Go Pluck Yourself: The Actorâs Pursuit
Go Pluck Yourself! Because the Hollywood cavalry is not on its way to pluck you from obscurity like the proverbial claws of a claw machine. Only you are responsible for your little dent in this industry. No one is coming to pluck you out of the crowd â You have to pluck yourself.
Join actor Chris Gun as he chats to his creative pals about life as an actor navigating this wonderful industry.
These are the conversations that actors and filmmakers have between takes, between shoot dates, whilst waiting for their next gig. An insight into what life is really like for a creative on their way âupâ.
This is Go Pluck Yourself - The Actorâs Pursuit
Presented by Chris Gun
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Go Pluck Yourself: The Actorâs Pursuit
Ep 19 Chrissie Page: Trusting Your Gut & Embracing Your Quirks As An Actor
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Chrissie Page is an Adelaide-based actor whose work spans Australian television, independent film, theatre, and award-winning short films on the international festival circuit. This is a long, honest conversation about a life spent in the craft.
We get into how she first discovered performing, why she detoured into running an actors agency, and the moment she came back to acting for good. We go deep into the craft. The inner critic (Parrot), what it feels like to truly be in the zone, why technique can sometimes get in the way of instinct, and how she approaches a new script. We also talk self-tapes, including the one she shot in a creek that ended up taking her to LA, and a one-word audition she turned into a full scene just because she was bored.
Chrissieâs credits include The Royal Hotel, Stateless, Aftertaste, Troppo, Harrow, The Tourist, and Wolf Creek. Her short film Future Harvest won Best Actor at both the Paris Womenâs Film Festival and the Barcelona Film Festival. Her most recent short And the Ocean Agreed won her Best Actor at the Womenâs Worldwide Film Festival 2025 and was nominated for Best Short Film.
Itâs a beautiful chat! So wholesome. Thanks for coming in, Chrissie.
Available to watch on YouTube or listen on all podcast platforms
Welcome and Quick Announcements
SPEAKER_03Hi, my name's Chrissy Page, and you should go pluck yourself.
Train Chats and Opera Origins
SPEAKER_01Hello and welcome to Go Pluck Yourself, The Actor's Pursuit. My name is Chris Gunn. How you doing guys? I hope you're all having a good Friday. Just quickly, before I get to today's guest, I just want to let you guys know that if you're in Adelaide at the end of April, I'll be doing a play at the Goodwood Theatre from the 24th of April until the 2nd of May. It's called The Housewarming by Famous Last Words Theatre. So if you want to see what I do live, get yourself some tickets real quick. I'll put a link in the description below. Get them right now, guys. Bring your friends. Today's guest is Chrissy Page, and I just want to start off by saying how lucky I feel to call this amazing woman a friend and how grateful I am that I said yes to doing that opera back in 2020 or whenever it was. Because if it wasn't for that, who knows if I would have met her. Well actually I probably would have met her eventually because I have bumped into her on many, many projects since then. But that's where we first clicked, and she was so welcoming and warm and interested and interesting. And it just made that experience so wonderful. And no, I wasn't singing in this opera, I was a supernumerary, which ba supernumerary? Supernumerary. Well, I don't like saying that word. Basically, that's a s it's a non-speaking, non-singing extra in an opera. And who knows how that came about, but it was just one of those, yeah, why not experiences, you know? And I'm really glad I did it because so many of the amazing artists that I met during that show I'm still in touch with today. And yeah, it's a nice little lesson in just saying yes to things, some things, and and seeing where they take you. But anyway, it led me to meeting this amazing human being, I guess today, Chrissy Page. Chrissy is someone that I've wanted to have on the show for a very long time now. Because whenever I bump into her in a set, we always have the the best chats. She's so lovely and open and caring and hardworking. But aside from that, she's also just this icon in the industry, whether she knows it or not. I hope she knows that. She's had this amazingly broad career. She's been in some of Australia's biggest films and shows, such as The Royal Hotel, Stateless, Aftertaste, Tropo, Harrow, The Tourist, Wolf Creek. The list genuinely goes on. And on top of all that, she's been absolutely cleaning up internationally and nationally in the short film space as well. Her short film, uh, Future Harvest won her Best Actor at both the Paris Women's Film Festival and the Barcelona Film Festival in 2003. And then her most recent short, uh, which was called And the Ocean Agreed, where she played a woman with dementia who um rediscovers herself through the ocean. That won her best actor at the Women's Worldwide Film Festival in 2025. And the film itself was nominated for an actor award for best short film. And I think it also took her to LA. Pretty amazing. She's uh she's also a genuine advocate for this industry off-screen. She sits on the SA Performers Committee, she's involved with the Performers Support Fund, and she's even submitted to the Australian government arguing for proper arts funding back when the government was making massive cuts to the arts. Amazing woman. Anyway, I want to get to the chat, but before I do, um just do these three things for me, guys, okay? If you're watching on YouTube, please hit that subscribe button just below this video. It really helps to boost the algorithm so that more people can stumble across these conversations. You can also follow the podcast on any podcast player if you prefer to listen to the show. Uh number two, send this episode to a friend, at least one friend, or more, if you want. If there's someone you know, an actor or a filmmaker or an artist who you think will enjoy this chat, let them know. The best way to get this podcast out there is word of mouth, and you guys have no idea how much of a difference it makes when you spread the word. And number three, share this episode to your Instagram story and let me know where you're listening to this. Are you having your morning coffee? Are you walking off your Easter egg haul? Are you procrastinating learning your lines for the play that you have rehearsals for later today? Let me know. I love hearing from you guys. Okay, that's enough. Here we go. Please enjoy my very wholesome chat with the delightful Chrissy Page. How was the train ride over? Was it alright?
SPEAKER_03It was hilarious.
SPEAKER_01You had a good chat with some young men.
SPEAKER_03I did. I ended up giving him uh advice about his career, which is hilarious. Public transport, great place for watching and oh, great for what people watching. Yeah, people watching and thinking, ooh, that'd be interesting to use one day. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So I've bumped into you on three or four projects now over the over the years. And I've only really been doing this for a little while professionally. But we bumped into each other on oh, we're in that Mozart the in Requiem, the opera. Yes. As supers. As supers.
SPEAKER_02We had a great time on that.
SPEAKER_01What were you doing on that again?
SPEAKER_03I was the old lady that didn't get nude, did you? No, no, thank God. And nobody would have enjoyed that anyway. Um, I was the old lady who carried the orange in various generational things. I had a great time on that.
SPEAKER_01It was so fun, though.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. I played Jesus or a kind of Jesus-like character. Jesus if he had short hair and was white.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Oh, and the opening scene where I had to die. Do you remember? Yeah. But nobody could work out how they did the death trick of me sinking in the bed and disappearing. Yes, that's right. If only they knew I was covered in bruises and it was hard work. Do your own stunts. But I used to lie there crying. There you go. Yeah. Because um the chorus would be singing the Requiem. Oh. And I just got completely overwhelmed with this beautiful music.
SPEAKER_01It was so such an amazing project. Yeah. Because like, yeah, I'm just watching everyone. I'm just going, oh my god, this is I want the festival theatre stage, you know. And have this amazing chorus around you just singing right at you. You're like the best seat in the house.
SPEAKER_03Yep, totally. No, I loved it.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. And then we worked together, well, we bumped into each other on With or Without Year. Yeah, and I ended up on the cutting room. And you were cut. I can't believe it.
SPEAKER_03My very best little moment. I know.
SPEAKER_02No, that you were the wicked, what do they call you? Wicked Witch of the West? I can't remember. I was supposed to call you that.
SPEAKER_01And then you were supposed to flip me off. The bird. Go on. I did the best.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that's it.
SPEAKER_03But um yeah, apparently they needed extra screen time. And look, this happens so often. Yeah. And you can't get sad about it because it's just the way it goes. It's just the way it is. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01I was I was every time I go go to a premiere or something, I and you know, you bring all your family. And you came to the premiere. I did.
