Former child actress Marny Kennedy rose to fame at the tender age of just 11 years old as the star of hit children’s show Mortified.
Playing the titular character of Taylor Fry, the show undoubtedly changed the trajectory of her life and career, making her a household name in the process.
And whilst some may only know her for a role that she wrapped up filming 16 years ago, Marny tells TV Week she has no plans now or ever to ”shake off” her time spent in the shoes of Taylor Fry.
”I’m so indebted to that character. Mortified will forever be my beginning and it’s what helped me fall in love with what is now my career. It gave me a family; these are the people who I have done life with right from the beginning.”
In 2021, Marny shared this sweet throwback snap of her and former co-star Nicholas Dunn (who played Hector Garcia) from the Mortified set.
(IMAGE: Instagram)
So close is her relationship with former cast members that the night prior to our interview, Marny even caught a bite to eat with former co-star Maia Mitchell (who played Brittany Flune).
Despite their busy schedules, the duo always make time for each other, even if it is just once a year.
Many women now in their mid to late 20s have fond memories of tuning into the show, so much so that Marny even gets recognised on the street today.
”It’s such an honour, I’m so glad, so grateful to be part of that growing up experience.”
WATCH NOW: Mortified Theme Song. Article continues after video.
Speaking of her own ”growing up” experience, Marny detailed to us her growing pains from a child to an adult actress, deeming the transition ”notoriously difficult.”
”There’s a whole other added pressure that comes with that and being comfortable within yourself and transitioning onscreen from girl to woman, which definitely took me a long time,” Marny tells us.
”I had, I think it was about three or four years where I couldn’t get back in front of a camera,” Marny says.
”After that transition that happened when I was about 17, and I saw myself on screen for the first time as a woman it was really confronting.”
Marny has been working closely with Mazda as an ambassador.
(IMAGE: Instagram)So challenging was this change that Marny even questioned her career choice.
”I had to sort of sit with myself in my early 20s, and sort of say, like, ‘yeah, it was fun as a kid, but as an adult is this career what you really want to do?’ Like, I don’t think I ever made the active decision to do, you know, to act, it was just something that I’d always wanted. So I don’t actually remember making the executive decision, you know, so I had to do that, [and] I ha[d] to get really honest with myself about that.”
Apart from acting, Marny has upskilled in all manners of the creative process, from directing and screenwriting, to even collaborating on projects with fellow actors.
She’s also a proud ambassador for Mazda, specifically the CX30 model which she has just taken for a scenic trip around Tasmania.
”The Mazda ambassadorship has been taking up a lot of my off time when I’ve not been filming and it’s just been such a beautiful balance to travel around and explore.”
”I spent a lot of time in the Australian industry before COVID [and] heading over to the states…but I’ve just really been enjoying being [back] on home soil and, exploring.”
WATCH NOW: Marny Kennedy stars in Mortified. Article continues after video.
So, what’s next for Marny?
For starters, she will star alongside Alex Williams as Simone Callahan in Channel Nine’s upcoming Shane Warne biopic, Warnie, which wrapped filming in December 2022.
She’s also recently finished a short film alongside fellow actor and friend Charlotte Nicdao.
”We did a kid show together when we were 15. And Charlotte’s, had an amazing run over in LA, she’s on the third season of the show over there called Mythic Quest. And she came back home recently. And Charlotte was such a lifeline during COVID, we ended up writing, you know, very infant stages, the first draft of a film together, which is just the first foot in the door for both of us to sort of go, okay, like, we can do this.”
Marny says she’s looking forward to collaborating with fellow creatives in 2023.
(IMAGE: Getty)Fostering collaboration is something Marny tells TV Week she is ”drawn towards.”
”It’s a really exciting age to realise this is the age that we [creatives] looked towards, we are the generators, we are the ones who are making things happen, there’s so many opportunities.
”The common theme amongst us all is wanting to generate our own stories or at least work with each other, and I think I’m hitting a really exciting age for that.
”It’s a really cool moment in time where a lot of opportunities are coming from the people who I love, and it makes me really proud.”
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