This is the Things We Do podcast, a podcast about film life, television culture, mental
health and all that fun jazzy stuff.
Today I've got my special guest and friend Natalie Rae Wilson.
Hello.
How are you?
I'm well.
I'm warm.
You are warm.
And sweaty.
Very graphic and I love it.
I mean, it's like you have come all the way from a very cold climate.
Yes.
Although you were in Greece, so it's rather warmish.
Oh, it was beautiful weather.
Greece was, I was living my best life.
You know, it was warm, spent most days at the beach, you know, I loved it there.
But Wisconsin at the moment is, it's freezing.
I don't know what the temperature would be exactly, but my parents-in-law said that it
was negative, negative five or something like that and snowing.
So glad I'm missing that.
Yeah, I'm definitely a summer person.
Yeah, I can tell you, you, you, you kind of got the summer five all up.
You're like, I'm back in Sydney and I'm just going to rake it in.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I'm, even though this weather has been wild, I don't know if you've experienced, I mean,
I've been away for four years.
Yeah, but I've never, in the past, I never saw Sydney so windy in the like spring summertime.
It's it's it's that's global warming for you folks.
It's very fun.
But yeah, like we've had, it's kind of funny because like, I think since the 2020 bushfires
and everything, which, you know, was massive and then, you know, we've had flooding and
since COVID, it's like, I don't know, you could, you could ask for rain, you get a month
of it in Sydney.
Like it's, it's nothing really makes sense.
And then it's like, I think there was like a protest not that long ago, which scientifically
said if we don't sort out a lot of global warming issues by 2050, it's basically non-reversible.
Like there's a whole bunch of issues with them.
And that's so soon.
I mean, if you really think about it, that's, that's very scary.
That's in our lifetime.
That's like, we will be at least probably in our fifties or sixties at that stage.
Yeah.
And that to me is quite scary because that's, it's 2022 now and that's only 30 years away.
And you know, like something really needs to be done.
But you know, I don't want to be this like 90 year old or 80 or 90 year old, sort of
in this planet that I think, you know, is like at the moment I statistically will occasionally
look at like the birth rate and everything in the population size.
I think, you know, ironically it's massive now.
It's like 8 billion people.
It keeps growing.
But yeah, like I think in terms of like, you know, the fact that like a lot of places like,
you know, LA for example, is always a hot place because it's like just a warmer part
of the global, you know, closer to certain parts of the equator.
The same with like, you know, the deserts and stuff.
The outback in Australia is also another place, which is just particularly hot because of
where it's located.
And you know, you look at it and Sydney is cooler because of the coastal, you know, the
fact that we're near coast and everything.
But the fact that it's so windy and rain suddenly, and you know, like there's just little things
that I think like the fact that I think small towns in Sydney have flooded now three times
in the last like two years.
You know, it just, it doesn't make sense to me just being like, you know, cause they say,
oh, this doesn't happen in like a hundred years.
And I'm like, maybe that's a sign.
Like maybe that's a good reason.
I have, yeah, there's family members who do not agree with, you know, just don't think
global warming is an issue.
And I, yeah, I don't know what to say to get them to wake up and, you know, see that there
really is a problem.
And like you said in 20, 2050, 2050, if we don't do something now, it's going to be,
the problems are going to be irreversible.
That's a very scary thought.
I think it's also like the one thing I love is like kids protests and stuff.
And then like one of the like old politicians back when I, we hit the Morrison government
was saying, it was really funny as well.
They were like, these kids need to be in school.
And I was like, no, they don't cause they're out with their teachers all protesting about
global warming.
I feel like they're doing the right thing.
They're actually learned like, and it's really interesting when I think, I'm very big on
education.
I'm big on people doing research, especially like, I guess also coming from a very like,
you know, not super religious family, but I did grow up with a very religious grandmother.
And I think there was a lot of things that I found pros and cons to being real, you know,
like religious as a kid.
Because when I was a kid, no one was told the question.
They were like, you know, just God has answers and science is kind of like this maybe thought
of hypothetical everything.
And then like, I think as I grew up and you know, I sort of retouched my spirituality
more in the last few years, I still think that, you know, like nowadays, do research,
like there's so much we don't understand about the universe and the planets and how everything
aligns that I think you do fundamental research and how like we grow and you know, how like,
you know, everything works on this planet.