SPEAKER_03Did you know that you'd you'd been they'd already rung me, which was really not, yeah. And they gave me a credit um as advocate for intimacy coordination or something like that, which I thought was really sweet because they didn't have to give me a credit. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Oh man. I thought we were such a good duo in that. I thought I had fun. Yeah, it was it was a great day shooting that scene. But yeah, I'm always really worried about going to premieres and thinking, am I even in the film? I have no idea.
Watching Yourself Without Spiralling
SPEAKER_03Or looking at yourself and going, Oh my god, that is so it's not my intention. Yeah. It happens to me all the time. Does it? Yeah, yeah. I'm the worst self-critic.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. I've learned not to express it out loud to people if I'm at something or if people are watching my work and I go, Yux, that was horrible. But like if people come up to me and say, That was great, I say, okay. I guess it's not up to me. So what about you?
SPEAKER_03Well, I sit there cringing usually because I still really struggle with seeing myself up on screen.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_03And like I said often, what my intention is and what I see are are not they don't match. But then how can you kind of compare? And you're in the moment anyway. But um, if people say to me, Oh, I really love what you did, I I try to be graceful and say, Thank you very much. Yeah, yeah. Even though I might be wanting desperately to say, Oh, really? Yes, exactly.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I find it really hard. I did I did do something recently where I was like really critical of myself at the screening, and someone said to me, like, it it's not up to you. It's it's good. You just don't don't ever put it down because people will start to believe it then.
SPEAKER_03I mean, I have seen some things where I've been proud, but there's always an element that I and I I think as an actor, if you're not you've got to be kind of objective in it. Yeah. It's kind of objective looking at yourself and going, Oh, you know, and analysing what you've done, as long as you don't beat yourself up for it.
SPEAKER_01Oh, totally. Yeah. Yeah. Once it's once the project's finished, it's it's done. It's done. It's out of your hands. And also it's you gotta respect the the filmmakers that are putting it together. It's their it's it's their choices, you know, it's their vision, and they chose that take. So you if you're criticizing yourself really, you're kind of criticizing the filmmakers a little bit.
SPEAKER_03So and you never really know what it looks like to someone else when they're looking down the camera at you. Yes. And what you think might be your best take could be appalling. You don't know. You're just there doing it, hoping that you're giving them what they want.
SPEAKER_01What does it feel like for you when you feel like you're really acting? Or what is a good take for you? When you can't remember what you've done.
The Inner Critic and A Radio Play
SPEAKER_03Because then I figure that I was in the zone or in the moment rather than looking over I hate it when and I I have a character that kind of talks to myself in my ear. And I have to really s push that person away so that I don't self-crit criticize when I'm working. What do they say to you? That was terrible. Yeah. You know, or be careful of this. Little voice in head, very destructive, it's been there for many years, but I've learnt to control that little person that has a name. Can you call Parrot?
SPEAKER_01Oh, beautiful, perfect.
SPEAKER_03I actually wrote I wrote a uh radio play about the voices in my head, which makes me sound like a raving lunatic, but there were a lot. And um that was a really interesting process, putting that together and realizing how I tick and what motivates me and w and then working out where those voices have come from.
SPEAKER_01So what did you perform this radio play or like recorded or it's recorded.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And what'd you do with it?
SPEAKER_02I haven't really done anything with it, which is typical Chrissy. I has so has anyone seen it or heard it?
SPEAKER_03Well, I offered it to Samri because it it was centering around um I I had an illness a few years back and um I wrote like a diary about being well, I had cancer. And I wrote a diary about my recovery and survival, yeah. And the characters kind of popped into that. Yeah. And I found it years later and um laughed and thought this is really hilarious. Oh yeah. So I started to write it as a radio play. Oh my god. And um got a grant. Amazing. Yeah. So grateful, thank you, Artsessay, now called Create Essay. Yeah, and um recorded it and offered it to Samri because it was I was encouraged to do that. Whether they've done anything with it, I don't know. I would love to see this or hear it. It's pretty crazy. It's quite black, yeah, but it's truthful. Yeah. You know, about the journey that I was on. I hate the word journey, but the I use journey a lot.
SPEAKER_02Trip or whatever.
SPEAKER_03The trip I was on, yeah. The trip, yeah, yeah. And it was a trip too.
First Performances and Early Gatekeepers
SPEAKER_01Yeah. I want to go back to like the beginning. Like, where where did acting start for your performing?
SPEAKER_03Well, it's really interesting. Um, as a little kid, I was quite um a little energy bunny. I think probably had I lived in a different era, I would have had a label, probably ADHD. Oh, okay, yeah. I was incredibly energetic, uh, very joyful and very disruptive in class. So that often gave me um things to read out loud to the class and stuff like that.
SPEAKER_00Oh, I see.
SPEAKER_03And I found I really enjoyed it, even as a little one.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03And then uh I clearly remember in year one being in the Nativity play, and I was given the Angel Gabriel role because there was quite a big announcement thing, and I could handle that. Must have been a ghastly child. Anyway, I remember I can still feel the wings on my back and looking out and really liking the I I I thought about it on and off and thought, what was that about? Was it a moment of feeling seen or was it a moment of feeling power? I don't know. Yeah. But I remember really enjoying it. Yeah. I also remember being jealous of n of the my girlfriend who got to be Virgin Mary, which is hilarious. Oh, yeah. But I think the angel Gabriel kind of was, yeah, it was that kind of announcement thing. Right. And that's where I first my first memory, which is such a silly thing.
SPEAKER_01But no, not at all. Uh same with me. I mean, we we we were doing plays in school as as kids with Tilly, um, Cobra Tilda, we went to the same primary school, and and ever pretty much everyone everyone that went to that primary school ended up in the arts, either as a musician or an actor. Must have had good teachers. Well, drama was such a big part of it. Yeah. Because we would put on these things called um Hags, have a Go Show. Oh, wow. Which was just, you know, anyone could write and perform a show, and it was once a month or once a term, I can't remember. And there would be the main performance done by the seniors, the seniors' home group, and then all the kids, the little kids would like do scenes from neighbours or stuff, and I'd be running around as dogs and stuff, or would play piano. I used to play piano and stuff, or sing and stuff.
SPEAKER_03But yeah, you used to love that that's so just having an audience as a kid. Yeah, yeah. Having a voice. Yes. And this is I mean, I was in primary school in the 50s, Chris. And we're talking no drama, yeah. No kind and a lot of quite um disciplined classrooms and patties, you know, teachers that used to smack you if you were naughty. And even in secondary school, which was early 60s, I went to a school where there was no drama as well, no kind of create creativity at as such. I mean, if you wanted to learn music or art, you had to do it after school. Right, of course, yeah. But I had this amazing English teacher who got me when we were studying Shakespeare to to be the reader.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_03So I I really enjoyed that. And English I shot through that subject, didn't do quite so well in the others. Yeah, yeah. And then when I left school, because back then um careers for women were quite narrow, I remember the head nuns saying to me, Christina, you can be a nurse, a teacher, or a secretary. And I said, I want to be an actor, and she actually said, Young ladies don't become actors.
SPEAKER_02Wow.
SPEAKER_03Well, hello, they do. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Oh my god, what a time, huh?
SPEAKER_03I know, it was crazy. Yeah. And um, so I started at teachers college, but the d most amazing thing was they had a drama component, and I was taught by Mona Jones, who started Patch Theatre. Really? And that was when the real love kicked in and the real understanding of where I fitted. I see. Was she running Patch then? Well, I think it was called Little Patch Theatre then. Okay. And a lot of it was around puppetry. And she taught me puppetry, and I used to have so much fun with a sock puppet. Yeah. And the but being the voice behind. Really? And being playful, and those poor children I taught had to suffer through my Yeah. No, they didn't.
SPEAKER_02They loved all the ridiculous things we used to do.
SPEAKER_01So how did you go from that to like did you did you end up in theatre and before any film stuff?
