White Lotus star returns to TV with new Aussie drama
But it wasn't until The Neighbours star was cast in the third season of The White Lotus as resort worker Pam that people began to put two and two together.
Almost overnight, O'Reilly went from a 'where do I know you from?' level of fame to 'THAT'S how I know you!' fame — and her head is still spinning.
'For so long I have been an actor that people see in the street, and they say, 'How do I know you? Did we go to school together?'' O'Reilly explains.
'I'd get that a lot, and I would say something stupidly cryptic like, 'I am just deep in your subconscious.'
'But recently, it's changed and people know exactly what it is.'
It's been a big change to adjust to, but luckily for O'Reilly, her appearance on the Mike White juggernaut anthology series is just one of several projects that have kept her busy this past year, so she's had no time to dwell on it. Morgana O'Reilly with White Lotus co-stars Patrick Schwarzenegger, Natasha Rothwell and Leslie Bibb during a recent press trip to Sydney to promote that show. Credit: Scott Ehler / Max
Over a 12-month period, she's filmed The White Lotus in Thailand — 'that experience has ruined me for hotel travel forever,' she says of her deluxe stay at Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui — to appearing in a movie adaptation of her popular one-woman stage show, Stories About My Body, produced by her film-maker husband Peter Salmon.
'Then this came along, and I rolled along to Playing Gracie Darling,' she says of her latest project, which filmed earlier this year in New South Wales.
The series, which airs on Paramount Plus from August 14, is a premium six-hour scripted mystery drama produced by Curio Pictures (also behind The Narrow Road To The Deep North and The Artful Dodger) and it's already getting plenty of buzz.
Created and written by acclaimed writer and author Miranda Nation, it's directed by Jonathan Brough (Rosehaven), and brought to screens by Rachel Gardner and Jo Porter, who was behind the popular Aussie series, Wentworth. Morgana O'Reilly plays a child psychologist in Playing Gracie Darling. Credit: Ingvar Kenne/Curio Sarah Enticknap / Sarah Enticknap/Curio/Sony Pictures Television
It tells the story of Joni, played by O'Reilly. When she is 14, her best friend Gracie Darling disappears during a séance. Twenty-seven years later, local kids are in the midst of a game called Playing Gracie Darling when another young girl disappears in eerily similar circumstances. Joni, now a child psychologist, returns to the town to try to piece together what is happening and how it relates to the strange circumstances that played out all those years ago with her own friend.
'(Joni) can't help herself and she goes back under the guise of helping,' O'Reilly explains. 'But it brings the past back, and then she finds herself up against possibly losing her mind, possibly seeing apparitions, and she's in conflict with herself about what is real and what is not.'
As O'Reilly explains, Joni is a practical, rational person, 'so she is scrambling with using logic and reason to explain what is happening in her head'. Morgana O'Reilly and co-star Rudi Dharmalingam in a scene from the show. Credit: Ingvar Kenne / Ingvar Kenne/Curio/Sony Pictures Television
The series has dark undertones, a gripping mystery, and will feel wonderfully nostalgic for anyone who grew up in the 1990s playing with Ouija boards at sleepovers, or watching supernatural cult film The Craft on VHS.
'I was 12 or 13 when (that) finally made its way down this end to New Zealand,' O'Reilly says. 'Me and my friends were all about the spirit world and following a cup on a board.'
Turns out she's not the only one. Series writer and creator Nation says she was 'obsessed' with séances when she was 14.
'My best friends and I did them every chance we could,' she explains.
'Each one of us was struggling with personal trauma, but we couldn't talk about this stuff, we didn't have the emotional tools.
'Instead, we disappeared into this thrilling game where, by testing the limits of the known, we could push the boundaries and say and do things that were otherwise taboo. These intense and sensual experiences, of connection with the otherworld or collective female hypnosis, have stayed with me forever.'
O'Reilly knew she wanted to be involved with the show after devouring early scripts.
'I am a really slow reader — I'm a bit dyslexic, though I love to read — and it takes me a while to get through things, but I inhaled (the scripts) because they were so compelling, and broody, and visual,' she says.
