3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Advertiser
'It fills my cup': there's no place like home for Teresa Palmer
It's not surprising that Teresa Palmer agreed to work on an Australian television series that explores themes of motherhood, marriage, friendship and identity.
Palmer, an Australian actor whose credits include Ride Like A Girl, Warm Bodies, Hacksaw Ridge, Lights Out, The Fall Guy, The Clearing and Mix Tape, loves working on Australian productions. She loves Australian screenwriters and directors. She's pregnant with her fifth child, and she co-hosts a podcast (The Mother Daze) that talks about motherhood, marriage, friendship and identity (among other things).
Her latest project, The Family Next Door, is a female-forward story led by Palmer alongside Bella Heathcote (The Moogai, Pieces of Her), Philippa Northeast (Territory, The Newsreader), Ming-Zhu Hii (Prosper, La Brea) and Jane Harber (Offspring, In Limbo).
It's peak holiday season in the popular seaside town of Osprey Point when a stranger, Isabelle (Palmer) rents a family home in a quiet cul-de-sac. As she charms her way into her neighbours' homes and lives, she finds out that everyone at Pleasant Court has something to hide, and, in her relentless quest for truth, she pulls the rug from under this seemingly harmonious beachside community.
Based on bestselling Australian author Sally Hepworth's novel of the same name, The Family Next Door is a mystery that blends drama and humour while exploring family dynamics through the unique lens of award-winning screenwriter Sarah Scheller (Strife, The Letdown) and Emma Freeman's (The Newsreader, Interview with the Vampire) character-driven directorial skills.
In the real world, Palmer is down-to-earth and kind. Content. A deep thinker who speaks with warmth and laughs easily.
She has a firm grasp on who she is, what she wants, and where she wants to be in life. Living in Byron Bay and working in Australia suits her just fine, at least for now.
"I love this show," she says. "Sometimes it is difficult for me to be objective, to rip myself out of it and see it as an audience member, but this one I was able to watch in a way that none of the usual self-critique was coming in.
"I could just enjoy the show, and that, to me, is a sign of Emma Freeman working her magic."
The acting, too, is magic; the darkly funny neurotic edge to Heathcote's character, for example. And the way it is filmed captures the essence of a laidback Australian coastal town, transporting the viewer to that hot, bushfire-prone summer of 2019-20. You can hear the cicadas and almost smell the smoke in the air.
"You tend to elevate each other when you're in a scene with someone and they're bringing their absolute best work. You can't help but try to dig as deep as possible," Palmer says.
"Everyone is working collectively to elevate it, to ground these characters in colours and nuance, and it was really exciting to work with a group of actors who all felt the same way."
Some scenes were filmed at Hepworth's favourite local cafe and beach, bringing her book to life in more ways than one.
"I loved that, and what it meant for her to be able to shoot it in that way," Palmer says.
"Often when you have a book and it's turned into a TV adaptation, the book isn't folded in so much. They just take it and run with it. But Sally was really folded into this process, and her opinions and ideas really mattered, and that was just another beautiful part of bringing this story to life.
"You know, I can't help but come back home and work here. The quality of the storytelling is next level, and working with Australian crews, there's such familiarity there. It just fills my cup.
"And it's a win-win situation - getting to be in the country that I love, working here, and then seeing a lot of these shows getting picked up for America and the UK. I'm proud to help the Australian film industry because that's where I started."
Living permanently in Australia also "works" for her family.
"My children are getting older now. We were the travelling circus; we'd live in Wales and shoot something for three years and then move to America and shoot something there, and then go to England and Europe," Palmer says.
"But I had a yearning for them to have the experience that I had growing up in Adelaide, of going to school and having regular friends and being part of the basketball team or the AFL team, grounding them, rooting them, in one place. And for us, that place was Australia.
"If we can be based in Australia and I can still work relatively locally, that's what works for our family. That's not to say we won't go back to America, but this has been a really important choice that we have made for the family."