SPEAKER_03Uh yeah. I went into community theatre first and uh did a lot of that for many, many years. And then a girlfriend and I, Lynn Pike, who you may know, uh started an agency, actors' agency. Right, okay. And then I walked away from performing for a while and focused on looking after actors, which was amazing, really interesting, but enormous. Huge thing to take on, yeah. Yeah. Lasted about, I think about seven or eight years, and then uh burnt out a bit, to be honest. The thing I found hard about being an agent was the responsibility of uh looking after other people's careers. And when the industry was like really slow and nobody had work, I used to actually worry about the actors. Yeah. Which is ridiculous because it's not I'm I can't control the industry. No, no, but I I did.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Agents take it take a lot on themselves, I think. And they I think they're always the first one to get blamed for not getting work. The amount of people I I hear saying, Oh, my agent's not getting me work. I'm like, mate, no one's getting work. No, and it's not there.
SPEAKER_03Exactly. Yeah. And also, you know, I guess actors also have to kind of generate their own opportunities as well. You can't just sit back and rely on your agent to pluck work out of the air. Hence the name of the show.
SPEAKER_02Exactly.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, yeah. Exactly. That's right. So how did you how did you put that into effect?
SPEAKER_03Well, it changed dramatically for me. Uh, once I left the agency or left the role of agent, I should say. I went back to uni and I studied social work, which is completely reversed, yeah, but not really.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03And worked uh for about five or six years, I think, with young people at risk. And um that was amazing.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Also burnout, huge, yeah, huge role. I mean, it was more I wanted to do something with not that I being an agent didn't have purpose, but I wanted to do something that had big meaning for me and for humankind. Yeah. So I did that for many years, and then one one day I saw an ad in the paper for an audition with Vitals Statistics. Oh yeah. And I went, oh, yeah. An audition and got the role. And what was it? It was a wonderful show called Bull Bar Tours, and it was back in the Catherine Fitzgerald's era of Vitals, and um it was in a big wool shed, and we were a p group of people going on a tour in the outback, and the audience followed us round. We were in a Jeep, and they would follow with their little chairs and then sit round the campfire with us while we did the next instalment of the show. It was like one of those promenade shows. It was so fantastic, and that's really the point where I then committed to the arts. I needed to do a lot of things in the world to look at where I fit it, and I knew creativity was huge, and I brought that into everything that I did, even my teaching methodology when I was teaching little kids always had a massive creative component, as did even the social work. I would bring kids in who were disengaged or disadvantaged in some way, and run a workshop where we'd do creative things.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_03And and they loved it, and I loved it, and it it became joyful. And I think that's when I went, how can I harness my creativity? I'm still looking for other ways in between official kind of gigs because uh the the joy of creativity is just part of who I am.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I think it's something that's missing in a lot of people, and they don't realize that creativity is so essential for all of us. And we're we're so I think it's so easy to get distracted by the chaos of the world and prioritize things for ourselves. And we put creativity at a really low tier of you know, priority.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and I think if you can put creativity and purpose together, yeah, like purpose within the world. world, humanity, wow, that's when it gets really exciting.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
Purposeful Creativity Beyond Acting
SPEAKER_03And it can be such a small thing, but bring joy. Um one of the things that some people know that I do out of the industry is work at an end of life end of life care unit.
SPEAKER_00Right.
SPEAKER_03And you know, people are still alive. Just because they are palliative doesn't mean that they're not interested in living and and I bring creativity. And it can be such a small thing. It could be reading a book or to them because they can listen still but not actually have the strength to hold a book or whatever. Or making something small to give to a family member as a gift and small things like that. And that gives me immense joy because it's purposeful.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_03It's about links with people and it's a privilege as well. Yeah. You know? Yeah. So and the um I'm babbling on that. No, it's good. Please babble. Please babble? Yeah. Gosh, nobody gives me permission to babble your body. It's for babble, yeah. The other one I love, the other area of my life separate from um actual film and theatre and stuff is um simul patient simulation.
SPEAKER_01Oh right, you did that too?
SPEAKER_03Yes you're working with med students, psychology students, OT students, physios, and there is purpose for learning. Yeah. But also it gives you practice in your craft and creative opportunities and money, which is also important. But I love that as well because you see students grow and learn through just you playing a character.
SPEAKER_01Do you find it difficult at times? As not not the performance part but the It's tiring.
SPEAKER_03If you've been given a a scenario where you have to cry all day or you have to be angry all day by you know say from 7 30 in the morning till five be pretty tired. Yeah about five.
Edinburgh Fringe and Surprise Festival Wins
SPEAKER_01It's amazing that you found this this thing at such a young age and you've carried it through and it's it's also injected itself into different aspects of your you know non-actor life you know it's so lovely to to know that you've you've carried it through through through your whole life. But were were there any sort of pivotal moments in your learning or or moments that were like you mean like highlights?
SPEAKER_03Yeah sure like highlights of of your career or so many highlights. There's two that jump into my head if you can cope with hearing about two. I've got time yeah um the first one was I remember going to a grad show at ACARTS and um watching a young woman perform and I really love what she did. And I mentioned to a an another performer Charlie Sanders I said I'd love to work with her and Charlie said let's do it. So we did. We found a play we did it it won a fringe award which is exciting but it went to Edinburgh.
SPEAKER_00Really?
SPEAKER_03Yeah and when we got the invitation to perform it in Edinburgh I just I of course my immediate response was oh no no I I couldn't perform in Edinburgh sh I'm not one of those actors you know it was that self-deprecation imposter syndrome you know imposter syndrome all of that and we had to work hard we had a small grant but not enough to get us there. So we had a quiz night we sold wine we did everything to get ourselves there. Yeah we um found some accommodation with a friend and I remember Charlie and I had to share a room and it was the tiniest room we'd kind of be in our beds and he'd say goodnight to me and his face would be it was so funny. Yeah. And um we did four weeks in the gilded balloon uh and I think we did something like 24 performances in 27 days or something like that. It was insane it was the hardest thing I've ever done we had to bump in do the show which took an hour bump out straight away and then go marketing the rest of the day. Oh my wow we were absolutely flat out but it was it was so exciting. Yeah. What was the play called it was Joanna Murray Smith's Love Child.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
SPEAKER_03And it it was the most beautiful play we had people women particularly who had surrendered children as when they were younger would come and see it and weep because Joanna Murray Smith's writing is just glorious but I remember sitting on the plane coming home and saying to Charlie if I never work again in theatre it'll be okay. Oh yeah? Because I mean it it isn't I want now you know bring it on. But I don't feel that now just for the record it was like I think it was the excitement of travelling overseas. Yeah it was the daring how dare we this tiny little three group of three put something on and show it at a a big international event. Yeah it was the people we met there the you know I remember one morning standing looking at the reviews to see if we'd got any posted up on the big billboard and I woman next to me said oh you got a good review and I turned around it was Hannah Gadsby and typical Chrissy who got star struck couldn't barely string any words together to speak to her but you know it it was a thrill an absolute thrill yeah and scary but we still did it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah you know there was another story didn't you remember?
SPEAKER_03Oh the other story I guess I mean there's so many but the one that is current or fairly current was I was in Queensland and this is the irony of our industry I was in Queensland caring for a family member who was unwell and I was up there for about 12 weeks and I remember thinking wouldn't it be lovely to get some work but oh that won't happen and my Queensland representative rang me and said hey Chrissy while you're here you're interested in a short film and I went yeah why not?
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Well that little film which we shot in the Sunshine Coast has gone from festival to festival and I travelled with it including a trip to LA really to an event yeah gorgeous film about an old lady who had dementia and the ocean and of course I love swimming and a whole lot of the shots were underwater sequences. What was this one called and the ocean agreed it was called and it was the lowest budget imaginable yeah it was um shot over a week in the worst weather conditions known to mankind you know Sunshine Coast had been sunny warm beautiful still water the week we shot it was as rough as hell I got dumped it was really rained it was freezing and I met uh well the woman who directed it and wrote it I've become amazing friends with who was that a woman called Tanya Medini she's had quite a few really interesting projects on the the board another one called the Moths Will Eat Them Up which won a big award but we went to the actor awards with it I mean how amazing that a little yeah why not yes you never know hey you never know and this is I think such a great learning it with our industry the tiniest thing can take you somewhere exciting and some of the big things that you think are going to be it just aren't.
