Speaker 1: Hey guys, my name's Benjamin Norris and this is my
Speaker 1: second pop up episode of TV Reload. I'm delighted to
Speaker 1: announce this spinoff podcast which will feature some of your
Speaker 1: favorite reality TV stars, presenters and actors from all the
Speaker 1: major networks and streaming services. I'm just going to start
Speaker 1: featuring the occasional guests who are making the biggest waves
Speaker 1: on your TV screens. So expect to hear inside stories
Speaker 1: from the most loved, the most controversial, and the most
Speaker 1: exciting names. We would all love to hear just that
Speaker 1: little bit more from. If you want to keep up
Speaker 1: to date with the latest goss and you enjoy today's episode,
Speaker 1: please press subscribe on Spotify, iTunes and iHeartRadio and I'll
Speaker 1: keep you in the loop with contestants, actors and presenters
Speaker 1: currently on Australian television. Today, I have actress Doris Una,
Speaker 1: whose career spans across thirty five years, with an extensive
Speaker 1: body of work in film, theater and television. I've seen
Speaker 1: Doris in all of those formats and I've loved her
Speaker 1: from such an early age. And you might remember her
Speaker 1: from some of her career highlights, such as the film
Speaker 1: The Heartbreak Kid, which subsequently went on to have its
Speaker 1: own tvc which she also start. Doris's extensive television credits
Speaker 1: include Blackjack, Sea Change, Party Tricks, The Wrong Girl and
Speaker 1: if you haven't seen Freid then check that one out
Speaker 1: on ABC I View. Doris is, of course brilliant and
Speaker 1: that as well. Today we'll be talking about her role
Speaker 1: as Heather in the TV series Five Bedrooms, which is
Speaker 1: now only available on Paramount Plus, the later streaming service
Speaker 1: available here in Australia. Heather is a complicated and warm
Speaker 1: woman and in Doris's own words, we haven't really seen
Speaker 1: a character like her before, and I hope if you're
Speaker 1: listening to this interview you will check out that series,
Speaker 1: which is Australian drama at its best. However, let's get
Speaker 1: started with today's guest. I'd like to welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 1: It's Doris You nay.
Speaker 2: I think people identify with me purely because I am
Speaker 2: a Lebanese here Ada, Doris your name. Congratulations on your nominations.
Speaker 3: En As.
Speaker 2: One of the problem with actors is they're trying to
Speaker 2: be someone else. Christina Malano film more I Am who
Speaker 2: I Am. My comedy lies in a certain place. You
Speaker 2: can't make a move out. It's all right, I've already
Speaker 2: got to replace. It was like a death in the family.
Speaker 2: I'm sorry. Who are you Raine? So Rabi go a
Speaker 2: big personality and I think I do relate to a
Speaker 2: lot of bit because I am very grounded and down
Speaker 2: to worth.
Speaker 1: Hey mate, how are you?
Speaker 2: That was great? Yeah, very natural, you know, I'm good.
Speaker 2: Thank you.
Speaker 1: It's always very strange when you're sort of talking to
Speaker 1: people from all around the world or around Australia from
Speaker 1: from your home. So congratulations on the success of Five Bedrooms.
Speaker 1: It's such a great show. It's amazing.
Speaker 2: Oh, thank you. So where are you up to?
Speaker 1: I've seen theories one and two.
Speaker 2: Good boy and Serious three is on its way.
Speaker 1: Well, yes, you're filming series three at the moment. Can
Speaker 1: you Can you give us any spoilers?
Speaker 2: No, I can't. The script's are gorgeous. I can't say
Speaker 2: too much because I don't want to. I don't want
Speaker 2: to ruin the surprise. There are some real cliffhangers in
Speaker 2: this one. So no, it's really exciting.
Speaker 1: What was your first reaction to reading the script back
Speaker 1: when it was first offered to you?
Speaker 2: You know, it's like reading it a great play from
Speaker 2: start to finish. It was just it was brilliant. And
Speaker 2: even just reading this the audition scenes, and I remember thinking,
Speaker 2: I want this and I'm so right for it, and
Speaker 2: I needed everybody to believe I was as well, you know,
Speaker 2: and as an actor's job, it's like you do your
Speaker 2: best and you go, well, it's out of my hands
Speaker 2: once your audition, it's really up to them. But I
Speaker 2: just knew that this was something special from that moment,
Speaker 2: and I thought, God, someone's writing stuff for women that
Speaker 2: is like really on the edge and you know, a
Speaker 2: little bit sharp and a bit dangerous. And I thought, oh, yeah,
Speaker 2: I like this character. Heather shows over mate, for once
Speaker 2: in your life, you're going to do something vaguely honorable.