'Miranda Nation is amazing, and has actually just written an incredible novel, which I have just read. It's called New Skin and it's really f...ing brilliant.
'She knows how to write a really beautiful yarn, and how to create these female characters that are really antithetical and interesting; layered, fallible and glorious.'
At the heart of Playing Gracie Darling is the relationships between women, especially between mothers and daughters. O'Reilly, mother to primary school-aged Ziggy and Luna, was thrilled when producers procured acclaimed Succession actor Dame Harriet Walter to play Joni's mother. Morgana O'Reilly and Dame Harriet Walter star in Playing Gracie Darling. Credit: Isabella Elordi / Isabella Elordi/Curio/Sony Pictures Television
'She wasn't attached from the start and they said, 'Do you have any thoughts on who could play your mum?'' she explains. 'I offered some ideas, and I remember when I found out, thinking she was next level.'
O'Reilly loved the storylines she shared with the award-winning performer and the underlying story of her character's relationship with the women in her life.
'I feel like that is a big 'why' for me,' she says. 'For me, I always need to walk away from a series or a show, going 'What are you trying to say about the world?'
'It's not good enough to take me on a crazy ride; it needs to have, for want of a better word, a moral, or a comment, something.'
O'Reilly is currently filming a new TV project in New Zealand, and her film will make its way to screens soon.
'It's the dream; just so, so wonderful,' she says of her recent purple patch.
'I'm just so glad to be doing all this.' Morgana O'Reilly will appear in Playing Gracie Darling on Paramount Plus. Credit: Nicholas Wilson
Playing Gracie Darling premieres on Paramount Plus on August 14
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The Advertiser
10 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Spooky new Aussie mystery will have you hooked
A little spooky, a little mysterious and a lot of intrigue - Playing Gracie Darling is the next Aussie show to have you hooked. We open with a group of teens playing with a ouija board in a dark old shack. They seem to be conversing with a spirit of some sort, before one of them starts seizing. Cut to 30 years later, and those teens have grown up. Well, all except one, who's been missing since 1994 - Gracie Darling. Joni (Morgana O'Reilly, The White Lotus) is now a child psychologist, and she's called back to her old hometown when another Darling girl goes missing. She speaks with a girl who was with the missing Darling that night, and finds out they had been 'playing Gracie Darling' - a Talk To Me-esque game where local bored teens attempt to summon the spirit of the missing teenager from three decades ago. Coming back into town brings up a lot of memories for Joni, especially when she's around all her old friends, including Jay (Rudi Dharmalingam), who is now a police officer. The show is well-acted, well-paced and has a solid heaping of intrigue to keep you on your toes and desperate to get to the next episode. You'll also spend each episode wondering if this show is actually supernatural or if the paranormal activity is all in their heads? The cast also includes Harriet Walter, Celia Pacquola, Annie Maynard and Dan Spielman. Like The Last Anniversary, Playing Gracie Darling is also set around the Hawkesbury River, which is turning into quite the filming destination for Aussie TV. Netflix's altogether ookiest show is back with the return of Jenna Ortega's Wednesday. Four episodes have been released, constituting the first half of the second season; the rest is set to drop on September 3. This time around Wednesday's younger brother Pugsley (a significantly taller Isaac Ordonez) is joining her at Nevermore Academy, and parents Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Gomez (Luis Guzman) are sticking around too. There's several new faces this year, starting with Principal Dort (a spritely Steve Buscemi), Wednesday superfan Agnes (an impressive Evie Templeton), new music teacher Miss Capri (Billie Piper) and Grandmama (a delightful Joanna Lumley). There's also plenty of appearances from familiar faces like Christopher Lloyd (who was Fester Addams in the 90s), Thandiwe Newton, Heather Matarazzo, Anthony Michael Hall, Haley Joel Osment and Frances O'Connor. While this season still has plenty of panache and the casting and performances are all perfect (especially Fred Armisen as Fester, who is the high point of this first half of the season), Wednesday is suffering from a style-over-substance issue. Perhaps because we only get part of the season, the narrative feels much weaker than it did in the show's dynamic debut, and some storylines seem to distract from rather than flesh out the core plot. There's nothing here that's as instantly iconic as Wednesday's season one dance sequence, but there are fun sequences still. One of the best moments of this half season is Miss Capri and Morticia's beautiful campfire duet of Bad Moon Rising. If you've seen Den of Thieves 