SPEAKER_01No I mean look at the the I don't know the Philippo brothers right my goodness yes like a few years ago they were just racca racca just the you know this had their YouTube channel and they people weren't giving them that they were starting to get some opportunities.
SPEAKER_03One with the racca racca the crazy superhero thing to my ankles in blood oh yeah yeah yeah and uh I had a stunt double thank God because I would have had to throw myself downstairs and done all sorts of things.
SPEAKER_01So what what happened to you in that?
SPEAKER_03I turned into a monster I was an old lady who'd suddenly turned into a monster and uh it was a preposterous script. Yeah but very funny. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01But yeah I mean you you you never know who's gonna you just gotta say yes to yeah these things don't exist until we make 'em.
When To Say Yes and When No
SPEAKER_03Exactly I say yes 95% of the time. Yeah I always used to say yes but lately I've said no to a few projects not because they've been bad or I haven't liked the script or whatever. Often for self-preservation reasons yeah like um I'm mindful that I'm not 21 anymore and sometimes I No wait hold on sometimes I tend to take on a lot and my family are reminding me that of a lot of that too. I don't know whether you think you should slow down yeah yeah and I won't I I won't slow down but I have become more mindful of my time and energy.
SPEAKER_01I see okay yeah so what's the criteria for picking a picking a project then?
SPEAKER_03A script that leaps at me will always do it. I mean when you read a script and you just go oh I love this oh my god yes it's easy yeah sometimes I'll pick up a script and go oh you know I'm not sure about this I'm not sure whether where this is heading yeah but I look at who is directing who's written it who's in it and that usually gives you a bit of a guide of um what it's going to be like or you know am I going to enjoy this and am I going to find this experience positive. Yeah I can honestly say I've never hated anything I've worked on. That's good. I've mostly just had a marvellous time.
SPEAKER_01It's always nice being on set with you. Every time I come on set if you're there I'm like oh it's gonna be a good it's gonna be a good day.
SPEAKER_03Because ever all the downtime I just spend just chatting with you and making coffees and I think that's lovely on set when you get do get to just hang out with people and and often that's when little relationships get forged you know and also I get over my I'm s I get so star struck by people. I'm I'm hoping oh god yes and and on sets I've learnt not to be you know because you discover that they are just actors and they are maybe just as nervous in some cases as you are or um happy to sit and yarn. Yeah I haven't struck many divas to be honest very very rarely yeah and that's pretty wonderful. So who's a name that you can remember feeling nervous about working with the first time I ever worked with Hugo weaving just thought what will I say to this man? How will I and you know you don't want to be the person that stalks or the person that ingratiates. Yeah you want to just do your job. Anyway he came up to me uh we'd just shot our little scene together and he came up to me and said Chrissy would you mind very much if I walked with you to lunch and sat with you I just went no just lame little person and we started yarning and it was lovely and he is such a beautiful of course human being and just a normal person. Yeah but it's yeah when you've had a you've watched someone whose you clearly just think is wondrous.
SPEAKER_01Yeah have you ever felt that people have been nervous around you or just nervous to be on a set?
SPEAKER_03Well I'm usually the nervous one I've just learnt to hide it. Oh well I think that's probably the trick isn't it but I think you know people talk about not being nervous and I think that nerves harnessed are a good thing. Nerves show that you care about what you're doing. Yeah and that and nerves can give you adrenaline as long as it's harnessed and controlled. Yeah and I try and kind of control that nervous energy what I love on set is that collaborative feel when everybody's kind to one another and um everybody works together as a team and there's no hierarchy. That's my ideal.
SPEAKER_01Totally yeah and I think it's nice when people sort of recognize or what everyone else is going through. You know if you see someone that's nervous on a set if we can sort of help each other out to okay look look it's not that bad. Or like Hugo might come and say hey come for a walk with me to lunch you know just to let's get on the same plane fresh air and so did I and then suddenly there's calm on set and there's no hierarchy and it's just now we can collaborate and and be creative together.
Nerves, Kind Sets and Rejection
SPEAKER_03Yeah it's beautiful and and some actors just like to stay in their vans with the door shut and that's fine. Yeah that's fine. Because I know on my last project one of the actors did that and she said to me don't think I'm being rude Lavi I just need downtime and I utterly respect she had a massive role. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01She needed to regroup have a look at her script you know learn the lines and I want to know what are some principal mantras that you that you sort of carry with you in your career or on a set.
SPEAKER_03You know how you stay calm or how you maintain creativity or the or the calmness or well handling rejection would be a a place where I'd start from that knowing and reminding ourselves I include all actors in here that not getting a role doesn't mean you were shit. It just means you weren't the right person for the job. Yeah getting a role also can just be luck. You can work your butt off for an audition and get nothing because she maybe didn't look right or somebody else was just better than you or you might get a role because you matched somebody else as you know in some way. So I keep being mindful of that kind of stuff that don't take it personally.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Sometimes it's hard I I think I've only ever been upset once when I missed out on something because it was a fantastic opportunity and it clashed with something else. But hey that's life. Yeah work hard know your lines God you know and I the older I'm getting the harder it is to take on board my my bank is full filing cabinet is full and um but you know I I make sure that I know what I'm doing and I ask questions never assume that you know what you're doing.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03At the beginning I used to be a bit afraid to maybe say hey look I don't really get this now I say it because I'm old and I've got nothing to lose as in as in to the director understanding direction or understanding the text or yeah or if you think that you know that didn't work say it and just say ooh I'm not sure that worked. Yeah whereas before I'd just go wait and hope that everything worked why do you think that was why why did you think you used to sit back? Oh just in security maybe now I'm more inclined to go you know and speak my mind not a lot of collaboration and and wanting it to be the best possible take or whatever. Yeah. Do you know what my this is going to sound so Pollyanna but be kind. Yeah be kind even when things are going wrong and everybody's stressed and people are going off because that happens yeah be kind you know supportive try and you don't you don't want to be the one you don't want to be part of that storm you know you can be the calming force in that you know yeah you never know what's going on with someone else you know that's that thing about yeah and I was saying to this young man on the train this morning he was talking about some stuff of his and I said to him you know I always sit there and I think in my head it's okay this is not about me. Yes and that really helps yeah because it just puts a little boundary in place. I should put that I should write that on my hand every day I think and the other one I love is not about me or you are enough.
SPEAKER_01Yeah what does that what does that mean to you?
SPEAKER_03You are enough is I can only be who I am so you are enough Chrissy. Yeah don't try and be anything else yeah everybody else is taken and I suppose it's taken me a long time to work that out some people find that earlier than others but I had a really you can okay if I just tell a story please I had a really interesting thing happen recently that taught me a big lesson.
SPEAKER_01What's that?