Speaker 2: You're going to get out of her life. You're going
Speaker 2: to go back to your bullshit marriage, and you're going
Speaker 2: to wait for further instructions. I suppose I just I
Speaker 2: instick connected with her, you know. I mean I would
Speaker 2: have paid for this opportunity. So you don't often read
Speaker 2: scripts that have that resonate like that. They're usually a
Speaker 2: little bit clunky. We go, yeah, no, I can I
Speaker 2: make this work. These trips were just off the bat
Speaker 2: that were just brilliant.
Speaker 1: Can you remember how your agent described this role of
Speaker 1: Heather to you when you first heard about it.
Speaker 2: Well, look, I think my agent Souvenet, and she's amazing.
Speaker 2: She pretty much, you know, said this is a great fit,
Speaker 2: this is you, which you know obviously puts you on
Speaker 2: the pressure to get it. But she was right. I
Speaker 2: think she knows me well enough to go, yeah, you're
Speaker 2: going to get something. This is the one you're going
Speaker 2: to get.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Not that it was easy to play Heather, it was
Speaker 2: just that I wanted to explore her. I just thought,
Speaker 2: my god, we haven't seen this kind a woman on
Speaker 2: Australian TV. Let's do this.
Speaker 3: I know things haven't always been easy between us. I've
Speaker 3: never lied to you and I'm only going to ask
Speaker 3: you this once. Are you leaving me.
Speaker 2: For that blow? Quite sec it's just as he's jumping
Speaker 2: fences for you, You're an idiot. And then I had
Speaker 2: a chemistry test with Steven Peacock and that was easy.
Speaker 1: That's not hard.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that was really hard. Yeah, but he's also such
Speaker 2: a good actor, you know, and I think for him
Speaker 2: it's thrown him into a different ballpark as well. And
Speaker 2: we just love what, we love working with each other,
Speaker 2: and I think it shows. I think it shows on screen.
Speaker 1: Well, I think that all the five central characters could
Speaker 1: hold a series of their own. You know, did you
Speaker 1: feel like that?
Speaker 2: Well, that's why I think. You know, they sort of
Speaker 2: focus on one person having a storyline with each block,
Speaker 2: which we each episode. It's quite a lovely way to
Speaker 2: journey it through, I suppose. I mean with Offspring, it
Speaker 2: would have been exhausting for Asha to just run through
Speaker 2: a whole series, whereas this is sort of nice. You
Speaker 2: get a bit of a breather, but also it's a
Speaker 2: really lovely concept. But yeah, I absolutely agree. I think
Speaker 2: the strength of every actor holds her own. We don't.
Speaker 2: There's not a weak link in this series, and often
Speaker 2: you can find them. This was not what I'd imagined
Speaker 2: for my life.
Speaker 3: I mean, buying a family home, yes, but I'd imagine
Speaker 3: buying it with a family. I hadn't imagined my gay
Speaker 3: best friend, a pregnant woman, to middle aged nurse, or
Speaker 3: a tradee.
Speaker 2: But I just think, again, the casting is sensational and
Speaker 2: we're so different. Every character in this show is in
Speaker 2: like their own lane vocally, the way they deliver their
Speaker 2: dialogue physically even tonally. We're so different and I love
Speaker 2: that we stay in our lanes. And they've written the
Speaker 2: voices of these characters in such a way that it's
Speaker 2: easy to stay there, and you know, again credit to them.
Speaker 1: Do you get to suggest things with Heather? Like do
Speaker 1: you get to suggest where you would like to take
Speaker 1: the character?
Speaker 2: Absolutely? And that again, that's the wonderful thing about these writers.
Speaker 2: Christine mart that heavily writes for. She writes a lot
Speaker 2: of Heather's voice, and I will ring her And I
Speaker 2: could never ever do this in thirty five years of
Speaker 2: my career. I've never run the rite at home on
Speaker 2: the weekend said hey, what do you reckon? If you know?
Speaker 2: And she's like, that sounds great, maybe we can put that.
Speaker 2: You know. It's this sort of collaboration I've never had before.