2: Pantera, then you basically already know this story. The crime drama lifted liberally from the details of this real-life heist for its lacklustre sequel, but reality is more interesting than fiction here. This doco covers the heist of at least $100 million worth of diamonds and other valuables from the diamond district in Antwerp in 2003. It's a fascinating case, told through unobtrusive reenactments and interviews with police who investigated the case, and even one of the criminals involved. As much a study of the crime itself as a character piece on one of the Italian men behind the heist (it is fascinating to watch him edit the story in real time to make himself less complicit), Stolen: Heist of the Century is a great way to pass an hour and a half. It's genuinely hard to believe this crime, which feels highly cinematic in nature, was actually commited. Outlander fans rejoice! The beloved epic romance series' spin-off Blood of My Blood has arrived on Stan. The series serves as a prequel to Jamie and Claire's story, and follows their respective parents' love stories. Episodes are dropping weekly. AppleTV+'s comedy series with Seth Rogen and Aussie Rose Byrne, Platonic, is back for season two, with episodes arriving weekly. In the mood for some Spanish black comedy? HBO Max has Rage, a show following five middle-aged women reaching their limits. Over on Prime Video you'll find a new buddy (kinda) cop comedy, The Pickup with Eddie Murphy and Pete Davidson. A little spooky, a little mysterious and a lot of intrigue - Playing Gracie Darling is the next Aussie show to have you hooked. We open with a group of teens playing with a ouija board in a dark old shack. They seem to be conversing with a spirit of some sort, before one of them starts seizing. Cut to 30 years later, and those teens have grown up. Well, all except one, who's been missing since 1994 - Gracie Darling. Joni (Morgana O'Reilly, The White Lotus) is now a child psychologist, and she's called back to her old hometown when another Darling girl goes missing. She speaks with a girl who was with the missing Darling that night, and finds out they had been 'playing Gracie Darling' - a Talk To Me-esque game where local bored teens attempt to summon the spirit of the missing teenager from three decades ago. Coming back into town brings up a lot of memories for Joni, especially when she's around all her old friends, including Jay (Rudi Dharmalingam), who is now a police officer. The show is well-acted, well-paced and has a solid heaping of intrigue to keep you on your toes and desperate to get to the next episode. You'll also spend each episode wondering if this show is actually supernatural or if the paranormal activity is all in their heads? The cast also includes Harriet Walter, Celia Pacquola, Annie Maynard and Dan Spielman. Like The Last Anniversary, Playing Gracie Darling is also set around the Hawkesbury River, which is turning into quite the filming destination for Aussie TV. Netflix's altogether ookiest show is back with the return of Jenna Ortega's Wednesday. Four episodes have been released, constituting the first half of the second season; the rest is set to drop on September 3. This time around Wednesday's younger brother Pugsley (a significantly taller Isaac Ordonez) is joining her at Nevermore Academy, and parents Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Gomez (Luis Guzman) are sticking around too. There's several new faces this year, starting with Principal Dort (a spritely Steve Buscemi), Wednesday superfan Agnes (an impressive Evie Templeton), new music teacher Miss Capri (Billie Piper) and Grandmama (a delightful Joanna Lumley). There's also plenty of appearances from familiar faces like Christopher Lloyd (who was Fester Addams in the 90s), Thandiwe Newton, Heather Matarazzo, Anthony Michael Hall, Haley Joel Osment and Frances O'Connor. While this season still has plenty of panache and the casting and performances are all perfect (especially Fred Armisen as Fester, who is the high point of this first half of the season), Wednesday is suffering from a style-over-substance issue. Perhaps because we only get part of the season, the narrative feels much weaker than it did in the show's dynamic debut, and some storylines seem to distract from rather than flesh out the core plot. There's nothing here that's as instantly iconic as Wednesday's season one dance sequence, but there are fun sequences still. One of the best moments of this half season is Miss Capri and Morticia's beautiful campfire duet of Bad Moon Rising. If you've seen Den of Thieves 2: Pantera, then you basically already know this story. The crime drama lifted liberally from the details of this real-life heist for its lacklustre sequel, but reality is more interesting than fiction here. This doco covers the heist of at least $100 million worth of diamonds and other valuables from the diamond district in Antwerp in 2003. It's a fascinating case, told through unobtrusive reenactments and interviews with police who investigated the case, and even one of the criminals