SPEAKER_03Well about five years ago I lost my sight in this eye.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_03So I've got a green eye and a blue eye and the blue eye is a little bit odd it doesn't quite move properly David Block I know I actually call this eye Bowie. Really? Yeah I didn't but his eye was more lit up than mine. Mine is fading you know but that's okay. Anyway I was very conscious of it and every audition I did I was thinking oh god they're gonna hate me because of my weird eye you know and yeah and it got in my way and uh I was talking to people who'd say look no it just gives you an individuality but it didn't matter I had to discover this for myself so what I decided to do was to get myself a lens to put over the eye so it would match this one. Right. So I paid I think it was a thousand dollars for this contact lens and I was all thrilled with myself and I had photos taken with the new lens in and I had a hilarious day with the photographer because it kept slipping and he'd say I'll love your eyes moved again and we'd have to stop and push it into place. And anyway I put my headshots up on platforms and things and um the first two gigs I got post new lens I said to both directors of the two projects I've got this new contact lens to put in my eyes so that I will look normal and both of them said nah we love your eye the way it is and I thought what a great learning yeah what did you learn from that just be who yeah you're enough I'm enough yeah exactly and and you know we all are different we're not perfect we bring our own self to every job and I thought that was such a good example it's beautiful isn't it yeah because we're gonna change yeah we're gonna get old we're gonna lose our hair yep yep and that will bring us into a new range of opportunities exactly yeah so now I am getting quite a bit of horror which I think is hilarious and cranky old ladies bring them on you know I keep going for all these auditions for cranky old ladies and you I see who's taking the roles but okay and that casting stuff is really interesting um I've had a run of dementia lately a lot of dementia roles and uh I think oh that's interesting what do they see when I'm being cast I'm always curious to know what are they seeing that particularly earmarks you in one flavour.
SPEAKER_01It's a that's a very tricky uh line to walk I think as a casting director to be like okay um it's a dementia role you know how easily offended someone might be for that you know I don't it's work and it's it's working and it's a challenge.
SPEAKER_03You know give me something that I can sink my teeth into that I have to research observation of other people um finding some experiences from my back life that I can throw in it's that's the joy. I've never had Lovely cuddly nana roles ever.
SPEAKER_01Oh, really? Well, I'm not. What about what was your role in that first of all? That's not true.
SPEAKER_03Well, I think I'm a spiky porcupine nana. I'm very loving. But I don't look like a rowdy.
SPEAKER_01Chrissy, I don't see you as spiky porcupine, but okay. It's funny how we see ourselves. I know, I know. What was the one you did with uh is it Lily Drummond? The Bear Hunt? Bear Hunt. That was a sweet little film. Yeah. Yeah. I haven't seen it yet, but I've seen some frames and it looks amazing.
SPEAKER_03She was she was kind and loving. That was good, but she was very quirky. And that's I love the the quirks of roles, the opportunity to find those little, you know, how do you find those? I think a lot of them are just part of me, to be honest. I think they pop up. That's interesting, eh? Little bits of you that you perhaps don't show normally that kind of come out. Like the voices in my head that I talked about.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_03The little bits of me that bring together the whole.
SPEAKER_01I love that.
SPEAKER_03I've given them all a name. Have you? Yeah. What do you mean? They've all got names. Yeah. Oh my god, this is so great. The little sides of me, uh they're they're in the radio drama named.
SPEAKER_02Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_03These are the the little the vo the parrots and the parrot is the self-critical one. Right, yeah. But a useful one too, like um a character or a part of me that reminds me of things because other parts of me go off very boldly without thinking clearly and need reining in. So it's that knowledge of self and being able to play with the parts of your own psyche, I think, that you know. Because I don't know anybody else's psyche, so the only I'm the only one I've got. I can play another character, but I can only bring what I know to it.
Finding Rage and Range Safely
SPEAKER_01That is so beautiful. I've been thinking about this a lot lately because I I teach one one class a week. That's that's all I've got capacity for, right? And I think people often get confused with what character is, and people think it's like it's just being playing something completely different to I don't know, just making these really bold physical choices that and that's all it is. But I was trying to sort of articulate this to my students recently, and we're talking about this phrase, you are enough, and I was curious about what that meant to you, but there's sort of two different ways to look at it. There's you are enough as if like you as a person are enough, but also as an actor playing a character, you are enough, and to me that means we're looking for a human, and you are already a human, so you are already enough to play a character, and so when you are actually playing someone that isn't you, and it might be very different to who you are, but you're always bringing elements of yourself to it. Absolutely, yeah, and the all the little voices and the and the parrot and whatever other names you have, you know. I won't divulge all the other names. Yeah, no, they're yours.
SPEAKER_03That's that's fine. I had a very small role in Troppo up in the Queensland, yeah, and I had to play this woman who was a raging redneck, angry, gun-toting mama who just was enraged and killed. Right. Now, that doesn't quite fit with Chrissy Page, she's not very rage. I rarely see you do that. But do you know, the soon as I had that gun in my hand, I don't know what happened, but there was this like power thing that came up, and uh also there is a part of me that can get pretty damn angry, yeah, and I use that, and it was lovely. That came out in a clown workshop once, very inappropriately with Hugh Parham. Yeah. We were doing a clown workshop and we had to reveal our inner clown, and I discovered mine was a really angry bastard, yes. And I had so much fun freeing that, yeah, and then I used that with this character with the gun because normally I'm, you know, quite happy-go-lucky, joyous character in real life, yeah, real me. But there is this bit that can get pretty damn angry about usually world events and things and unjustice and poverty and all that. Very angry, but that's more political. But I discovered this kind of rage in the clown workshop that was so much fun and safe to express. Yes. You know? So I use that with some of my not quite so nice characters. Oh, now that I've found that, it's really good. Never give Chrissy a gun. No, well, she did. I had to for a stage show once do gun training at a gun range. I was so scared. But weirdly, that would terrify me. Weirdly again, once I actually had it in my hand and the target and I hate to say it. Well, quite enjoyed myself. And I still go, ooh, when I think that. But I think it was more about the about power, which is a bit scary when you go, if that's how it felt for me, then how does it feel? I'm getting too deep now. How does that feel for people who don't have control? You know, you could see. I don't know how we got onto that either. I don't know.
SPEAKER_01I'll I'll run segue. I'll run that by you and see if you want to leave all the gun stuff in there. We get you get you arrested.
SPEAKER_03That's okay.
SPEAKER_01But no, I love what you were saying before about putting yourself in the character. So you are always just sort of in in injecting yourself in these characters.
SPEAKER_03Well, you have to, yeah, because you haven't got anybody else to inject it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you're the only you're the only person, version of you you have, yeah. So how does that fit into um how you sort of see yourself or what you think you're capable of before you go into a role?
SPEAKER_03Do you trust that you can adjust yourself to or to to take on different um different life experiences or when it comes to theatre, I find it um easier because you've got a usually a four-week rehearsal process and you've got time to explore and play and find what you want to make of the character. Film is very immediate. Yeah. And what I find is I can do all the prep myself, but then get on set and not be right. They want something different. Luckily, I do have the ability to shift and change things. I enjoy improvisation a lot. Yeah. So I'm I'm and my whole life is an improvisation pretty much. Well, yeah, that's a well it is, I and I love challenges, so that's good. But yeah, I I think when you I've never had in or no, I've had one lead, I think, yes, in a film. Um generally I get small roles, so you you or support roles, which is wonderful, and give me over a lead role, give me the small interesting characters. I love it. But quite often you come in and there's not a lot of time, so there's not a lot of opportunity to rehearse or focus on anything, and you just have to be ready and to to shift and change and be flexible. And I think, as I said earlier, asking the questions if you are worried, or um talking to the director if you've got time, because sometimes you don't. I like to know what I'm doing, I like to be clear, but that's not always possible with film.
SPEAKER_01Do you ever find yourself seeking permission from a director or validation? Validation?
SPEAKER_03Not validation, no, although I will check sometimes if it if if a director's got a really kind of face and I'm not sure about what I've done, I might just say, All good, you know, just check in because I think that's important. But sometimes that's just the thinking face. I know myself, people say to me, Are you okay, Chrissy? You look terrible. And I'm just thinking. Yeah. Because I'm not smiling, they misread me.
SPEAKER_01I had a I had a boss once, and she would always come up to me and go, What's wrong? Over like, what do you mean? Why are you so angry? I said, I'll go put on this. You had your thinking face. Oh no, it's just it's just my face. I'm sorry.
SPEAKER_03Well, I've got a scar that runs down between my eyes.
SPEAKER_01So if I don't smile, I just look cross all the time. It might come in handy when you're holding a gun. Exactly.
SPEAKER_03Exactly.
