Set in the fictional seaside town of South Heads, Australia, headLand was a sexy, action-packed drama that uncovered the many secrets haunting the town’s residents.
Starting with a mystery fatal car crash and expanding to storylines that explored the frustrations of everyday life, family drama, drug use and abuse, and the heartbreak of shattered loves, the Channel Seven series was hugely popular with younger audiences. However, it was canceled after just two seasons due to poor ratings.
Despite being described by a Herald Sun reporter as ”one of the worst soaps that this country has ever produced,” headLand still has a place in our hearts.
Take a trip back in time with the team at TV Week as we catch up with the cast and see where they have landed almost 20 years on from the last episode airing.
Rachael Taylor as Sasha Forbes
Rachael is best known for her roles in the Marvel universe as Trish Walker.
(IMAGE: Channel Seven/Getty)After stepping out of the shoes of Sasha Forbes on headLand, Rachael was a busy actress indeed!
With roles in major Hollywood productions such as Transformers (2007), Reg Dog (2011), Grey’s Anatomy (2011), and in the Marvel multiverse as Trish Walker in Jessica Jones (2015 – 2019), Luke Cage (2016) and The Defenders (2017), this Aussie has certainly stolen the spotlight!
That being said, it seems that Rachael likes to keep her life private, rarely sharing on her official social media accounts.
Adrienne Pickering as Elly Tate
Adirenne is a familiar face to fans of award winning drama Rake.
(IMAGE: Channel Seven/Getty)This Aussie actress went on to star in several local television productions including Home and Away (2008), Sea Patrol (2009) and Neighbours (2014 – 2015).
Notably recent works include Rake (2010 – 2018) in the role of Melissa Partridge, Offspring (2017) and in SBS series Barrumbi Kids (2022).
Libby Tanner as Grace Palmer
Libby has recently started a new career venture.
(IMAGE: Channel Seven/Instagram)By the time she starred in headLand, Libby was already a well-known actress with roles in Neighbours (1993 – 1994), Blue Heelers (1994 – 1995) and All Saints (1998 – 2003).
From 2009 – 2011, Libby starred in Rescue Special Ops as Michelle Letourneau before moving across to Foxtel original series Wentworth Prison (2015-2018) to play the character Bridget Westfall.
Her most recent acting appearance was in Back to the Rafters (2021) as Tessa Blake.
According to her Instagram account, in March 2023, Libby opened her very own vintage store in Geelong, Victoria.
”Over the years I’ve curated a vintage collection including special pieces, staged in many films and performances as well as many handpicked vintage finds throughout my home towns!” Libby wrote on her socials to share the exciting news.
Libby shares a daughter with former All Saints co-star Brian Vriends with whom she shares a daughter.
She also has two other children and currently runs Noosa based theatre company Mad as Us.
Josh Quong Tart as Will Monk
It hasn’t been smooth sailing for Josh in recent years…
(IMAGE: Channel Seven/Supplied)After saying goodbye to Will, Josh returned to Home and Away to play the character of Miles Copeland, a role of which he played for an impressive 743 episodes from 1992 – 2011.
His next big role was in the animated series Master Raindrop (2008 – 2009) and Underbelly (2012).
In the decade since, Josh has made several guest appearances in a number of local television productions as well as starring in the 2013 – 2016 The Lion King Australia Tour where he played Scar.
His theatre performance in Betty Blokk – Buster Reimagined during the 2020 Sydney Festival was also critically acclaimed, reviewers referring to him as ”simply extraordinary.”
Unfortunately, in 2020, Josh did run into trouble with the law, and was ordered into rehabilitation after allegedly assaulting a police officer during a mental health incident.
Matthew Walker as Heath Forbes
Matthew is well known in theatre circles.
(IMAGE: J&L Acting Agency NZ)Following headLand, Matthew’s next major project was in a 73-episode arc of Home and Away as Justin Jefferies in 2010.
He then went on to star in New Zealand comedy drama series Filthy Rich (2017) before landing the role of Karl Vanderbeck in Kiwi soap drama Shortland Street (2020 – 2021).
Matthew has also starred in several stage productions, including with the Bell Shakespeare Company and with Griffin Theatre Company.
Yvonne Strahovski as Freya Lewis
Yvonne has won numerous awards (including an Emmy) for her portrayal of Serena Joy in The Handmaid’s Tale.
(IMAGE: Channel Seven/Getty)Despite only starring in half of the episodes of headLand, Yvonne made a big enough name for herself that she landed roles in huge Hollywood television series such as Chuck (2007 – 2012), Dexter (2012 – 2013), The Astronaut Wives Club (2015) and most notably in the critically acclaimed (and Emmy award winning) dystopian drama The Handmaid’s Tale (2017 – 2022) as Serena Joy Waterford.
She’s also starred in movies such as The Outback (2012), I Frankenstein (2014), The Tomorrow War (2021) and Scrambled (2023) to name a few.
At the 69th Primetime Emmy awards in 2017, Serena revealed that she had secretly married her long-time partner Tim Loden, who she had been dating since 2011.
They share two sons together born in 2018 and 2021.
Conrad Coleby as Adam Wilde
Recognise this handsome face?
(IMAGE: Channel Seven/Facebook)Conrad went from strength to strength following his stint on HeadLand, moving on to a 285 episode stint on Home and Away from 2007-2009 and then onto Sea Patrol as leading man Dylan ‘Dutchy’ Mulholland.
From there, Conrad starred in the likes of Underbelly (2011), A Place to Call Home (2017-2018) and Neighbours (2019) as well as in several other Aussie productions.
According to his social media, Conrad is currently working as a Voice Artist for ABC’s Media Watch, works as a photographer under his business name Conrad Taylor Co and has performed in numerous theatre productions including at the Theatre Royal Sydney, Queensland Theatre and Sydney Theatre Company.
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