involved. As much a study of the crime itself as a character piece on one of the Italian men behind the heist (it is fascinating to watch him edit the story in real time to make himself less complicit), Stolen: Heist of the Century is a great way to pass an hour and a half. It's genuinely hard to believe this crime, which feels highly cinematic in nature, was actually commited. Outlander fans rejoice! The beloved epic romance series' spin-off Blood of My Blood has arrived on Stan. The series serves as a prequel to Jamie and Claire's story, and follows their respective parents' love stories. Episodes are dropping weekly. AppleTV+'s comedy series with Seth Rogen and Aussie Rose Byrne, Platonic, is back for season two, with episodes arriving weekly. In the mood for some Spanish black comedy? HBO Max has Rage, a show following five middle-aged women reaching their limits. Over on Prime Video you'll find a new buddy (kinda) cop comedy, The Pickup with Eddie Murphy and Pete Davidson. A little spooky, a little mysterious and a lot of intrigue - Playing Gracie Darling is the next Aussie show to have you hooked. We open with a group of teens playing with a ouija board in a dark old shack. They seem to be conversing with a spirit of some sort, before one of them starts seizing. Cut to 30 years later, and those teens have grown up. Well, all except one, who's been missing since 1994 - Gracie Darling. Joni (Morgana O'Reilly, The White Lotus) is now a child psychologist, and she's called back to her old hometown when another Darling girl goes missing. She speaks with a girl who was with the missing Darling that night, and finds out they had been 'playing Gracie Darling' - a Talk To Me-esque game where local bored teens attempt to summon the spirit of the missing teenager from three decades ago. Coming back into town brings up a lot of memories for Joni, especially when she's around all her old friends, including Jay (Rudi Dharmalingam), who is now a police officer. The show is well-acted, well-paced and has a solid heaping of intrigue to keep you on your toes and desperate to get to the next episode. You'll also spend each episode wondering if this show is actually supernatural or if the paranormal activity is all in their heads? The cast also includes Harriet Walter, Celia Pacquola, Annie Maynard and Dan Spielman. Like The Last Anniversary, Playing Gracie Darling is also set around the Hawkesbury River, which is turning into quite the filming destination for Aussie TV. Netflix's altogether ookiest show is back with the return of Jenna Ortega's Wednesday. Four episodes have been released, constituting the first half of the second season; the rest is set to drop on September 3. This time around Wednesday's younger brother Pugsley (a significantly taller Isaac Ordonez) is joining her at Nevermore Academy, and parents Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Gomez (Luis Guzman) are sticking around too. There's several new faces this year, starting with Principal Dort (a spritely Steve Buscemi), Wednesday superfan Agnes (an impressive Evie Templeton), new music teacher Miss Capri (Billie Piper) and Grandmama (a delightful Joanna Lumley). There's also plenty of appearances from familiar faces like Christopher Lloyd (who was Fester Addams in the 90s), Thandiwe Newton, Heather Matarazzo, Anthony Michael Hall, Haley Joel Osment and Frances O'Connor. While this season still has plenty of panache and the casting and performances are all perfect (especially Fred Armisen as Fester, who is the high point of this first half of the season), Wednesday is suffering from a style-over-substance issue. Perhaps because we only get part of the season, the narrative feels much weaker than it did in the show's dynamic debut, and some storylines seem to distract from rather than flesh out the core plot. There's nothing here that's as instantly iconic as Wednesday's season one dance sequence, but there are fun sequences still. One of the best moments of this half season is Miss Capri and Morticia's beautiful campfire duet of Bad Moon Rising. If you've seen Den of Thieves 2: Pantera, then you basically already know this story. The crime drama lifted liberally from the details of this real-life heist for its lacklustre sequel, but reality is more interesting than fiction here. This doco covers the heist of at least $100 million worth of diamonds and other valuables from the diamond district in Antwerp in 2003. It's a fascinating case, told through unobtrusive reenactments and interviews with police who investigated the case, and even one of the criminals involved. As much a study of the crime itself as a character piece on one of the Italian men behind the heist (it is fascinating to watch him edit the story in real time to make himself less complicit), Stolen: Heist of the Century is a great way to pass an hour and a half. It's genuinely hard to believe this crime, which feels highly cinematic in nature, was actually commited. Outlander fans rejoice! The beloved epic romance series' spin-off Blood of My Blood has arrived on Stan. The series