In the episode of the six-part, local thriller, Dan stars as a parliamentary security officer escorting one of the main characters off the premises.

And it's an area Dan's quite familiar with, having worked as a counter terrorism police officer and then as an officer of a national security agency, though he declines to disclose which one.

Dan said he "fell into acting" early last year, after wanting to do a public speaking course and finding an actor training course instead.

"I thought, 'Well that's probably a good way to increase my confidence in performing in front of an audience', so I signed up for it," he said.

"After I did the course I really enjoyed it, so I kept going."

Unfortunately Dan's previous job was restrictive in what he could and couldn't do, so he was forced to make a decision about his future career.

"Everything I did I had to get approval and they weren't too happy about it, as you could imagine," he said.

"So that's one of the reasons that I decided to leave. I just enjoyed the acting so much that I kind of felt like my work was going in a different direction to my personal life."

Dan said he finds it interesting to play roles related to his former career, and likes to use his background to his acting advantage.

"It's a little bit strange sometimes because what is real life isn't necessarily the drama they'd like to portray," he said.

"But sometimes it's odd when you're doing something against your training, but you just have to remember that it's make-believe."

Dan has starred in a number of commercials, student films and TV shows, and is now working with an agent in Sydney to take his career further.

He is working as a contractor for the ACT government, who he says supports him a great deal with his ambitions, and he is able to fit his work around auditions, which are usually in Sydney.

Dan said he thought The Code was good not only for Canberra, but also for the local acting scene.

"It adds a bit of life to Canberra. A lot of people have a narrow view of Canberra, that it's a boring place. There's so much more going on in Canberra than people could ever imagine unless you're part of that world, so to see that portrayed on screen is just really good," he said.

"Seeing all the young actors come through, they have a lot of potential, but often they have to move away to make anything of themselves. So when The Code came to Canberra it was really good for them because they can then use their skills to gain experience in these big productions."

The Code airs on ABC at 8.30pm on Sunday.

Tickled pink with four ingredients

Politicians Mal Brough, Member for Fisher, and Bob Baldwin, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry, donned pink aprons on Thursday morning and cooked up breakfast at Parliament House in the name of Breast Cancer research.

The breakfast was held to promote the latest 4 Ingredients cookbook, Cook 4 A Cure, which is raising funds for the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

The author behind the 4 Ingredients series, Kim McCosker,  flew down from her Sunshine Coast home for the occasion.

Cook 4 A Cure is Kim's 18^th title in the series, and she says it's different to the others in that it has a social cause.

"We have pledged to raise $100,000 from the sale of Cook 4 A Cure to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, and their amazing work with breast cancer research which ultimately benefits many fields of cancer," she said.

"Their aspirational goal is to have zero breast cancer deaths in Australia by 2030, which is the year I'll turn 60, which is when a lot of diagnoses occur. So I just went, 'right how can we help'?"

The book features more than 60 recipes, some with a health angle.

While she was writing the book, Kim also put it out to the community for those who had journeyed with cancer to provide tips and advice, and these pearls of wisdom are littered throughout.

"We were absolutely inundated with amazing stories and tips and recipes, food and chemo ideas. It wasn't just from survivors, it was from their mother or daughter or husband or son," she said.

"So where appropriate I took bits from that and added it into the book, and so the book is written with thought and grace and love."

The 4 Ingredients series is available on three continents and in 26 countries, and Kim says the key to the book's success is simplicity.

"You know what I've learnt? It doesn't matter whether you're in Dublin, Alice or Darwin, people are busy, and they get home at the end of the day and they're exhausted and all they really want is a recipe with four ingredients."

Cook 4 A Cure is available from Big W or online at 4ingredients.com.au, with $4 from the sale of each book donated to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

Thando gets crowd funding

After making a name for herself with her powerful voice in the most recent series of The Voice, Thando Sikwila is busily working on her debut EP.

The former-Canberran will next month head into the studio to create an album she says represents exactly who she is.

"Going on The Voice really put things into perspective for me. I really found the thing I wanted to do and the things I'm good at and I want to make sure that's what I'm giving to people," she said.

"I didn't get the chance to show who I was as an artist on the show – singing other people's songs in the show is all very well but you need to be able to show other people what you can create."

On the reality TV show, she wowed Kylie Minogue who chose Thando on her team, before being saved by Ricky Martin and joining his team and leaving the competition in the sing-off round, narrowly missing the live final.

Originally from Zimbabwe, Thando moved to Canberra with her parents and three sisters in 2001, before moving to Melbourne to study music a decade later.

To help get the EP happening, Thando has set up a crowd funding campaign, with a target of $7500.

"I thought it'd be a really good idea to get a crowd funding campaign for the people who want to see the success of my album to have a part in it. Especially because I'm completely independent," she said.

For the six-track EP, which is due out in December, Thando also collaborated with Canberra producer Henry Robinson.

Early next year Thando will hit the road for an east-coast Australian tour, including a show at Transit Bar on January 31.

"I'm really excited about doing my Canberra show. It's really important to me because essentially I'll be coming to Canberra with my whole band, all seven of us," she said.

"It'll be like a full on production and I want people to get an idea that when I left Canberra all those years ago and this is what I've been working towards."

Head to Thando's Facebook page to help fund the campaign - facebook.com/thandomusic.

Zumbarons are coming to town

Energy company Origin has arrived in Canberra, and they're bringing macarons with them – or Zumbarons to be exact.

Origin's truck is bringing the sweet treats from acclaimed Sydney patissier  Adriano Zumbo, including a special raspberry and mango flavour inspired by the company's logo.

You can track down the truck on September 27 at the Canberra Centre from 12-3pm, then at Floriade from 5.30-9pm.

They will also be out and about next weekend on October 4 from 11am-2pm at Westfield Belconnen, level 3 car park, and Palmerston Lane in Griffith from 2.30-5.30pm, then October 5 from 10am-1pm at Lonsdale Street, Braddon.

Visit originenergy.com.au/act. 

What's On

• Celebrate the public holiday on Monday at the National Arboretum, which has a day full of activities for the family. Take a ride in a Clydesdale horse-drawn carriage, which carries six to eight people ($10 per person) or make and fly a kite in the amphitheatre ($10 per kite). 10am-3pm. For more information visit nationalarboretum.act.gov.au.
• Next weekend, the Handmade Market is back on, with 158 designers displaying their works at the National Convention Centre – just a quick stroll across the bridge from Floriade. 10am-4pm, October 4 and 5. Entry by gold coin donation which goes towards local charities Bosom Buddies and Dragon's Abreast.