Simone Kessell: Acting at home and abroad...

Interview – 2014

Simone Kessell first appeared on-screen playing teenager Hannah Tumai on short-lived soap Homeward Bound. She acted in Hercules before being cast as a TV journalist on Cover Story, and starring in period drama Greenstone. Kessell has worked in both America and Australia, and appeared in Aussie TV 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 she was only 18
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 American series Terra Nova
Feeling devastated after her character was shot in the head
Rehearsing in 40 degree heat for time travel tale The Lovers
Playing a hooker with a heart of gold in Aussie TV 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

I played a British governess ... We rehearsed solidly for three weeks in full costume in the jungle, in like 42 degrees heat, because he said [director Roland Joffé] 'when we get to India it will be like that, and you have to prepare yourself'. So we would have corsets, layers. The men were in woollen coats.
– Simone Kessell on 2015 movie The Lovers