serves as a prequel to Jamie and Claire's story, and follows their respective parents' love stories. Episodes are dropping weekly. AppleTV+'s comedy series with Seth Rogen and Aussie Rose Byrne, Platonic, is back for season two, with episodes arriving weekly. In the mood for some Spanish black comedy? HBO Max has Rage, a show following five middle-aged women reaching their limits. Over on Prime Video you'll find a new buddy (kinda) cop comedy, The Pickup with Eddie Murphy and Pete Davidson. A little spooky, a little mysterious and a lot of intrigue - Playing Gracie Darling is the next Aussie show to have you hooked. We open with a group of teens playing with a ouija board in a dark old shack. They seem to be conversing with a spirit of some sort, before one of them starts seizing. Cut to 30 years later, and those teens have grown up. Well, all except one, who's been missing since 1994 - Gracie Darling. Joni (Morgana O'Reilly, The White Lotus) is now a child psychologist, and she's called back to her old hometown when another Darling girl goes missing. She speaks with a girl who was with the missing Darling that night, and finds out they had been 'playing Gracie Darling' - a Talk To Me-esque game where local bored teens attempt to summon the spirit of the missing teenager from three decades ago. Coming back into town brings up a lot of memories for Joni, especially when she's around all her old friends, including Jay (Rudi Dharmalingam), who is now a police officer. The show is well-acted, well-paced and has a solid heaping of intrigue to keep you on your toes and desperate to get to the next episode. You'll also spend each episode wondering if this show is actually supernatural or if the paranormal activity is all in their heads? The cast also includes Harriet Walter, Celia Pacquola, Annie Maynard and Dan Spielman. Like The Last Anniversary, Playing Gracie Darling is also set around the Hawkesbury River, which is turning into quite the filming destination for Aussie TV. Netflix's altogether ookiest show is back with the return of Jenna Ortega's Wednesday. Four episodes have been released, constituting the first half of the second season; the rest is set to drop on September 3. This time around Wednesday's younger brother Pugsley (a significantly taller Isaac Ordonez) is joining her at Nevermore Academy, and parents Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Gomez (Luis Guzman) are sticking around too. There's several new faces this year, starting with Principal Dort (a spritely Steve Buscemi), Wednesday superfan Agnes (an impressive Evie Templeton), new music teacher Miss Capri (Billie Piper) and Grandmama (a delightful Joanna Lumley). There's also plenty of appearances from familiar faces like Christopher Lloyd (who was Fester Addams in the 90s), Thandiwe Newton, Heather Matarazzo, Anthony Michael Hall, Haley Joel Osment and Frances O'Connor. While this season still has plenty of panache and the casting and performances are all perfect (especially Fred Armisen as Fester, who is the high point of this first half of the season), Wednesday is suffering from a style-over-substance issue. Perhaps because we only get part of the season, the narrative feels much weaker than it did in the show's dynamic debut, and some storylines seem to distract from rather than flesh out the core plot. There's nothing here that's as instantly iconic as Wednesday's season one dance sequence, but there are fun sequences still. One of the best moments of this half season is Miss Capri and Morticia's beautiful campfire duet of Bad Moon Rising. If you've seen Den of Thieves 2: Pantera, then you basically already know this story. The crime drama lifted liberally from the details of this real-life heist for its lacklustre sequel, but reality is more interesting than fiction here. This doco covers the heist of at least $100 million worth of diamonds and other valuables from the diamond district in Antwerp in 2003. It's a fascinating case, told through unobtrusive reenactments and interviews with police who investigated the case, and even one of the criminals involved. As much a study of the crime itself as a character piece on one of the Italian men behind the heist (it is fascinating to watch him edit the story in real time to make himself less complicit), Stolen: Heist of the Century is a great way to pass an hour and a half. It's genuinely hard to believe this crime, which feels highly cinematic in nature, was actually commited. Outlander fans rejoice! The beloved epic romance series' spin-off Blood of My Blood has arrived on Stan. The series serves as a prequel to Jamie and Claire's story, and follows their respective parents' love stories. Episodes are dropping weekly. AppleTV+'s comedy series with Seth Rogen and Aussie Rose Byrne, Platonic, is back for season two, with episodes arriving weekly. In the mood for some Spanish black comedy? HBO Max has Rage, a show following five middle-aged women reaching their limits. Over on Prime Video you'll find a new buddy (kinda) cop comedy, The Pickup with Eddie Murphy and Pete Davidson.