Talking about her movie roles to date, Palmer says her favourite is the 2021 psychological thriller Berlin Syndrome, directed by Australian screenwriter Cate Shortland.
"It was one of the best experiences I've ever had in my career. We would sit together, me, Max [Riemelt] and Cate, and talk about our comfort zones and what we wanted the film to be, and we talked about our own history, our own desires ... we brought everything into it," she says.
"All those hours and hours of discussions, we weaved them into the script, and it made for such a good movie."
What about Lights Out, the 2016 supernatural horror made on a budget of $US4.9 million that grossed close to $US150 million at the box office?
"You have no idea when you're acting in it how they're going to do the special effects, and how the creature is going to look, but it was really well done in this movie," Palmer says.
"But also, at the heart of that one was a family drama. We were talking about mental health, and it was scarier, more heightened, because at the core of it was this believable family dynamic."
And her most challenging acting experience? Restraint (2008), an Australian movie co-starring Travis Fimmel.
"It was one of my earliest movies, and I was so in over my head," she says.
"I didn't really know how to act yet, I was young and impressionable, and I felt really lost. I remember going home every night and crying, thinking, 'Don't mess this up Teresa, this is your dream'. And then you go from job to job to job, and you get better and better. My peers were my acting school, I learnt on the job.
"Watching it now, I wish I could just reach through and grab the younger me and go, 'Guess what, it's going to get easier and better, and trust your instincts, you're doing great!'. I want to comfort that younger me."
Her other most challenging role is also her most rewarding: juggling motherhood and a successful acting career.
"I used to think motherhood could stall or end a career. I had this general misconception because it was a narrative fed to me years ago, before I had kids. I was told you get to be one or the other," Palmer says.
"But to have these experiences in parallel, and in tandem, has really proven otherwise. I have been able to work and feel creatively and intellectually stimulated from my work, and also get to be a very present, hands-on mother, which was my other great desire.
"It turns out I didn't have to choose one over the other."
It's not surprising that Teresa Palmer agreed to work on an Australian television series that explores themes of motherhood, marriage, friendship and identity.
Palmer, an Australian actor whose credits include Ride Like A Girl, Warm Bodies, Hacksaw Ridge, Lights Out, The Fall Guy, The Clearing and Mix Tape, loves working on Australian productions. She loves Australian screenwriters and directors. She's pregnant with her fifth child, and she co-hosts a podcast (The Mother Daze) that talks about motherhood, marriage, friendship and identity (among other things).
Her latest project, The Family Next Door, is a female-forward story led by Palmer alongside Bella Heathcote (The Moogai, Pieces of Her), Philippa Northeast (Territory, The Newsreader), Ming-Zhu Hii (Prosper, La Brea) and Jane Harber (Offspring, In Limbo).
It's peak holiday season in the popular seaside town of Osprey Point when a stranger, Isabelle (Palmer) rents a family home in a quiet cul-de-sac. As she charms her way into her neighbours' homes and lives, she finds out that everyone at Pleasant Court has something to hide, and, in her relentless quest for truth, she pulls the rug from under this seemingly harmonious beachside community.
Based on bestselling Australian author Sally Hepworth's novel of the same name, The Family Next Door is a mystery that blends drama and humour while exploring family dynamics through the unique lens of award-winning screenwriter Sarah Scheller (Strife, The Letdown) and Emma Freeman's (The Newsreader, Interview with the Vampire) character-driven directorial skills.
In the real world, Palmer is down-to-earth and kind. Content. A deep thinker who speaks with warmth and laughs easily.
She has a firm grasp on who she is, what she wants, and where she wants to be in life. Living in Byron Bay and working in Australia suits her just fine, at least for now.
"I love this show," she says. "Sometimes it is difficult for me to be objective, to rip myself out of it and see it as an audience member, but this one I was able to watch in a way that none of the usual self-critique was coming in.