SPEAKER_01Use it. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I think when I was younger, I used to worry about how I looked a lot. I think we all do when we're, you know, very young and discovering who we are.
SPEAKER_01Especially like young actors, you mean they're, you know, it's more there's a lot of vanity that comes into it, you know, in those early years, I think.
SPEAKER_03Well, yeah, vanity, but also trying to look your to look like what they want.
SPEAKER_01Trying to show something.
Ageing On Screen Without Apology
Give The Character A Name
SPEAKER_03Yeah, but realistically, you can only again be yourself, everyone else is taken. Favorite, favorite quote ever that is. And sometimes it's the very quirky little thing about you that gives you the edge. I know what I was going to say. Years ago, about 10 years ago, I did a workshop with a guy from LA. Um, my agent brought out a um producer or director or somebody, I don't know who he was, I can't even remember his name, to be honest. And we did some scenes and he worked with us, and it was fantastic. It was really great learning. But he said to me, Oh, it's so refreshing working with a woman of your age who looks like you do. And I said, What do you mean? And he said, Every uh older woman in Hollywood is having plastic surgery. Oh, celebrate every line on your face, it looks beautiful. And I went, My God, that is the nicest thing to hear. How lovely, yeah. And there were plenty of lines then, and there's plenty more now, but it's that I can sell. You know, that's my little stamp. And you know, I admire Jane Fonda's work, she's amazing, and I'm not comparing us, but Jane doesn't look like an 88-year-old lady anymore. She looks like someone who's had tons of work, and I think that's a shame. She's still amazing, and I love her work, and I love her politics, and she's a great actor. But what a shame you feel you have to change yourself. I know. I recently auditioned for something, yeah, which I didn't get, which is okay. And um, I had to laugh. The script arrived, and it was a male role. Yeah. Right, okay. And it I looked at it and I thought, okay, am I why have that I've been sent a male character? Is this nobody had explained anything to me. Is this tokenism? Oh, you know, we'll just get Chrissy in so they can see her. Or is this genuine? Have they not decided on the gender of this character? What is this? And I that's that's curious. So I just played it as whatever she was, which I can't describe because I'm not giving it away. But you know, it was written for a male, right? And it was sent to a female performer, still called a male role. And I go interesting. Couldn't they have written in she and given her a name? Yeah. And that's another thing, you know, a lot of scripts that I get if it is um small role, supporting role, minor role, whatever you want to call it, 50-word or I don't care. The character is called old woman. Yeah, give them a name. Give them a name. You know, I'm happy to play old woman, but give her a name. And in fact, in a couple of instances, uh, on you know, how you fill in your casting network's blurb and write your character and your film and who directed you. I've made up names if it was called old woman. I've put Lily or whatever, because I think bugger it, give her a name. She's a person. 100%. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I always if I I often get I've got a few drunk guys recently. I'm usually drunk guy.
SPEAKER_03Drunk guy.
SPEAKER_01And or I don't know, or I don't know, Bogan or something. And um, and I'll I'll message if it's a if it's a little indie or something and I can actually access have access to the director. Have a good relationship. I'll say, hey Kitty, can we credit them as a character name rather than drunk guy? I can't just have drunk guy, drunk guy, drunk guy. You know, well I did that on a very big Oh, did you?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I had a very tiny bit in a very big Hollywood number up on the Gold Coast. And she was called old Old Beggar Woman. Right. And I said, Oh God, out loud, why always old woman? Why not a name? And the writer was there, and I didn't know. And she went, good point. What would you like to call her?
SPEAKER_01Oh, that's amazing.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and because she was a smelly old character, I said Oda. And they called her Oda. Really? I know. And I thought, go, Chrissy. Yes. That's what I mean. Being my age, I feel like I can at last have a little bit bigger voice or something.
SPEAKER_01A much bigger voice, Chrissy. Not just a little voice. A little voice. Not just a bit bigger. Yeah. A growing voice. Yeah, that's fantastic. That's so good.
SPEAKER_03Odor. You probably she'll probably end up on the cutting room floor. It doesn't matter.
SPEAKER_01It doesn't matter. It's a good message. Don't be lazy. Come on. Give them a name.
SPEAKER_03Give her a name. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. How do you find work?
SPEAKER_03Well, I'm blessed with a local agent and a Queensland agent. So um simply because living up there for that short period of time, I got an agent up there. And um they are great, both of them. They obviously put me up for things all the time. I have a very large network in the industry, which also helps, like been around a long time, I suppose. And a lot of really beautiful colleagues contact me and ask me if I'd like to be involved in projects. I don't put myself out there. I'm really bad. I'm I I'm on um network, like casting network showcast, blah, blah, blah, which does it for you. But I'm really bad at self-promotion, terrible at social media. You know, I I just that's that's fine.
SPEAKER_01I just can't. It's it's such it feels so grimy, the social media thing. I mean, I'm obviously I'm doing I'm I'm a hundred percent in on it, but I'm I'm s I so envy this like uh way of going about it without even touching it, you know.
SPEAKER_03Well, it's not that I I know when you told rang me and asked me if I'd like to do this, and I f I had a slight freak out because I thought, oh, it's gonna be all about me. Yeah and I and that's scary. That is scary. Yeah, I like to play the characters, playing me is tricky, you know. Like people say, oh, but you're an actor, we want you to MC our wedding, and you think, Oh, yeah, oh yeah, right. I've had that too. And I have done it, yeah, but I've played a character, I've played an MC, and you know, it's not easy to self-promote or um schmooze. I'm bad at schmoozing. It's really interesting. I was at a an event yesterday that was great, but there were a million people there, and I walked in and went, oh god, you know, freak out, million people. I like it when you're in the corner with two or three others having a nice chat.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03That's my idea of connections and yeah, the big event things are a little overwhelming.
Making Content That Still Feels True
SPEAKER_01Well, that's that's why I did this, because there's a pressure to make content as an actor these days. And the question is like, what the hell am I supposed to make? But so I started making these reels, and some of them were, you know, a bit of fun and and over the top and whatever, but not me. And so the question is, who am I supposed to show online? Because I'm supposed to be myself, yeah. But you put a a camera in front of me, there's gonna be it's gonna be a character, some kind of character, even if it's a if it's a version of me. But but at least with this, you can just chat, or we can just chat, and it's still there's there's you know, you know the cameras are here and you're thinking about yeah, I'm editing in my head and all that stuff, so there's you know, there's a little bit of that in the mix, but this is what I want to show. Yeah, you know, this is what I want to show and these are the corner the conversations we're having in the corner of the room at the premiere or something, you know what I mean?
SPEAKER_03And and actors love a yarn, yeah, they do. Sitting and having a yarn is one of my favourite things to do. What have you been up to lately? And oh, I heard about that, what a bugger, you know, just chatting, it's a joy. Yeah. Do you know one of the things that I treasure about the industry, and I was saying this to someone the other night, is there's not many industries where you can have friends who are 78 and 20. You know, we are so lucky. We can because we are colleagues, peers equals when we're doing a show or a whatever, you get to be friends and you get to just hang.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03And I feel so blessed at my age that I have all these young, gorgeous connections with people.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_03And um look, so funny, a lot of my non-industry friends will say to me, When are you going to give up, Chrissy? You know, really? Yeah, you're still working. And I think, yep. Give up. I know, give just the word give up. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And I think such an odd way to put it. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03If I fell flat on my face in the middle of a shoot, sorry about that director and producer, but hey, a guy something I love. Sure, yeah. Um, but yeah, we're very blessed in that.
SPEAKER_01We are you know, yeah, yeah. Yeah. I feel very lucky to have found this. Yeah. And it because it's so quiet, you can understand why people I don't know. They they have their best interest in mind, I guess, when they're saying, like, you know, what else is there? But how how many people in the world actually have actually found something they enjoy and are actually pursuing it? You know what I mean? That's right.
