but three days later Mason was offered the chance to play Chris . Chris is the show 's first gay ongoing character . '' Neighbours '' then executive producer Susan Bower created the character following requests from viewers in the '' Neighbours '' website discussion forums . Two-thirds of actors quit the audition process for Chris when they discovered the character was gay . Mason began filming for '' Neighbours '' in October 2009 and the character arrived on-screen during February 2010 . Mason said that he was " really excited " to play the role and added the writers had helped him to accurately portray a gay male . Chris was initially a guest character but Mason was later promoted to the show 's regular cast . For his portrayal of Chris , Mason was nominated for Most Popular New Male Talent at the Logie Awards of 2012 . The actor filmed for television pilot titled " SPIN " in 2013 . In 2015 , Mason decided to leave '' Neighbours '' after five years in the role
Logie Awards of 2012
Logie Awards of 2012
James Mason (Australian actor)