"I could just enjoy the show, and that, to me, is a sign of Emma Freeman working her magic."
The acting, too, is magic; the darkly funny neurotic edge to Heathcote's character, for example. And the way it is filmed captures the essence of a laidback Australian coastal town, transporting the viewer to that hot, bushfire-prone summer of 2019-20. You can hear the cicadas and almost smell the smoke in the air.
"You tend to elevate each other when you're in a scene with someone and they're bringing their absolute best work. You can't help but try to dig as deep as possible," Palmer says.
"Everyone is working collectively to elevate it, to ground these characters in colours and nuance, and it was really exciting to work with a group of actors who all felt the same way."
Some scenes were filmed at Hepworth's favourite local cafe and beach, bringing her book to life in more ways than one.
"I loved that, and what it meant for her to be able to shoot it in that way," Palmer says.
"Often when you have a book and it's turned into a TV adaptation, the book isn't folded in so much. They just take it and run with it. But Sally was really folded into this process, and her opinions and ideas really mattered, and that was just another beautiful part of bringing this story to life.
"You know, I can't help but come back home and work here. The quality of the storytelling is next level, and working with Australian crews, there's such familiarity there. It just fills my cup.
"And it's a win-win situation - getting to be in the country that I love, working here, and then seeing a lot of these shows getting picked up for America and the UK. I'm proud to help the Australian film industry because that's where I started."
Living permanently in Australia also "works" for her family.
"My children are getting older now. We were the travelling circus; we'd live in Wales and shoot something for three years and then move to America and shoot something there, and then go to England and Europe," Palmer says.
"But I had a yearning for them to have the experience that I had growing up in Adelaide, of going to school and having regular friends and being part of the basketball team or the AFL team, grounding them, rooting them, in one place. And for us, that place was Australia.
"If we can be based in Australia and I can still work relatively locally, that's what works for our family. That's not to say we won't go back to America, but this has been a really important choice that we have made for the family."
Talking about her movie roles to date, Palmer says her favourite is the 2021 psychological thriller Berlin Syndrome, directed by Australian screenwriter Cate Shortland.
"It was one of the best experiences I've ever had in my career. We would sit together, me, Max [Riemelt] and Cate, and talk about our comfort zones and what we wanted the film to be, and we talked about our own history, our own desires ... we brought everything into it," she says.
"All those hours and hours of discussions, we weaved them into the script, and it made for such a good movie."
What about Lights Out, the 2016 supernatural horror made on a budget of $US4.9 million that grossed close to $US150 million at the box office?
"You have no idea when you're acting in it how they're going to do the special effects, and how the creature is going to look, but it was really well done in this movie," Palmer says.
"But also, at the heart of that one was a family drama. We were talking about mental health, and it was scarier, more heightened, because at the core of it was this believable family dynamic."
And her most challenging acting experience? Restraint (2008), an Australian movie co-starring Travis Fimmel.
"It was one of my earliest movies, and I was so in over my head," she says.
"I didn't really know how to act yet, I was young and impressionable, and I felt really lost. I remember going home every night and crying, thinking, 'Don't mess this up Teresa, this is your dream'. And then you go from job to job to job, and you get better and better. My peers were my acting school, I learnt on the job.
"Watching it now, I wish I could just reach through and grab the younger me and go, 'Guess what, it's going to get easier and better, and trust your instincts, you're doing great!'. I want to comfort that younger me."
Her other most challenging role is also her most rewarding: juggling motherhood and a successful acting career.
"I used to think motherhood could stall or end a career. I had this general misconception because it was a narrative fed to me years ago, before I had kids. I was told you get to be one or the other," Palmer says.
"But to have these experiences in parallel, and in tandem, has really proven otherwise. I have been able to work and feel creatively and intellectually stimulated from my work, and also get to be a very present, hands-on mother, which was my other great desire.