Speaker 2: I didn't know it was possible. But because I'm so
Speaker 2: passionate about Heather on where she goes, there's nothing stopping me, Like,
Speaker 2: I just go. I don't care. I just want to
Speaker 2: get give you everything I can and feed this character
Speaker 2: as much as I can. You know, Christine's pretty much
Speaker 2: on the same page as me. She's got these great
Speaker 2: journeys for this character that I can't even create. And
Speaker 2: sometimes they do, but they will not sometimes tend to
Speaker 2: stay in our safe area what I can do, whereas
Speaker 2: they push us into areas we would never have thought about.
Speaker 2: And that's exciting. So you're always being stretched as an actor.
Speaker 2: I mean, some of the situations that put Heather in,
Speaker 2: I've never been in those situations, and so it's sort
Speaker 2: of pretty exciting to grab every script and go, Okay, Jesus,
Speaker 2: what has she done with me? This site? It was
Speaker 2: always going to be a car crash, but I mean,
Speaker 2: you managed to get out before impact. I'm still in
Speaker 2: the car. No you're not. You took a hit, but
Speaker 2: you got out. You did this to move forward with
Speaker 2: your life. But she never lets me down. And I
Speaker 2: love that I can ring them, and same with Michael.
Speaker 2: People just get on the phone or send them an
Speaker 2: email or you know, I mean, how lucky are we?
Speaker 2: It's ridiculous.
Speaker 1: I grub watching you on television and and for me,
Speaker 1: you kind of encapsulate the face of reason. You know,
Speaker 1: someone we all want in our lives, someone who can
Speaker 1: tell us the truth. But for some reason, in all
Speaker 1: of your characters, you seem to have this warmth, which
Speaker 1: I think. I think everyone who watches you, I remember
Speaker 1: I remember watching Heartbreak, the Heartbreak Kid, the film, Yeah,
Speaker 1: and I remember feeling that from you. I mean, is
Speaker 1: that what you're like in real life?
Speaker 3: Oh?
Speaker 2: Look, I'm a very. I'm obviously not a head, but
Speaker 2: I'm a very I suppose I. Look, I'm a bit
Speaker 2: of a carer. People worry me. I don't like people
Speaker 2: to fall down. I sort of prop people up a lot,
Speaker 2: and that's just part of my DNA. Maybe it's because
Speaker 2: I come from a really big Lebanese family and my
Speaker 2: parents who had very much instill that in us. They
Speaker 2: were bringing a lot of people out from Lebanon, they
Speaker 2: were staying in a house. My father was very much
Speaker 2: about looking out for people. I suppose I just have that. Also,
Speaker 2: I think I survive on my sense of humor, you know.
Speaker 2: I think it's sort of and I think for people
Speaker 2: it's quite refreshing. And also it's a relief when you
Speaker 2: can turn a situation that can be quite dire and
Speaker 2: find a comic swing. And I tend to do that
Speaker 2: when things are bad. I try to find the funny
Speaker 2: version of it, or funny side to uplift and maybe
Speaker 2: that I think that just resonates in my work. It
Speaker 2: just shows in my work. I think with Christine, she's
Speaker 2: allowed all of that to come through all together. With Heather,
Speaker 2: you know, also her vulnerability, which you know I've loved exploring,
Speaker 2: but also how Heather protects herself, and I think she
Speaker 2: uses humor a lot and sarcasm, you know, to protect
Speaker 2: how her she is. I think I probably do a
Speaker 2: little bit of that in my own life, and now
Speaker 2: I'm starting to I think it's I'm starting to see
Speaker 2: a lot of me and her in the sense that
Speaker 2: I'm finding that I operate the same way because it's
Speaker 2: I don't know, it's a safe place. I don't know,
Speaker 2: it's a weird thing. It's a weird thing. How well
Speaker 2: characters sort of make you stop and think about who
Speaker 2: you are and how you behave and how you respond.
Speaker 2: And it's interesting. I think Christine Butler and I very
Speaker 2: closely aligned as well. We tend to a difficult situation
Speaker 2: we find that they're humor in it, and I think
Speaker 2: Christine does that, and thank god she does, because it's
Speaker 2: right down my alley.
Speaker 1: I always find with your roles, though there's some nuances
Speaker 1: that you managed to put into your characters. And it's
Speaker 1: almost like and it's funny that I looked at this
Speaker 1: on IMDb yesterday and saw that you've even been in
Speaker 1: a film with Meryl Streep, you know, when she did
Speaker 1: Evil Angels back in Australia. Is that right? Did you work?
