Scene from Underbelly (l-r): Gerard Kennedy, Martin Sack and Vince Colosimo.

Screentime Entertainment/Greg Noakes

BYRON Bay actor Martin Sacks will be throwing his hat in the ring for a role on the second series of the hit gangland crime drama, Underbelly.

Nine chief executive David Gyngell announced yesterday a second series of the program will begin airing from February next year.

“I think it's the most obvious decision in TV to bring back a prequel to Underbelly,” Mr Gyngell said.

“It was the most-buzz program we've ever been associated with.”

Underbelly was a 13-part mini-series based on the real events of the 1995-2004 gangland war in Melbourne, as depicted in the book Leadbelly: Inside Australia's Underworld, by Age journalists John Silvester and Andrew Rule. It began screening on February 13 in all states and territories except Victoria, due to a court injunction.

Sacks, who played loan shark Mario Condello in the first series of Underbelly, told The Northern Star he would put up his hand if the producers decided to go ahead with a prequel.

Last month he told The Northern Star he felt 'very fortunate' to score the part of Condello in the production.

“In all my years of acting I think that has been my favourite role,” he said.

“Its grittiness and connection with real events made the show very accessible to the audience, and its banning (in Victoria) created a fascination that made it must-see TV.

“The writers were working with such rich material so the actors would look at the scripts and see how lucky we were to be working on the project.”

Sacks moved to Byron Bay in 2004.