"It turns out I didn't have to choose one over the other."
It's not surprising that Teresa Palmer agreed to work on an Australian television series that explores themes of motherhood, marriage, friendship and identity.
Palmer, an Australian actor whose credits include Ride Like A Girl, Warm Bodies, Hacksaw Ridge, Lights Out, The Fall Guy, The Clearing and Mix Tape, loves working on Australian productions. She loves Australian screenwriters and directors. She's pregnant with her fifth child, and she co-hosts a podcast (The Mother Daze) that talks about motherhood, marriage, friendship and identity (among other things).
Her latest project, The Family Next Door, is a female-forward story led by Palmer alongside Bella Heathcote (The Moogai, Pieces of Her), Philippa Northeast (Territory, The Newsreader), Ming-Zhu Hii (Prosper, La Brea) and Jane Harber (Offspring, In Limbo).
It's peak holiday season in the popular seaside town of Osprey Point when a stranger, Isabelle (Palmer) rents a family home in a quiet cul-de-sac. As she charms her way into her neighbours' homes and lives, she finds out that everyone at Pleasant Court has something to hide, and, in her relentless quest for truth, she pulls the rug from under this seemingly harmonious beachside community.
Based on bestselling Australian author Sally Hepworth's novel of the same name, The Family Next Door is a mystery that blends drama and humour while exploring family dynamics through the unique lens of award-winning screenwriter Sarah Scheller (Strife, The Letdown) and Emma Freeman's (The Newsreader, Interview with the Vampire) character-driven directorial skills.
In the real world, Palmer is down-to-earth and kind. Content. A deep thinker who speaks with warmth and laughs easily.
She has a firm grasp on who she is, what she wants, and where she wants to be in life. Living in Byron Bay and working in Australia suits her just fine, at least for now.
"I love this show," she says. "Sometimes it is difficult for me to be objective, to rip myself out of it and see it as an audience member, but this one I was able to watch in a way that none of the usual self-critique was coming in.
"I could just enjoy the show, and that, to me, is a sign of Emma Freeman working her magic."
The acting, too, is magic; the darkly funny neurotic edge to Heathcote's character, for example. And the way it is filmed captures the essence of a laidback Australian coastal town, transporting the viewer to that hot, bushfire-prone summer of 2019-20. You can hear the cicadas and almost smell the smoke in the air.
"You tend to elevate each other when you're in a scene with someone and they're bringing their absolute best work. You can't help but try to dig as deep as possible," Palmer says.
"Everyone is working collectively to elevate it, to ground these characters in colours and nuance, and it was really exciting to work with a group of actors who all felt the same way."
Some scenes were filmed at Hepworth's favourite local cafe and beach, bringing her book to life in more ways than one.
"I loved that, and what it meant for her to be able to shoot it in that way," Palmer says.
"Often when you have a book and it's turned into a TV adaptation, the book isn't folded in so much. They just take it and run with it. But Sally was really folded into this process, and her opinions and ideas really mattered, and that was just another beautiful part of bringing this story to life.
"You know, I can't help but come back home and work here. The quality of the storytelling is next level, and working with Australian crews, there's such familiarity there. It just fills my cup.
"And it's a win-win situation - getting to be in the country that I love, working here, and then seeing a lot of these shows getting picked up for America and the UK. I'm proud to help the Australian film industry because that's where I started."
Living permanently in Australia also "works" for her family.
"My children are getting older now. We were the travelling circus; we'd live in Wales and shoot something for three years and then move to America and shoot something there, and then go to England and Europe," Palmer says.
"But I had a yearning for them to have the experience that I had growing up in Adelaide, of going to school and having regular friends and being part of the basketball team or the AFL team, grounding them, rooting them, in one place. And for us, that place was Australia.
"If we can be based in Australia and I can still work relatively locally, that's what works for our family. That's not to say we won't go back to America, but this has been a really important choice that we have made for the family."