Speaker 1: Were you?
Speaker 2: Wead? Yeah? Yeah, But I wouldn't say, I mean, I
Speaker 2: think I was in the same film. I wouldn't say
Speaker 2: worked with her. I wish I had. No, I was
Speaker 2: just in it.
Speaker 1: Did you get to see her work though?
Speaker 2: No, definitely not. You don't get to see those people work. No,
Speaker 2: I didn't. I wish I had. I've certainly got to
Speaker 2: see other people work, like I mean, Sam Neil. I
Speaker 2: love working with Jeff we rush Off work with on
Speaker 2: the stage. So I've I've watched great actors work and
Speaker 2: been a part of it, and that's been amazing. But
Speaker 2: it's funny, you know, I don't ever think they don't
Speaker 2: influence me as an actor. You know, I'm not trying
Speaker 2: to be anyone else. I all I know is I
Speaker 2: can bring what I can bring and what's in me.
Speaker 2: And I think that's part of the problem with actors. Is,
Speaker 2: they're trying to be someone else. I am who I am.
Speaker 2: My comedy lies in a certain place, my drama does,
Speaker 2: and I don't want to change it because what I
Speaker 2: bring is something in a different I bring it differently,
Speaker 2: and I think for me, it's like when you watch
Speaker 2: al Pacino, he does al Pacino, he is, He doesn't
Speaker 2: veer that far away from the core of him. And
Speaker 2: I think when you start doing that, then you become
Speaker 2: sort of a sort of whitebread or just sort of
Speaker 2: a bit plain.
Speaker 1: When I read the book of Looking for Alla Brandy,
Speaker 1: which was written by Marlina Machette before it was made
Speaker 1: into a film, I read that book in nineteen ninety two,
Speaker 1: as you, Yeah, and I know, Paam Miranda went on
Speaker 1: and made that film that made that character our own.
Speaker 2: But I shouldn't say that I should have been in that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I read that book in I think I was
Speaker 1: in year seven when I read it. But I absolutely
Speaker 1: just envisioned you in that role for someone kid, I
Speaker 1: love you, and I pictured you sitting in the cafes,
Speaker 1: you know, drinking the cappuccinos and having a cigarette, and
Speaker 1: even the character's relationship with her estranged father. Everything with
Speaker 1: that I read that whole book as you. It was
Speaker 1: so strange. So it's such an honor to be talking
Speaker 1: to you today.
Speaker 2: Oh no, don't be silly. That's that's it's an honor
Speaker 2: for me to hear that, because the thing is that
Speaker 2: you know, as an actor, your auditioned for so many
Speaker 2: things that I just go, that's me, that's mine. So
Speaker 2: it's a really hard industry. You know, you get so
Speaker 2: many knockbacks. And I've got to say, you know, when
Speaker 2: you know, when Heather came along, part of me was going, Oh,
Speaker 2: they're not going to cast me. They just won't because
Speaker 2: I'm not that person. I'm not lucky enough, you know
Speaker 2: what I mean. So it wasn't that I doubted myself
Speaker 2: as an actor. I knew I had a but I
Speaker 2: just thought, something's not This one's going to hurt if
Speaker 2: I don't get it, and I knew it would it
Speaker 2: would stay with me, and thank god I did, because
Speaker 2: I don't know if I would have. Yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 2: And I know a lot of people that are auditions
Speaker 2: for Heather sent me messages and text saying you're NAILEDA
Speaker 2: And I thought, what a beautiful industry we're in. If
Speaker 2: actress who wanted that role as badly as I did
Speaker 2: can send me messages saying, just watched it, you deserved it,
Speaker 2: you blew it away, And I just thought, thank you
Speaker 2: so much because it's you know, because I've been in
Speaker 2: that situation where I've lost jobs and sent texas to
Speaker 2: people saying you're brilliant because you have to acknowledge when
Speaker 2: someone does land a role and they make it work.
Speaker 2: And I like that we have, you know, we kind
Speaker 2: of have each other's backs. I suppose, yeah, But I've
Speaker 2: missed out on many jobs, many many jobs, and I'm
Speaker 2: always the second fiddle. I'm always the support lead or
Speaker 2: you know what I mean, or a guest role. And
Speaker 2: for me for someone to believe in me, and these
Speaker 2: writers did, and Pete Templeman and Channel ten and Hoodlum
Speaker 2: and Nathan Mayfield to be able to say she's it
Speaker 2: for the first time in my career as a big
Speaker 2: that's that's really changed me.