SPEAKER_03It's about loving what you do, and it's about um risk, challenge, um, ups and downs. I mean, there's been some downs as well as some ups, and uh, that's all part of the learning. Yeah, you know, not everything is gonna work. No, no, but that's the whole that's the whole point. Well, that's right, and experimental stuff, yeah, I find totally thrilling. Oh yeah. You know, somebody sent me something the other day and said, here's an idea, what do you reckon? Comments, please. Well, yay, you know, just having input and and it might fall flat on its face, and a lot of my stuff has that I've tried to generate or written, and that's fine. It's getting it, it's the process for me. I am such a process girl.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Yeah. Just keep making things, and every now and then you might find you might find a gem or you might create a gem, you know. Yeah. Um we we just did this, I've just started rehearsing, or we did a work a couple of workshops over the weekend for a play with famous last words theatre, which will be at the Goodwood Institute in April.
SPEAKER_03Oh wow, okay.
SPEAKER_01It was really fun because the the script is finished, but the last there there's just a couple of little moments of meditation that we need to sort of figure out in the table read, you know, as we're discovering the characters, which is really nice because I've never really had that before. Uh, being part of that process. Where the director's open to changing things and adapting things to make it suit our characters and stuff. So much fun. So we spent two days just going through the whole thing beat by beat.
SPEAKER_03Creative developments are fabulous.
SPEAKER_01So good.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Well, there's no pressure. There's no pressure to perform, but there's invitation to just participate in that.
SPEAKER_01You're all invested, yes. Yeah. Be playful, yeah. And you're all invested in in the same project. Yeah. And you've all got a stake in it now, and you all care for it as a collective. I think that's the best sort of dynamic you can you can develop. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03I've got a a development coming up actually, which I'm thorough I've done one already. I I won't say what it is because it's not ready, you know, and it's not my role to talk about it. But I'm so excited. I get to work with people I love.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_03I get to be playful. I get to try things out and bomb out and then try something else.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03That's the other thing. I love workshops. I love pushing myself out of my comfort zone and attending workshops and keeping it fresh because it can be a long time between gigs sometimes. Yes. And those workshops keep your spirits up and keep your skills up. And uh they're fun. They connect you with players.
SPEAKER_01Your approach has changed over the years, or have you had sort of resets where you've gone, oh, may maybe I need to go in this direction with um with how I approach acting or the craft?
SPEAKER_03I find that I'll lear I'll learn something, like a new technique or a method or a something, because I essentially I'm an I am not a trained actor, I'm a actor who's learnt through experience and intuition. That's how I would define myself. And um but I've attended a lot of workshops, tried out a lot of methods and techniques and listened a lot to what others have to say. And some of those things work for me, some don't. If I try too hard to work using a technique, I find I lose something of my own essence, which possibly is uh detrimental, you know, because you lose sight of that. I listen to my gut an enormous amount, you know, in life and in How do you reset if you if you feel you're going in uh on down the wrong track? For me, or if I'm in a work scenario.
SPEAKER_01Well, I just mean if if you feel if you feel in your gut that you're not you're trying something, but it's not r you're not really connecting to it.
SPEAKER_03If it sits with discomfort, like I tr m I try very, very hard to be authentic. And I think like recently I saw Jimpa.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Oh there is an absolute masterclass in authenticity. Yeah, yeah. Every single actor in that film is just so authentic, and I think that's Sophie Hyde's uh method she uses of bringing actors together and with intense rehearsals and getting to know each other. That's the ideal in my mind.
SPEAKER_00Yes, yes.
SPEAKER_03You know, where you've got time and space to explore, and often there isn't that, but you and you can be step onto a film set clear and trust yourself. Alas, that doesn't happen a lot.
SPEAKER_01It doesn't. So how can you create that for yourself? Because it because that might be part of you, that might be part of the process for as an actor, yeah, to find those opportunities to connect to your your castmates quickly, you know.
SPEAKER_03I think it's just to be true to yourself and bring yourself everyone else's taken. I love it. Here we go again.
SPEAKER_01I think we should have a counter.
SPEAKER_03I think I think we should. How many times can she say that in one interview?
SPEAKER_01As many times as you want. Keep going.
SPEAKER_03Keep saying I can't remember when I first heard that expression, but I remember laughing and just thinking, oh my god, that's so right. If only somebody had said that to me when I was a little girl. Yeah. You know, instead of no, that's not right, or just be yourself.
SPEAKER_01It's so beautiful though. I think we got the theme for the episode though. Be yourself.
SPEAKER_04Everyone else is taken.
Self-Tapes, Subtext and Playful Risks
SPEAKER_01It's really lovely. Uh so what about your process? Like, you know, aside from kil um finding time to collab to to become comfortable with other actors on on a set and being yourself on a set so that you can just be as genuine as possible and connect to people quickly. What's your process when you first receive a script? Okay. You know, and you sit down with it and you go, Okay, where do I start? What's the mindset as you as you go into it?
SPEAKER_03You know, well, to be honest, as soon as that email hits, my first thought is, oh shit, when is this due by? Yeah. As in for like auditions or for auditions, yeah. Oh, is that what you meant? For audition? We start with auditions. We no, well, believe in time to be very, very short. Very short, yeah, yeah. And you know, quite often you're in the middle of something else. Yeah. I remember one recently that makes me laugh. I was in Sydney for three days with my granddaughter, January. Nothing happens in January. Yeah. January, actors have holidays. And I get this message, hey Chrissy, can you please put down this and send it to us? And I'm in a little hotel room with my granddaughter who who doesn't read opposite you or anything. And I thought, oh, great, you know, uh, thanks. Yeah, yeah. But um, I mean, I could have gone to the equity office and someone would have read opposite me, but it was a holiday and I didn't want to do that. Yeah. But that's a a silly example. But it's a typical thing.
SPEAKER_01Plenty of hotel auditions, yeah.
SPEAKER_03Anyway, I uh have a read. I I always say yes, I will, unless it's completely impossible.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_03But it I don't think it ever has been completely impossible. Um, but often it can be a 48-hour, you know, lead-in or less, which is hard. And I try to dress not in character, but give an impression physically if I can. Most of the time I never wear makeup unless the character is described as she is, you know, very painted kind of person. Um, because I give the warts and all, because I figure then I can't hide anything. They can't I can't get on set and they go, Oh, you look nothing like your you don't put your lens in anymore? No, no, let and anyway it's takes about half an hour to get the blooming thing in. So I think that's been just popped away in the drawer. Usually I get a member of the family to read opposite me. One of my either my eldest daughter or her partner. Um, thank the Lord for family. I'm getting better with camera. I'm, you know, got a little tripod. Yeah. I get frustrated though with the process and camera because at home there isn't the generally good lighting or anything, but we're working on that. Natural light is best, I think.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah. Warts and all that. A good window.
SPEAKER_03A nice window. Yeah. Process. Break down the script, uh, have a look at what's not on the script.
SPEAKER_02Subtext. Yes.
SPEAKER_03Very interesting. Probably one of my greatest learnings, and I can't say what it is because it's not out yet, was recently, well, not recently, it was the beginning of last year. I was sent a script with one word I had to audition for.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03And I know a lot of other people got that script too. And a lot of people said, no, I'm not auditioning for one word. And my agent said to me, Um, I'm so sorry that they're asking you to audition for one word. And I went, it's all right, it's easy to learn. So we got we set it up and we shot the word, and then I thought, there must be something else I can do with this because I'm a bit bored. Two words. Well, no, I didn't use any more words, but I decided to create a little scene that she went into after she'd spoken. Because there was more dialogue on the page. She had actually left the script, it was end, you know, the word and then end, and then the dialogue continued with the other main actors. So I decided I would have her come back and listen in behind the door. That's so good. Just because I was bored, and I thought, I know what I'll do. So I came back. Well, they wrote me a whole lot of other scenes. Really? Yes. Small scenes. Other scenes, and I thought, there you go. There you go. You just get a bit cheeky and a little bit creative, and you decide you're gonna, you know, have a bit of fun with it. And I I think with auditions, that is a key. Having fun with it. Yeah, it doesn't matter if it's not right or perfect, it's showing potential.