And you start to realize, oh yeah, there are a lot of problems, but people want to ignore
that.
That's, that's where I feel.
I feel like it's a problem.
Yeah, I yeah, what you said 100%.
It's a very I think you're right.
I think we do need to do more research and you know, science is ever evolving.
So you know, there were back in the olden days, I actually went to the library of New
South Wales.
Oh yeah.
And they had this, actually they still do this exhibition called something, gosh, something
about medicine and talking about how medicine has progressed and the different treatments
that they had back in the day.
One that stood out to me was for goodness, now I cannot remember anything, but it was
regarding a sexually transmitted disease.
Oh yeah.
Was it like, it wasn't syphilis was it?
Syphilis.
Was it?
Syphilis, yeah.
And what the doctors used to do, they used to give mercury to their patients.
But of course, they couldn't do the work, the doctors wouldn't touch it.
They would give the mercury to the patient and say, here, you take it yourself, you ingest
it.
We can't touch it because obviously, you know, mercury poisoning and it's not a nice, yeah,
anyway.
So I thought that was hilarious how they used to give mercury to heal syphilis.
And it's just interesting how far we've come and how science is ever changing and global
warming.
Anyway, and like you said, just people need to do their research.
Well, it's like the, I love that you say that as well because it was like my attitude towards
the vaccine, which, you know, like any sort of, you know, like smallpox, prime example,
smallpox, I think when it was rampant, when they developed the vaccine, there were a lot
of trials and errors.
But I think because of science now and how quickly we can understand stuff so quickly,
like a vaccine was mass produced quite quickly.
And you know, and I think granted, it did not agree with everyone.
And some people unfortunately did die probably as results of partial the vaccine, but it
didn't kill everyone.
It actually made a lot more people safe.
And I think that whether you ended up never having the vaccine or you're immune or everything
like that, that is your choice.
I'm not arguing with that.
But I think the thing is that there was like people out there just saying it will kill
you.
And I'm like, that is dependent on the body.
And unfortunately, that is like all that science is because they don't know whether it will
kill you or not.
And it's all, as we say, trial and error.
And never evolving.
And unfortunately, like you are, you know, it's unfortunate to say, but there's always
going to be fatalities in these kind of situations where there is like a pandemic or a plague
or anything like I think, you know, suddenly the Black Death, like, you know, back in the
plague years, that the only reason that sort of disappeared was because they realized that
it came from fleas.
And it didn't actually come from the rats.
It actually came from the fleas and the rats.
And, you know, I didn't know that.
Yeah.
So it was actually nothing to do with rats.
It was to do with the fleas and they'd spread the disease through, you know, into the rats
and then onto the humans.
So it was like, you know, it was just a nuts thing.
And that's how so many people died.
It wiped out a third of the population.
It was nuts.
And you look at history like that, I think they actually cleaned up.
I think that's where they designed a lot of the sanitary like use of, because back then
they didn't actually have any use of sanitary like results, you know, no one barely washed
their hands.
It was all gross.
You know, you were contracting everything.
Oh, right.
Disgusting.
So now it's like, you know, people actually use, you know, public restrooms and stuff
like that.
They're all very sanitary and clean.
And I think that every time, you know, there's so many things that are microbes and, you
know, like small inanimate things.
And there's a lot of things, natural living things that exist on this planet that we will
never see like the bottom of the ocean or anything like that.
Or, you know, it's fascinating because I always think about this and I just go, oh,
this is amazing.
But there's so many things we will never, never be able to understand.
I'm okay with that because I think that's what's the fun of being alive.
And I think, you know, you can't live in fear of, like, it's like this stage, I think Australia
is in its fourth wave and our like fourth wave of the pandemic, I think is another like
a strain.
Yeah.
It's like B-side.
I heard that a cruise ship just let out, had 800 COVID positive cases and let them all
out.
I shouldn't laugh at that.
That's like.
But it is kind of comical.
I mean, it's like, anyway.
Yeah.
I mean, isn't it the way though?
But you know, these days we can't live in fear.
It's kind of just like, you know, because I've got like three boosters now, but I've
had COVID and it sucked.
