The unique moment she and her husband Luke Mitchell learned will be to walk into the shoes of a legendary Hollywood heroine, is discussed by former Home And Away favourite Rebecca Breeds.
You recently shared the eight-year anniversary of your wedding with fellow Australian actor and alum Luke Mitchell of Home And Away. Is it nice to be able to share so thoroughly with each other in your work life?
In this business, it really helps to share such great experiences. We love each other, of course, but we don’t chat all the time about jobs. We know how to chill out and do a puzzle and watch a movie. Not all are we just sitting here, practising lines [laughs] together.
And you’re back in Los Angeles. Do you think both of you will be back in Australia this year?
The golden question is that. Sydney is home, we still want to come home, and Australia is where we ultimately want to be, but right now we are on this journey. We just have this wave to navigate to see where it takes us.
For COVID and flight, there’s a lot up in the air, and we have to wait and see. This year, we think we can get home sometime.
I am in awe of what [on Home And Away] the Seven Network is capable of doing, and what they will build in the time they have. They are doing an excellent job and I have full admiration for them. In terms of day-to-day life on set, it’s not that different.
You are learning your lines, you are showing up at work, and you are giving it your best. That’s what I was doing at Home And Away [for the four years I played Ruby Buckton] and that’s what I’m doing now. With respect and a chance to learn and get better, you handle each job.
In the title role of Clarice Starling, the iconic heroine from the Thomas Harris novels and the 1991 film The Silence Of The Lambs, and Hannibal’s 2001 sequel, Clarice sees you in your latest TV series. What does it sound like?
It looks terrific. I’m really curious for the premiere. I am pleased that everyone will be able to see what we have achieved. It’s crazy busy with my schedule, and my weekends are like gold dust.
It is precious every moment that I get to relax in my robe on my sofa and just chill out. Yet there’s such a sense of accomplishment walking home at 2am at the end of a 16-hour day. I really can’t wipe my face off with that grin, dreaming about what we’re doing. It’s worth starting every 5am, and ending every 4am. All is worth it.
When you found out that you had the job, what did you do?
Luke was still waiting to find out about a part [he later landed a huge role in The Republic Of Sarah’s upcoming series] and we were both excited. We didn’t know what to do with ourselves, so we drove to see the ocean in Malibu and sat down for lunch.
The waiter came over to ask us what we wanted to drink, and we knew that in the next hour we were going to find out [if I had the role], so it was either going to be champagne… or [laughs] vodka. So we went, “For now, just water.” We got the call and, thank Goodness, we ordered champagne. It was a glimpse of magic.
The programme takes place a year after the events that saw the serial killer Buffalo Bill being trapped in The Silence Of The Lambs. In the novel, Clarice was played by Jodie Foster, and in Hannibal, by Julianne Moore. Are you ready for the similarities that are inevitable?
I am just so excited to continue hearing Clarice’s story and to discover who she is. Jodie, Julianne and I are so fortunate to have a new character written by Thomas Harris-even now, Clarice feels modern. She’s one of the greatest written characters in the world of literature and cinema.
She’s ahead of her period like that. In filmmaking and narrative, she totally breaks the stereotype of what we’re used to seeing our characters do and be. We are all so fortunate to have such a great base on which to build.
Having a lead character as a woman in law enforcement is still pretty rare, isn’t it?
What I really enjoy about this story and this character is that to be taken seriously, she must work 10 times as hard as all the guys. But at the end of the day, what is it that makes
She is so smart that what she does, despite being a woman, is not that she is a woman.
Owing to the success of the characters, there’s a lot of excitement about the film. Are you jittery?
To this, I’m not scared. And I don’t feel as much anxiety as I feel proud to be a part of it. I feel as if I’m ready. I feel excited for this story to be told.
Since 2013, you’ve been working in the US, but do you still have “Wow, look where I am” moments, especially on this show?
All the same, Luke and I poke ourselves. I share my gratitude every day as I drive to work. I’m not sorry for this work, the crew and the cast and the extremely compassionate producers. There’s no day that goes by.
I recognise that hindsight is a beautiful thing and you need a certain amount of time and space to truly understand the significance of some events in your life. That’s one moment, I think.
Clarice’s Stan premieres this Friday.
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