Brooke Satchwell is facing her fears and loving it. After over a decade in the acting business, the 26-year-old has just come out of a two-year work drought and scored a role in the new series Dangerous on Fox8.
To read the full interview with Brooke, see this week’s issue of Woman’s Day.
Dangerous is your first big role in two years. Were you shocked when you got it?
I actually thought I’d missed out on it. I was seriously looking at all the bills piling up on my floor and playing Tetris with them, moving them from one pile to another. And they weren’t going anywhere which was making me nervous! Then I got the call and they said, “You start tomorrow!” I was so shocked I woke up in the middle of the night, completely disoriented and thought, “I’ve got to do something tomorrow, what is it?” I was thinking and thinking and then I realised I had to work! I was like, “I’ve got a job! Wow, I’ve got a job.”
Do you find being in a relationship with a fellow actor (Matthew Newton) attracts lots of attention?
Inevitably it does always come up in conversation but I expect it. But I’ve started to not cross the line. People think that if you choose not to talk about something then you’re not being honest. But the problem is if you do talk about it then people always draw your own conclusion and it also affects people who haven’t necessarily chosen to be a part of this.
You once said marriage for you and Matthew was “in our future” is that still the case?
Yeah. I mean I have friends who have been together 16 years and have two kids who aren’t married. I’m not a particularly religious person so there’s not the pressure from that end to formalise the relationship. It would be nice to have a really special day to plan though.
What do you do to relax?
I go surfing. I head off to Manly at 6.30 in the morning. I didn’t go for a while because I found it a bit hard adjusting to Sydney beaches. I got a bit spoilt growing up on the Mornington Peninsula and the crowds in Sydney put me off a bit, but now it’s all good. People initially were intimidating but now I’m back on the Mal.
Who do you surf with? Anyone I can find who is awake at 6:30 in the morning. I discovered on Dangerous that a fair amount of people are actually surfers, which I hadn’t known about, so I’m going to be hitting them up; and my high school girlfriend — she and I started surfing together so it’s always good to go surfing with her.
Have you ever had any run-ins?
Yep! Up in Byron Bay one year we were out at Belongil having a surf and these little grommets were out there and they were like, “Hey girlies. Do you know what to do with that thing between your legs?” And I yelled back, “Yeah. Do you know what to do with the thing between yours?” They didn’t like that so they started water-bombing my family, which didn’t go down very well.
Dangerous deals a lot with ram-raiding, which must be pretty foreign to you. Did you draw on anything from your own life?
Well I’ve never been ram raiding, so not from that perspective. I am getting quite partial to the old balaclava. I love it because I can see people but they can’t see me.
How do you feel about your former Neighbours co-star Jesse Spencer’s success in House?
It’s phenomenal. I mean, he’s worked his arse off and it’s so nice to see that it’s paid off. Then there’s Dan MacPherson, who has gone off to do amazing things too. It was great working with him again on Tripping Over. It’s quite funny to see how well we’ve all gone.
Have you ever thought of going overseas?
I used to think I was avoiding it out of fear. But I’m realising more now that’s not the case. The bottom line is that my priorities are different to a lot of other actors. I mean, it was hard enough for me making the move up from Melbourne to Sydney! I really need my family and friends around me as they are a big part of my life and help me deal with the crazy world of acting. Also, really it’s the same thing over there as it is here. Just bigger.
What was it like combining your role on Dangerous with your role as a presenter on Play School?
It was a bit surreal. One minute it’s 3am and I’m knocking over parking meters in Punchbowl and then a few hours later I’m singing ‘Incy Wincy Spider’. There’s no denying Playschool keeps me anchored.
Where would you like to be in 10 years time?
I want to do it all! I mean, I wouldn’t have expected to have been here 10 years ago and while it would be great to have a plan, I really don’t think I can lock myself down to anything. I think this attitude all came from when I was 15 and one week I was mopping floors and the next week I was on Neighbours!
You can read more of this interview in this week’s issue of Woman’s Day — Brooke opens up about coping with unemployment, her marriage plans and why she’d give it all up to become a meteorologist.
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