Like I, you know, did you end up getting it?
Yeah, I did.
I did.
It actually wasn't too bad.
I had one the first day sucked.
It was kind of like flu-y for me, like just the shiver, you know, the cold.
I had a fever.
And then the next day I was almost fine.
Wow.
But then the third day I ended up losing my voice for another three days.
Yeah.
It was, so I was actually okay.
I just didn't have a voice, which was kind of nice.
You know, I was like, yeah, I'll take this.
I'll enjoy my, I'll have more me time.
You will be able to relax.
Yeah.
Oh my God.
That's, that's like nuts.
Yeah.
Dude, I had brain fog.
I had brain fog for four days, so I couldn't, I couldn't work.
Like I was, um, like Emily got it first.
She got it from like seeing a concert and she was like very careful and she couldn't
work out where she got it from, from the concert.
And I got it off her.
And I remember when the brain fog hit me, I was meant to do so much that week.
And I just suddenly just went like this.
I was like, huh?
And everyone was messaging.
Yeah.
Everyone was messaging me.
I was like, I have no brain function, like I cannot respond to anyone.
I felt so bad, but I was like my, like I'd never been more forgetful in, in, and I think
it took, it took us a while to feel like we got hit pretty bad.
I don't know why, but I think it was like, it affects, I mean, yeah, I, I've had, you
know, friends, um, uh, boosted, you know, who, um, my auntie got, um, the
booster and the next day she got COVID and she got it pretty bad.
Yeah.
And then I've like, I've also had, you know, friends, um, unvaccinated who also seemed,
you know, perfectly fine or that never got it.
And I'm like, cool.
You, you, you guys have the, uh, you know, the strong antibodies.
We need your blood.
Can I steal it?
Yeah.
Yeah, I know.
It's when people like have natural immunities to these things and I'm just like, I wish
I, I wish I had that.
Cause I, when I get a flu, I get very sick.
Yeah.
See, I think I don't get sick very often, but I do think that when I do it's, yeah,
it's not fun.
COVID was actually manageable besides the lost, um, the loss, lose?
Lose, loss, lose.
Loss of voice.
There we go.
I got that in the end.
Um, but yeah, I remember in the past when I've had the flu, it's like, it's hit hard.
Yeah.
And it's just like, I'm fine for the whole year, but then flu season comes and boom.
Yeah.
And I'm out of, what's it called?
Out of commission?
Yeah.
Sounds like you're a business.
Like you just suddenly just go like, I'm out of commission.
I'm out of commission guys.
I'm out for a month.
You know, I'll see you in, I'll see you in a few weeks.
Yeah.
Um, cool.
Yeah.
I mean like, how was it like, how was lockdown for you though?
You know, LA was pretty freaky.
I mean, it was, I felt as though I was living in a dystopian.
I mean, I'm sure, I don't know how things were here, but for like two weeks, everything
was shut except for essential business.
But you know, you would have to line up outside of the grocery store and they only allowed,
you know, three people in the whole store.
And you had to be quick to grab your essentials and then leave.
And you know, you had to wear masks, but actually after two, three, I don't know, a month, things
actually started, I mean, they started easing up.
Obviously there was still a lot of, you know, um, commotion and people were scared and,
um, wary and we had to stand six feet apart.
But actually it, it eased up for us, I want to say fairly quickly, um, because, uh, I
actually never stopped working, I guess because we were deemed, um, essential.
Um, so that never changed for me.
Um, and then we, we dropped the masks after some time and things felt like they were heading
back to normal.
And like, I have friends in, um, Melbourne who said they were, um, like they couldn't
work.
They could leave their house, um, for what seemed like months.
Um, and you know, you couldn't travel, um, outside of the 5k limit.
Yeah.
We didn't really have, um, any of that.
So I, it wasn't, I want to say, but maybe my memory is, uh, you know, it's telling me
that things were better, you know, happy memories, happy memories.
Um, cause it was very traumatic.
I don't know.
Um, but I want to say it was actually not that bad.
Yeah.
Um, in living in Wisconsin, I mean, it's as if COVID never happened, you know, like, really?
Yeah.
