Australian Gourmet Traveller - (03)March 2020 (1)

Whatdoyouremembereatingwhen

youweregrowingupinSydney?I have

Portugueseheritageandmealslike

bacalhaucomgrãoweremyabsolute

favourites.It’sessentiallya warmsalad:

chickpeas,saltedcod,potatoes,spinach,

onion, olive oil and lemon.

Oneofyourearliestroleswasplaying

anambulancedriveronAllSaints. How

didyoufeelwhenyougotthegig?I

wasteachingSpeechandDramaat a

private girls’ school and I got the news

inbetweenclasses.I stepped

intomycar,closedthedoors

andscreamedmyhead off

with excitement.

Whatwasyourdietlikewhen

actingjobswerelean?I was

prettyfondoftwo-minute

noodlesandNesquik.During

uni,I gottostudycloseenough

tohomesoI wasstillable

tohaveMum’sBolognese,

casserole and the bacalhau.

Tellusaboutyouraudition

forprisonerFrankyDoyle

onWentworth.Intheweeks

leadinguptoit,I’dgetupeverymorning

anddopush-upsandcell-likeexercise

regimes.I boughttemporarytattoos.

I hadmyhairslickedback,almostlike

a lion’smane.I lovethrowingmyselfin.

That’s one of the joys of being an actor.

Yourworkis seenallovertheworld,

especiallythroughWentworth. Haveyou

hadmemorableexperienceswithfans?

I getlettersthankingtheshowforhaving

a LGBTcharacterrepresentedandfor

me, that means everything. If my job can

havethatimpactonsomeone’slifeand

givethemthecouragetocelebratewho

they are, then that’s a good day for me.

Actorsoftenworkinbarsorrestaurants

whilelookingforgigs.Didyou?I wasa

bartenderfora verylongtimeandI spent

a lotoftimewritingideasforstorieson

coasters.I stillhavea boxfullofcoasters

thathavescribblesandideasontheback.

One day, I will try to make senseofthose.

Doyouhavea favouriteItaliandish?I’m

obsessedwithItalianNutelladoughnuts.

We’lldrivetoRaffael’sBakeryinSydney’s

Haberfieldat leastoncea weektostock

up.Theyalsodoamazingpizzabasesand

bread, and that’s a stapleforus,too.

What’syourpizzaofchoice?A fancy

Margheritawitha garlickybase and

anchovies for a bit of kick.

YoushootpartsofDoctorDoctorin

Mudgee,NSW.Is it a goodplaceto

eat?Withouta doubt.Roth’sWine

Bardoa lotofgoodwoodfiredpizza

andarancini.Elton’sis reallygood,

buthonestly,youcan’tgowrongwhen

you’re in Mudgee. It’s all delightful.

Doyoueversmugglefoodonset?I’m

knownformyon-setbag,whichhasan

arrayofsnacks.I’mnotgoodwiththe

waitbetweenbreakfastandlunch,and

I’m always partial to cheese and olives.

TellusaboutyourrecenttriptoThailand

withtheUNtopromotewomen’srights.

TheUNworkswithlocalcommunities

wherewomenexperiencedomestic

violenceintheirownmarriages.We

satwiththeheadoftheroyalpolice

to discuss solutions. It was profound.

Wastherea storythatstayedwithyou?

Therewasa 19-year-oldgirlwho’dbeen

marriedfora littlewhile.Shewascovered

incutsandbruises,andshesimplydidn’t

knowshehadanotherchoice.Atthebase

level,it’sas simpleas educatinggirlsto

know:youhavetherighttoa differentlife,

toanempoweredlife,toa betterlife.●

NicoledaSilvastarsinDoctorDoctor, which

airsonNine,andWentworth, which streams

on Netflix.

Nicole

da Silva

Theactoronstandout

auditions,Nutelladoughnuts

and working with the UN.

EATING WITH

GOURMET TRAVELLER 35

How I eat

INTERVIEW LEE TRAN LAM. PHOTOGRAPHY TONY MOTT.