Simone Kessell: Acting at home and abroad...

Simone Kessell first appeared on screen playing Hannah Tumai on short-lived soap Homeward Bound. She acted in both Hercules and Xena before being cast as a TV journalist on Cover Story, and as the lead in period drama Greenstone. Kessell has worked in both America and Australia, and appeared in Aussie dramas Underbelly and Wonderland.

In this ScreenTalk, Kessell talks about:

• Learning an Australian accent to play a Māori role on Homeward Bound
• Getting a role on Cover Story when only 18 years old
• Having to find a ‘fake’ way to cry on set 
• Having issues with her character in period drama Greenstone 
• Being proud of the part she played in series two of Underbelly
• Becoming a ‘kickass’ soldier fighting dinosaurs on Terra Nova
• Feeling devastated after being shot in the head on set
• Rehearsing in 40 degree heat for time travel tale The Lovers 
• Playing a hooker with a heart of gold in Aussie drama Wonderland

This video was first uploaded on 20 October 2014, and is available under this Creative Commons licence. This licence is limited to use of ScreenTalk interview footage only and does not apply to any video content and photographs from films, television, music videos, web series and commercials used in the interview.

Interview, Camera and Editing – Andrew Whiteside