Speaker 1: But even in your supporting roles, it's really quite fascinating
Speaker 1: because like with party Tricks or you know, everything, And
Speaker 1: I was reading online some of the comments on party
Speaker 1: Tricks yesterday when I was researching this interview, and so
Speaker 1: many people just were obsessed with you in that role.
Speaker 1: So whilst you have been in the background being a
Speaker 1: supportive actor, you've really been able to stand out in
Speaker 1: me serious, which I think is just amazing. How much
Speaker 1: do you want to tell stories of culture, obviously being
Speaker 1: a Lebanese lady yourself and wanting to you know, wanting
Speaker 1: to tell stories of culture, but then also wanting to
Speaker 1: play characters where that isn't the focus of the role.
Speaker 2: Well, the thing is, I mean, obviously I was born
Speaker 2: in Australia. My background is my background. I don't think
Speaker 2: we have to make a point of it. I think
Speaker 2: people identify with me purely because I am a Lebanese heritage,
Speaker 2: you know. I mean, I've certainly dabbled in I've played
Speaker 2: Arabic mums where I've spoken Arabic in film. I was
Speaker 2: in Combination m for m I mean, I've explored that
Speaker 2: part of me. But I am pretty much an Australian
Speaker 2: actor and I sort of want to be seen that way.
Speaker 2: I don't need to change my name. And again I
Speaker 2: think they've been really respectful with Heather, not not having
Speaker 2: to indicate or say, oh, you know all there's tub
Speaker 2: Bully on the table now because she's Lebanese or should
Speaker 2: should she have a kebab?
Speaker 1: Or do you know what I mean?
Speaker 2: All that sort of crap. I am who I am.
Speaker 2: I'm a trained actor and I have I've trained for
Speaker 2: five years. I've come up through the ranks. I don't
Speaker 2: think we need to draw attention to it. It's there.
Speaker 2: And again I love that, and that's part of the
Speaker 2: problem with with the whole multicultural thing. I am. I
Speaker 2: am a not a different background, but I do have
Speaker 2: a a Lebanese background, But you don't have to draw
Speaker 2: attention to it. There. It is there. I mean, my
Speaker 2: nose pretty much says it doesn't it Well.
Speaker 1: I think it was because I went to school at
Speaker 1: Doncaster High and Victoria like in Melbourne, and to be honest,
Speaker 1: you know, you looked more like everyone that I went
Speaker 1: to school with, you know, yeah, yeah, you know that
Speaker 1: was just the area of Doncaster and Templestow. So I mean,
Speaker 1: I just think of you as an Australian, you know.
Speaker 1: I don't see you as as anything else.
Speaker 2: No, and that's that's and that's how I've always wanted
Speaker 2: to be perceived. I basically want people say she's a
Speaker 2: good actor. I didn't want to say she's a good
Speaker 2: Elevenese actor because I'm a Levet Ease. I mean, I
Speaker 2: was born here, so do you know what I mean?
Speaker 2: It's the fact that, you know, I didn't want to
Speaker 2: draw attention to that. I'm very proud of my heritage.
Speaker 2: It's not that, it's just, you know, it's a hard
Speaker 2: industry to survive in. And now when you look at
Speaker 2: what's happening with the industry, we are culturally very diverse.
Speaker 2: It's starting to change, you know, the landscape is starting
Speaker 2: to change, which I love. It's taken a long time.
Speaker 2: I mean you think of the days back at Heartbreak High,
Speaker 2: for example, how culturally dynamic was that show and then
Speaker 2: it went away. I mean, Michael Jenkins, ben Gannon, they create,
Speaker 2: we had Spanish, Italian, lebaniese Asian, we had every procession
Speaker 2: and then it just vanished. You know. It was almost
Speaker 2: like it was too much. I don't know, but yet
Speaker 2: overseas people were raving about it.
Speaker 1: But it did reflect my time at school, like it
Speaker 1: was so weird that show when it turned up. There
Speaker 1: were so many characters on that show that we'd never
Speaker 1: seen before because we'd been missing out on that ethnicity.
