Taking a break on the Melbourne set of ABC drama Jack Irish, Danielle Cormack is as content as she has ever been.
At 47, the New Zealand actress has well and truly cracked the big time as one of the most in-demand stars on the small screen. Thanks, perhaps, to her iconic turn as Bea Smith in Wentworth, she barely has time to sit back and relax.
As well as Jack Irish, she has a lead role in the second season of Foxtel political thriller Secret City, co-starring Jacki Weaver, and at least two theatre projects in store for the rest of the year.
“I’ve hit the ground running, as they say,” Danielle tells TV WEEK.
“The past 10 years have been a really colourful ride. Sometimes the work is rife and other times it’s scarce. So I’m really happy to be working on quality drama and telling good stories.”
Danielle says her career has been “colourful.”
At the end of 2016, much-loved character Bea Smith left our screens when she was controversially killed off after being stabbed by Joan “The Freak” Ferguson (Pamela Rabe) in Wentworth.
It was one of the most talked-about deaths in Aussie TV history. Fans never thought the show’s creators would dare kill off their beloved Bea.
It was a brutal end to Danielle’s time on the show, and the actress admits she, like the rest of Australia, suffered a period of mourning.
“It was hard to leave the show and the character,” Danielle confesses.
“I had been in her skin for four seasons, and it was such an emotional and physical journey that I went through with that character. But that’s the nature of the business.
“I was so grateful for being part of the show that is so effective on so many levels. It has a huge fan base.”
She’s not wrong. Wentworth took out three TV WEEK Logies this year, including, for the first time, the Silver Logie for Most Popular Drama.
“I think the character reached out to a lot of people,” Danielle says of Bea. “And I feel really proud about that.”
Bea died at the hands of “The Freak” on Wentworth.
Danielle plays another strong character in Jack Irish: psychiatrist Dr Rory Finch. But she longs for a time when the word “strong” isn’t used to describe female roles.
“I look forward to the day when we can actually move past and not have to highlight the fact,” she says. “We do right now because it hasn’t always been that way.”
Playing opposite Guy Pearce in the crime series has been a dream for Danielle.
“Most of my scenes on the show are with Guy,” she says. “He’s wonderful to work with, and very open and very comfortable with his role – not only as Jack, but in his role as a creative and a performer too.”
Working in Melbourne again, where Wentworth is filmed, has brought back fond memories for Danielle. However, she’s enjoying a much lighter workload this time around.
“It’s been a walk in the park, which is part of the appeal as well – I don’t have the workload of Guy,” Danielle says.
Jack Irish’s talented ensemble cast also includes Marta Dusseldorp, Claudia Karvan and Shane Jacobson.
“There are so many great actors on the show I don’t get to work with – I don’t get to work with Marta,” she laments.
“But I’m so excited to be part of the show. It has such a strong following and there are so many wonderful people involved.”
Danielle with Guy Pearce in Jack Irish.
For more from our interview with Danielle Cormack, pick up a copy of this week’s issue of TV WEEK.