Talking about her movie roles to date, Palmer says her favourite is the 2021 psychological thriller Berlin Syndrome, directed by Australian screenwriter Cate Shortland.
"It was one of the best experiences I've ever had in my career. We would sit together, me, Max [Riemelt] and Cate, and talk about our comfort zones and what we wanted the film to be, and we talked about our own history, our own desires ... we brought everything into it," she says.
"All those hours and hours of discussions, we weaved them into the script, and it made for such a good movie."
What about Lights Out, the 2016 supernatural horror made on a budget of $US4.9 million that grossed close to $US150 million at the box office?
"You have no idea when you're acting in it how they're going to do the special effects, and how the creature is going to look, but it was really well done in this movie," Palmer says.
"But also, at the heart of that one was a family drama. We were talking about mental health, and it was scarier, more heightened, because at the core of it was this believable family dynamic."
And her most challenging acting experience? Restraint (2008), an Australian movie co-starring Travis Fimmel.
"It was one of my earliest movies, and I was so in over my head," she says.
"I didn't really know how to act yet, I was young and impressionable, and I felt really lost. I remember going home every night and crying, thinking, 'Don't mess this up Teresa, this is your dream'. And then you go from job to job to job, and you get better and better. My peers were my acting school, I learnt on the job.
"Watching it now, I wish I could just reach through and grab the younger me and go, 'Guess what, it's going to get easier and better, and trust your instincts, you're doing great!'. I want to comfort that younger me."
Her other most challenging role is also her most rewarding: juggling motherhood and a successful acting career.
"I used to think motherhood could stall or end a career. I had this general misconception because it was a narrative fed to me years ago, before I had kids. I was told you get to be one or the other," Palmer says.
"But to have these experiences in parallel, and in tandem, has really proven otherwise. I have been able to work and feel creatively and intellectually stimulated from my work, and also get to be a very present, hands-on mother, which was my other great desire.
"It turns out I didn't have to choose one over the other."
It's not surprising that Teresa Palmer agreed to work on an Australian television series that explores themes of motherhood, marriage, friendship and identity.
Palmer, an Australian actor whose credits include Ride Like A Girl, Warm Bodies, Hacksaw Ridge, Lights Out, The Fall Guy, The Clearing and Mix Tape, loves working on Australian productions. She loves Australian screenwriters and directors. She's pregnant with her fifth child, and she co-hosts a podcast (The Mother Daze) that talks about motherhood, marriage, friendship and identity (among other things).
Her latest project, The Family Next Door, is a female-forward story led by Palmer alongside Bella Heathcote (The Moogai, Pieces of Her), Philippa Northeast (Territory, The Newsreader), Ming-Zhu Hii (Prosper, La Brea) and Jane Harber (Offspring, In Limbo).
It's peak holiday season in the popular seaside town of Osprey Point when a stranger, Isabelle (Palmer) rents a family home in a quiet cul-de-sac. As she charms her way into her neighbours' homes and lives, she finds out that everyone at Pleasant Court has something to hide, and, in her relentless quest for truth, she pulls the rug from under this seemingly harmonious beachside community.
Based on bestselling Australian author Sally Hepworth's novel of the same name, The Family Next Door is a mystery that blends drama and humour while exploring family dynamics through the unique lens of award-winning screenwriter Sarah Scheller (Strife, The Letdown) and Emma Freeman's (The Newsreader, Interview with the Vampire) character-driven directorial skills.
In the real world, Palmer is down-to-earth and kind. Content. A deep thinker who speaks with warmth and laughs easily.
She has a firm grasp on who she is, what she wants, and where she wants to be in life. Living in Byron Bay and working in Australia suits her just fine, at least for now.
"I love this show," she says. "Sometimes it is difficult for me to be objective, to rip myself out of it and see it as an audience member, but this one I was able to watch in a way that none of the usual self-critique was coming in.