Speaker 1: You know, it was so so bizarre. I mean they're
Speaker 1: bringing heartbreak high back. What sort of things would you
Speaker 1: like to see that show tackle? You know, in twenty
Speaker 1: twenty one.
Speaker 2: Look, I think they're going to tackle issues. I mean,
Speaker 2: I think there's so much more now that kids have
Speaker 2: got to deal with, especially and do you think of Instagram?
Speaker 2: You think of oh Jesus, even youth suicide, which freaks
Speaker 2: me out that it's as high as it is, but
Speaker 2: just that sort of bullying impact that we can now
Speaker 2: you know so many more people. I mean in our time,
Speaker 2: well not in your time, but in my time it
Speaker 2: was bullying in the playground. This is on social media.
Speaker 2: This is big and scary, and I think they've got
Speaker 2: a lot to deal with. And there's also their whole
Speaker 2: drug scene. There's you know, where do you go? I mean,
Speaker 2: do you do? I mean UNI is not even considered
Speaker 2: an option. Everyone's just going I want to be an influencer.
Speaker 2: You know, there's a lot more stuff that they've got
Speaker 2: to deal with. And also image, you know, it's up
Speaker 2: there now everywhere. You've got to look like this to succeed.
Speaker 2: It's like, thank God, I wasn't part of that. You know,
Speaker 2: I think I would have crumbled. I mean, Jesus, I
Speaker 2: would have had a nice job at the age of eighteen.
Speaker 1: I think, will you have a role in the reboot
Speaker 1: of No No?
Speaker 2: Look, I think it's it's taken a completely different turn.
Speaker 2: I look at them, and you know, I sort of
Speaker 2: don't need to. I've been there, done that with Heartbreak High.
Speaker 2: You know, it's a great series, and have I really
Speaker 2: and I know it'll be great. I think it'll and
Speaker 2: I've read bits of scripts and I thought, yeah, they're
Speaker 2: on the ball. It's going to be good. But it's
Speaker 2: not something I need to revisit. I'm in a part
Speaker 2: of my life now where I'm exploring. I've got Fred running,
Speaker 2: which is great. I've got five Bedrooms running, which I do.
Speaker 2: I'm in a pretty good play, and I like this material.
Speaker 2: I really couldn't be happier as an actor at the moment.
Speaker 2: And you think about second thirty five years for me
Speaker 2: to get to this point. So I feel kind of lucky,
Speaker 2: and it also makes me, you know, sad for those
Speaker 2: that don't ever get this opportunity. And then I waited
Speaker 2: this long and I didn't fall off the right You know,
Speaker 2: fall off the rails and just go look I'm going
Speaker 2: to and I almost did. I saw I can't correct this,
Speaker 2: And all I wanted was good scripts. All I wanted.
Speaker 2: It wasn't about I don't want fame, I don't want
Speaker 2: I don't want to be an influencer. All I wanted
Speaker 2: was to read scripts and go, yes, we're on. This
Speaker 2: is it, this is what I've been waiting for.
Speaker 1: It was interesting, though, like I was reading about the
Speaker 1: fact that, you know, when COVID hit, you moved into
Speaker 1: the house that they were filming the series, and it
Speaker 1: must have been so surreal to live on a set,
Speaker 1: you know, to live on the TV set that you'll
Speaker 1: be working on. You wouldn't know this. I did a
Speaker 1: reality show where I lived in a house and it
Speaker 1: was a set, and it was just such a surreal
Speaker 1: experience to have that being filmed there all the time.
Speaker 1: But the weird question I have for you about it
Speaker 1: was I was doing the research and I saw you
Speaker 1: on the project and I saw you talking, and you
Speaker 1: have so much to say, and I think, as an
Speaker 1: audience member, I have always wanted to know more from you.
Speaker 1: And then I was like, I wondered if you'd ever
Speaker 1: do anything like a reality show where we'd get to
Speaker 1: know you a little bit more, you know, and I
Speaker 1: know you're an actor, You're probably like, I couldn't think
Speaker 1: of anything worse.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'd never say never. Depends on the quality of
Speaker 2: it and who was doing it. I mean, yeah, I would.
Speaker 2: I mean, you know, I think I'm a big personality
Speaker 2: and I think I think I do relate to a
Speaker 2: lot of people because I am very grounded and down
Speaker 2: to earth, like this industry hasn't changed me at all.
