PREGNANT!’
Brooke
Satchwell
B
rooke Satchwell is not who you think
she is. Yes, she’s a gorgeous actress,
but she’s so much more. After rising
to fame as Anne Wilkinson on
Neighbours, the bright lights of
Hollywood were screaming out. But that’s not
where she wanted to be. “It was always a
question of, ‘Well are you going overseas for
more notoriety and greater financial
incentives?’ and neither of those things have
ever been drivers for me,” she tells WHO.
Satchwell’s decision to remain in Australia
and work on projects which spoke to her both
personally and professionally has been our
gain. She’s appeared on a huge variety of shows
over the past 20 years, from Play School to
Packed to the Rafters, Wonderland and now
Channel Nine’s follow up of ’90s hit SeaChange.
Now trying her hand at producing, Satchwell
is enjoying a new challenge thanks to FX series
MrInbetween. Butlifeasanactresshascomeatan
extremecostforSatchwell,38.Despiteherdesire
tokeepherprivatelifeoutof
thespotlight,herhigh-profile
relationshipwithMatthew
Newtongainedmanycolumn
inchesovertheyears.Newton
wasfoundguiltyofcommon
assaultafterbeingarrestedfollowinganincident
in2006.Andearlierthisyear,Satchwell’slove-life
madeheadlinesagainwhenshesplitwithSydney
filmeditorfiancéDavidGross.
InherinterviewwithWHO, Satchwellreflects
ontheupsanddownsofherlifeandhernew
roleontheSeaChangereboot.Howdoyoufeelaboutsomanypeople
knowingdetailsofyourprivatelife?
I trynottogetdistractedbythenegative,the
emotionandthetraumaofanyexperiences.
It’simportanttodeterminewhatyou’re
aimingforandwhereyou’regoing.Sometimes
whenyou’regoingthrougha lifeexperience
andyougo,“I’mreallylookingforwardto
getting to the other side”, once you do reach
the other side, you always look back and go,
“That’s why that happened then.”
Do you have Instagram?
No, I don’t. I missed social media because
I was working when it was built. Then it wasimportant to me to maintain the integrity of
the relationships I already have.
Did you make a conscious choice not to talk
about your personal life?
It’s just an instinctive choice. There have been
some very unusual stories about me running
parallel to my professional life and that’s been
a curious thing to navigate. They’re not only
deeply personal experiences, but they also do
have some element that bring them into a
public forum and that’s just a really weird
thing to be part of. Needless to say, everybody
does have a story. Every single one of us does.
I’m no different in that respect.
You’re 39 this year, how do you feel
about ageing?
I love it. With every year that ticks past, you
feel more present and more accepting, more
surrenderedtothechaosoflife.Timeisshort
andyouneedtothinkaboutwhoandwhat
matterstoyouandhowto
worktowardsthat.
HowdidSeaChangecome
about?
Therewasa castingcallthat
hadgoneoutandI nearly
missedit.I wasinthemiddleofmovinghouse
andI wasn’tsureI wasgoingtobeableto
makeit.I endedupgoingcompletely
unshoweredfromshiftingboxes.Therewas
justsomethinginmystomachthatwent,“no,
youhavetogothere”andI’msogladI did.
What’sit likeworkingwithSigrid?
ShehasthebiggestgenerousheartI’veever
comeacross.She’sgota hugeloadtocarry
withSeaChange– she’splayingtheleadrole
andtheworldrevolvesaroundhercharacter.
She’sincredible.
Tellusaboutyourcharacter.
WhenwemeetMiranda,sheispregnant.
We’renotclearonwhothefatherisorwhat
the surrounding circumstances are. She’s
in a little bit of denial, even though she is
pretty much nine months pregnant. I just
played pregnant in [upcoming film] Ride
Like a Girl so I’m racking up my pregnancy
bellies. I’m learning about fasteners andstraps that can make the experience more
pleasurable.
Has it meant people ask when you’re going
to have kids?
Yes. Everybody thinks I’m pregnant. They see
me mainlining coffees and they politely suggest
that’s not a good idea. I definitely convinced
a lot of the extras and the locals. Then when
you whip it off they get very confused.
■ By Holly Richards
SeaChange airs Tue., 8.40pm on Nine.OLD
FRIENDS
“We knew each other from being
around the Mornington Peninsula.
I think she lived over my dad’s
back fence. I used to see her in the
supermarket,” Satchwell reveals of
co-star Sigrid Thornton. “But the
friendship that’s been born
out of this has been
unexpected and just
brilliant.”FROM LEFT: GETTY IMAGES ; AAP; NINE NETWORK (3)“There have been
unusual stories
about me”
ryone thinks
“She’s made of
strong stuff, that
woman,” she raves
of Thornton.