The Age
a day ago
- The Age
Growing up is the real nightmare in Pete Davidson's schlocky horror show
THE HOME ★★½ (R) 97 minutes. Horror movies tend to be aimed at young people, so it makes sense that an entire subgenre has sprung up focused on the ickiness of getting old (even The Substance has some of this, though the message is supposed to be the opposite). The senior citizens in these films may be villains or victims, but either way, they're presented as physically repulsive: feeble-minded, shrivelled up and falling apart. Effectively, they're living corpses – and should they possess any sort of vestigial sex drive, we're invited to view this as the worst horror of all. James DeMonaco's crude, though not wholly ineffective, The Home starts out straightforwardly in this dubious vein – and never entirely veers off course, although DeMonaco, best known for the similarly grisly Purge films, has a couple of surprises in store if we haven't seen the spoiler-heavy trailer. Squarely in the Generation X demographic, DeMonaco is no newly hatched prodigy. Neither is the film's star Pete Davidson, who spent most of his 20s on Saturday Night Live. Still, at 30 or thereabouts, Davidson retains his lumbering adolescent sullenness as Max, a Staten Island graffiti artist sentenced to four months of community service as caretaker of the isolated Green Meadow retirement home, an oppressive brick fortress with shadowy corridors and officious staff. Decay is omnipresent, even setting aside whatever might be happening on the fourth floor, officially off-limits where Max is concerned. Small wonder he has recurring nightmares, some of them linked to the loss of his beloved older foster brother Luke (Matthew Miniero), a trauma dating to childhood.
Sydney Morning Herald
a day ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Growing up is the real nightmare in Pete Davidson's schlocky horror show
THE HOME ★★½ (R) 97 minutes. Horror movies tend to be aimed at young people, so it makes sense that an entire subgenre has sprung up focused on the ickiness of getting old (even The Substance has some of this, though the message is supposed to be the opposite). The senior citizens in these films may be villains or victims, but either way, they're presented as physically repulsive: feeble-minded, shrivelled up and falling apart. Effectively, they're living corpses – and should they possess any sort of vestigial sex drive, we're invited to view this as the worst horror of all. James DeMonaco's crude, though not wholly ineffective, The Home starts out straightforwardly in this dubious vein – and never entirely veers off course, although DeMonaco, best known for the similarly grisly Purge films, has a couple of surprises in store if we haven't seen the spoiler-heavy trailer. Squarely in the Generation X demographic, DeMonaco is no newly hatched prodigy. Neither is the film's star Pete Davidson, who spent most of his 20s on Saturday Night Live. Still, at 30 or thereabouts, Davidson retains his lumbering adolescent sullenness as Max, a Staten Island graffiti artist sentenced to four months of community service as caretaker of the isolated Green Meadow retirement home, an oppressive brick fortress with shadowy corridors and officious staff. Decay is omnipresent, even setting aside whatever might be happening on the fourth floor, officially off-limits where Max is concerned. Small wonder he has recurring nightmares, some of them linked to the loss of his beloved older foster brother Luke (Matthew Miniero), a trauma dating to childhood.