Speaker 2: But I would definitely explore that part of me. And
Speaker 2: it might be the next phase, Like who knows, maybe
Speaker 2: I'll get tired of acting and learning lines and you know,
Speaker 2: I'm already struggling because they're giving me so much. But
Speaker 2: maybe that's the next thing. I mean I'd love to do.
Speaker 2: I mean, I think I have a natural sense of humor,
Speaker 2: like I have, and it's very much my own. I'd
Speaker 2: love to do something explore just the you know, the
Speaker 2: the reality version of that kind of thing where I'm
Speaker 2: just me. I don't have a problem with that as
Speaker 2: long as it's done well. So if you come up
Speaker 2: with something and you want me to do, just let
Speaker 2: me know.
Speaker 1: Well, my last question for you is the one question
Speaker 1: I ask all my guests on the show before they go,
Speaker 1: and that's what's an amazing story from behind the scenes.
Speaker 1: Have worked on five bedrooms that we as an audience
Speaker 1: might have missed out on something we didn't know, something
Speaker 1: from behind the scene.
Speaker 2: Oh okay. I mean when we hit COVID in series two,
Speaker 2: Ben and I were doing a scene which is quite
Speaker 2: an intimate scene and quite an emotionally explosive scene, and
Speaker 2: I remember Andy Walker, who was then running the show,
Speaker 2: came out on set halfway through the scene, called everybody
Speaker 2: outside and said we were stopping shooting. And it was
Speaker 2: like a death in the family. It was such a
Speaker 2: heavy moment, and I remember thinking, I have to finish
Speaker 2: shooting this scene. It was just one scene, and then
Speaker 2: we were going to call ramp on it, and I
Speaker 2: remember going outside of crying and I don't even know
Speaker 2: why I was crying. It was an emotional scene anyway,
Speaker 2: but then that on top of it, went outside and
Speaker 2: just started crying. And then Wolf, who is our camera operator,
Speaker 2: you know, dop, said listen, just get yourself together. You're
Speaker 2: not in any state that I can shoot your part.
Speaker 2: Of it. I'm going to turn around and shoot Stephen,
Speaker 2: and Steve said, yep, not a problem, shoot me because
Speaker 2: I just needed to collect myself and I just thought,
Speaker 2: what a beautiful thing. Rather than just say, okay, we're
Speaker 2: back on, we need to shoot her running behind, We've
Speaker 2: got to get this shot done. There was such a
Speaker 2: sensitivity about it that, you know what, that's what I'm
Speaker 2: saying to you. It was it's not just a show
Speaker 2: that we're also invested in this and this is crue
Speaker 2: and cast, but we and we all felt such a
Speaker 2: just a heaviness in that day that you know, and
Speaker 2: I always remember it. It was it was seriously like
Speaker 2: somebody had died and it was like, for a minute,
Speaker 2: the show and I just thought, when are we going
Speaker 2: to come back to this?
Speaker 1: And what's interesting about that is that these days there's
Speaker 1: so many modern families, like versions of families and things
Speaker 1: that we can community that we can feel connected to.
Speaker 1: And I think that one thing from doing this podcast
Speaker 1: and talking about behind the scenes of television is how
Speaker 1: in Australia these sets are so close and I think
Speaker 1: it has to be yeah, but that community is there,
Speaker 1: and then that's scene on screen, it's used in a
Speaker 1: way we get to enjoy it as well.
Speaker 2: Every interview I've ever had people have always said, there's
Speaker 2: something about this cast. You all look like you're best friends.
Speaker 2: And the thing is we are, and that's what's weird.
Speaker 2: And as I said, it never happens. I've had many
Speaker 2: opportunities where I wanted to create them have that it hasn't.
Speaker 2: This is the first time in my career that five
Speaker 2: people that are in a show together all of each
Speaker 2: other the same, that we have each other's backs, we
Speaker 2: would kill for each other, well protect each other, and
Speaker 2: we work together so beautifully. And every time we walk
Speaker 2: away from the show, we miss it. And then every
Speaker 2: time we come back it's like Christmas. It's just silly.
Speaker 2: It's silly.
Speaker 1: I feel like we're going to be in the audience
Speaker 1: of these characters for a while and it just keeps
Speaker 1: going on and we get to see the long forms.
Speaker 2: Thank you a lot, talking to you, are in a
Speaker 2: whine a bit special and now I can see your face. Yeah,
Speaker 2: stay safe, h