"I could just enjoy the show, and that, to me, is a sign of Emma Freeman working her magic."
The acting, too, is magic; the darkly funny neurotic edge to Heathcote's character, for example. And the way it is filmed captures the essence of a laidback Australian coastal town, transporting the viewer to that hot, bushfire-prone summer of 2019-20. You can hear the cicadas and almost smell the smoke in the air.
"You tend to elevate each other when you're in a scene with someone and they're bringing their absolute best work. You can't help but try to dig as deep as possible," Palmer says.
"Everyone is working collectively to elevate it, to ground these characters in colours and nuance, and it was really exciting to work with a group of actors who all felt the same way."
Some scenes were filmed at Hepworth's favourite local cafe and beach, bringing her book to life in more ways than one.
"I loved that, and what it meant for her to be able to shoot it in that way," Palmer says.
"Often when you have a book and it's turned into a TV adaptation, the book isn't folded in so much. They just take it and run with it. But Sally was really folded into this process, and her opinions and ideas really mattered, and that was just another beautiful part of bringing this story to life.
"You know, I can't help but come back home and work here. The quality of the storytelling is next level, and working with Australian crews, there's such familiarity there. It just fills my cup.
"And it's a win-win situation - getting to be in the country that I love, working here, and then seeing a lot of these shows getting picked up for America and the UK. I'm proud to help the Australian film industry because that's where I started."
Living permanently in Australia also "works" for her family.
"My children are getting older now. We were the travelling circus; we'd live in Wales and shoot something for three years and then move to America and shoot something there, and then go to England and Europe," Palmer says.
"But I had a yearning for them to have the experience that I had growing up in Adelaide, of going to school and having regular friends and being part of the basketball team or the AFL team, grounding them, rooting them, in one place. And for us, that place was Australia.
"If we can be based in Australia and I can still work relatively locally, that's what works for our family. That's not to say we won't go back to America, but this has been a really important choice that we have made for the family."
Talking about her movie roles to date, Palmer says her favourite is the 2021 psychological thriller Berlin Syndrome, directed by Australian screenwriter Cate Shortland.
"It was one of the best experiences I've ever had in my career. We would sit together, me, Max [Riemelt] and Cate, and talk about our comfort zones and what we wanted the film to be, and we talked about our own history, our own desires ... we brought everything into it," she says.
"All those hours and hours of discussions, we weaved them into the script, and it made for such a good movie."
What about Lights Out, the 2016 supernatural horror made on a budget of $US4.9 million that grossed close to $US150 million at the box office?
"You have no idea when you're acting in it how they're going to do the special effects, and how the creature is going to look, but it was really well done in this movie," Palmer says.
"But also, at the heart of that one was a family drama. We were talking about mental health, and it was scarier, more heightened, because at the core of it was this believable family dynamic."
And her most challenging acting experience? Restraint (2008), an Australian movie co-starring Travis Fimmel.
"It was one of my earliest movies, and I was so in over my head," she says.
"I didn't really know how to act yet, I was young and impressionable, and I felt really lost. I remember going home every night and crying, thinking, 'Don't mess this up Teresa, this is your dream'. And then you go from job to job to job, and you get better and better. My peers were my acting school, I learnt on the job.
"Watching it now, I wish I could just reach through and grab the younger me and go, 'Guess what, it's going to get easier and better, and trust your instincts, you're doing great!'. I want to comfort that younger me."
Her other most challenging role is also her most rewarding: juggling motherhood and a successful acting career.
"I used to think motherhood could stall or end a career. I had this general misconception because it was a narrative fed to me years ago, before I had kids. I was told you get to be one or the other," Palmer says.
"But to have these experiences in parallel, and in tandem, has really proven otherwise. I have been able to work and feel creatively and intellectually stimulated from my work, and also get to be a very present, hands-on mother, which was my other great desire.
"It turns out I didn't have to choose one over the other."