SPEAKER_04Yes.
SPEAKER_03And I know one time my agent said that one I did two takes, one that was very still and meaningful and very filmic, and one that was over the top. And apparently they said to her, Thank God she did that over the top one. We laughed like drains, and that was the decider. Wow. And it was a completely random, silly take. Well, there you go. So who knows what people want.
SPEAKER_01But we do always get two takes, so they it's a wonderful story. But that's what they want. They want to see they don't want a warm puppet, they want someone with ideas. Yeah. Because they don't have all the answers. Yep.
SPEAKER_03So and and the one in Queensland, the one that I said has taken me on all these journeys. Um, the script was a woman in the ocean talking to her granddaughter, the the the audition.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Just they were standing there and she was just talking to her granddaughter. Well, I decided I would start popping up out of the water and then running off and diving under afterwards. And um the director roared with laughter.
SPEAKER_01So where did you shoot it?
SPEAKER_03In a creek.
SPEAKER_01Yes. Oh, Chris, I love this.
SPEAKER_03Well, with my daughter, poor daughter, trying to read, throw props at me, you know, all the stuff we do when we're trying to get something together. But the joke was a whole lot of other female older women auditioned, and they were great. Yeah, but none of them thought to do it in the water. And also, when asked, one of the questions that you had to submit was, How do you feel about swimming in the ocean? I had demonstrated, but also said, Oh, I love the sea, you know. And a lot of them said, Oh, yes, I could I can swim, but I I wouldn't be able to stay in all day.
SPEAKER_01Right, okay, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03And apparently this woman, Tanya, director, said, We just pissed ourselves laughing at your bum, diving into into the water and popping up. And she said, I just went, I want to work with her. Very nice. Which was pretty bold of her because I could have been terrible. How did she really know? But sometimes that this is getting back to quirky, I suppose. Sometimes those little risks or crazy things you do pay off. Sometimes they bomb.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, but who cares? Yeah, who cares? Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Spaghetti falling off the wall. Doesn't matter. Yeah. Yeah, I love that. I did I did an audition in the ocean as well once. Did you?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah. Challenge.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, well, it was um it was a war scene. It wasn't actually I'll explain it properly later, but it's meant to be kind of like a war scene, and we're swimming through the ocean, we get to shore, kind of like the um saving Private Ryan D-Day scene, you know. And I was like, man, I could shoot this in front of a grey wall and pretend to be splashing around, but I just said I grabbed I called my friend who's a cinematographer, and we shot it on an iPhone. So can you just help me out, mate? I gotta I've got to do some swimming. And we did the whole war scene, and I dug a trench on the beach.
SPEAKER_03Oh, that's gorgeous.
SPEAKER_01And I jumped in the trench and I like it's like dodging bullets and stuff, and I got a callback. Good.
SPEAKER_03And you know, that's all you can ever ask. Yeah, yeah. Do something a bit different, hoping for a callback. Once you've got a callback, you've got a little bit more of a chance, you know, and you can present yourself and they can see who you are and what your potential is, and they can work with you. Yes, yeah. One of the saddest things I think about self-takes now is back in the good old days when you'd be called into an audition, you got to work with the casting director, and they'd say to you, No, no, no, that's not what they're looking for. They're they're looking more for this, so you do that. Yeah. Now you just blindly do what you hope is a good thing or what they want. And um, yeah, it's all a bit of a a game now. It is a bit a having said that though, the ones from Interstate that you can't attend in person, at least you've got a chance online, which is and you can send a video of you on a creek now.
SPEAKER_01I know, I know.
SPEAKER_03And it was so funny because at one stage, in the middle of the dialogue, a um a boogie board, not a boogie board, uh paddle board went past with a dog on it. And she said, and we loved the dog too.
SPEAKER_01That's so good. Oh, that's so funny. It's it's funny, like um I've I've done a lot of like kind of outrageous or self-tapes, like, well, not outrageous, but you know, within the the brief. Yeah. And when I started taking more risks with my self-tapes, my my friends would be like, What are you doing, man? That's not how you do them. And I was like, Oh, but it's how I do them. But uh nothing else is working, man. No one's noticing. And um, and it it was the thing that started getting work, really.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and now you've got you got to look at it and go, What have I got to lose? Yeah.
Trusting Intuition and Looking Back
SPEAKER_01Yeah, the job. I'm already losing. I'm already not getting to work, you know. They already don't know who I am. Exactly. And also uh again, like they want to see your creativity. They want to see that you are willing to take a risk on the day as well and play and yeah. What's something you wish you knew earlier in in your career?
SPEAKER_03Oh have to have a big think about that. I think that it just boils down to uh I wished I'd followed my dream earlier. I know you can't look back and change things, but I wished I had said to the principal of the school, well, that's what I'm going to do. One friend of mine did and went on at I think 18 to start her career and um with great success.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03I wished I had perhaps bitten the bullet earlier, but then if I had had done that, I would have missed out on um meeting Mourna Jones at Teacher Col Teachers College. I would have missed out running an agency, studying social work, all that network and wonderful learning I wouldn't have had.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03I do wish I earlier had trusted my instincts more. As I've got older, I've learnt to absolutely trust and listen to my intuition.
SPEAKER_01In when you're performing, or as in with it just the choices you make in life?
SPEAKER_03In life, across life, plus that's part of performing. Yeah, usually my first intuitive thought is the right one. And if I go against it, or I have to listen, because recently, for example, I was sent a script, I read it, and something was just going no, no, no. And I was going, man, I'm not doing anything at the moment. Yeah, right, yeah. That whole thing of yes, I want work, but it kept going no. So I said no, and I explained why, which was a variety of reasons, and it was the right call. Oh, good. It was because I know since I said no, so many other little things that have happened in my life, nothing to do with performing, that yeah, you made the right call, Chrissy. So it's very important.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Well, I'm so grateful that you came in today, and it's really nice to catch up, even though there's cameras on us, but it's good to see you, and I'm sure I'll see you on a set sometime. Hope so. Yeah. Thanks, Chris. Thanks so much for being here, Chrissy. This is great. Thank you.
SPEAKER_03Thank you. I had a lovely night.
Support The Show and Final Goodbye
SPEAKER_01Ah, Chrissy, you're the best in the whole world, you know that. What an amazing human being. So much love for you, Chrissy. Thank you so much for coming onto the show, and thanks for sharing so much with us. And thank you for listening, guys. Thanks for all the support. And hey, by the way, if you like what I'm doing here and you'd like to support the show and help me keep this thing going, why don't you make today the day that you become a Patreon member so that you can support the show for only$5 a month? And you can do that by going to patreon.com slash go pluck yourself pod. There's a link in the description below. Five dollars a month is like not even the price of a coffee, you know? It's like tipping me$2.50 an episode. Like when you see a busker and you chuck your loose change into their guitar case. It's just like that. But it's automatic and it's easy to sign up to and you can listen knowing that you're making a huge difference to keeping this show going. Because this thing is entirely listener funded by you guys. You're the listener. I'm not beholden to any advertisers. This is completely independent. So if you've been listening and enjoying it, if this podcast fires you up creatively, please do me a favor and type that link into your browser to become a Patreon member. It really does help, guys. Alright, make sure you give us a follow on Instagram at GoPluckYourselfpod and give me a follow at featuring underscore Chris underscore gun. Alright, theme music by my amazing cousin Nick Gunn. Check out his work on SoundCloud, soundcloud.com slash Nick Gunn. Thanks for being here, guys. Happy Easter. I hope you're all doing okay out there. It's tough at the moment. I know. Drop me a message for a chat sometime. Let me know how you're going. Thanks for listening, guys. I'll see you in a couple of weeks with another amazing guest all the way from Sydney. The Big Smoke. I'll see you then, guys. My name is Chris Gunn, and hey, go pluck yourself.