No one, but it's also, I mean, um, where I was staying at my, um, in-laws, they live,
you know, basically on a farm, you know, they have a bunch of land and the people around
them are very like, ah, COVID, you know, I'll be fine.
You know, if I get it.
So it was, you know, very like COVID, what's that?
You know, living there for the past like five months.
Um, it was actually really nice.
Um, cause life seemed normal.
Wow.
Yeah.
That's like, cause you, rolling back time and rolling back to young Natalie, um, you,
you moved over there to what pursue an acting.
Yeah.
So the original plan was you young single move over there, come back with a husband
and like a plan.
Yeah.
Found me an American boy.
Yeah.
Uh, that was not the plan at all.
It's funny.
I told myself, I never wanted to date another actor.
My husband is also an actor.
What happened?
I'm tell you, he was very persistent.
No, no, I just, you know, there was no one that was also not on my radar at all.
You know, like I went to LA, you know, focus, you know, to, I want this acting career to,
um, to happen.
Um, haha, COVID.
Um, but yeah.
So did that, that was my plan.
You know, or bright-eyed bushy tailed.
Is that the term?
Yeah.
Um, and then, yeah, I found an American boy and then things changed a little bit.
Um, and, uh, yeah.
And then actually it was, it was very frustrating because right.
So I went to LA to, um, uh, do a, um, like a, an acting school, but a shorter, cause
I've, I actually, I have a bachelor's degree in performance, um, from Wollongong university.
Yeah.
That's very, very exciting stuff.
Oh, here you go.
Yeah.
But, um, so I didn't want to study more.
So I just did, I guess it ended up being a two year course.
Um, and after graduating, things were looking up and I was getting auditions and I was getting
callbacks and I actually had a feature film.
Um, yes, yes.
I was, uh, it was like a, uh, like a Weston-y, a Western type feature film.
And I got a callback and I was actually on, um, uh, what's the term?
I'm forgetting everything.
A TVC, like a commercial or?
No, no.
Like when you get the certain stages where you audition and then you get a callback and
then you get a, I guess the second callback.
Yeah.
Um, so yeah, they were, they decided they wanted me, but then COVID happened and everything
shut down and then it fell through.
And then, and I haven't actually, um, acted in a, in a while.
I've taken a bit of a break.
Um.
And I think it's been good.
Do you think?
You know what?
Yes.
Um, I think because it's, ah, it's very taxing, you know, and you get, it's not the nicest
of jobs, meaning, you know, you get so much rejection, you know, unless you're Jennifer
Aniston or.
Yeah.
And I mean, like, you know, anyone had seen her first film, I think that was like Leprechaun.
I haven't seen it actually, but I've heard not great things.
It's, it's very much not the Jennifer Aniston that I, you know, like from Friends or like
years later when she's done a bunch of other things.
Cause that film is very much like her very ditzy character.
And I'm like, this doesn't really feel, but yeah, she's like 20, I think she was 20 in
that film.
So it's like, she's a baby.
Yeah.
Um, but yeah, like I, so you did, you sort of felt like you were going to something then
COVID happened and then it suddenly went shut down.
Everything stopped.
Um, and that really sucked.
And I think also losing that momentum, um, you know, I, I decided, you know what, I'm
going to take a pause.
You know, I, um, we were also trying to figure out if I would be able to stay in the country.
Right.
And AJ, well, we did not want to lose each other, so, you know, we decided we wanted
to, to get married and, um, I mean, he had proposed before, um, COVID actually.
So we were, yeah, we had already started planning the wedding, um, but then COVID, um, and we
had to keep postponing.
Yeah.
Um, until we realized that I, the, my end visa date was, um, you know, reaching, um,
a pinnacle point.
Yeah.
Yes.
So I would have had to leave the country and we decided that that's not what we wanted.
So we ended up having a small, um, intimate, uh, civil wedding at his parents backyard,
which was very sweet and we had, um, friends and family, um, watch over zoom.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
But we actually being back, um, we had a church wedding.
Oh, lovely.
Yeah.
So yeah, it's been, it's been a whirlwind, but now that's done too.
So, you know, two weddings down, um, three to go.
Yeah.
I was about to say, which, you know, you want the extravaganza you want, like, you know,
it's so interesting as well about like, um, you know, because at this stage, like we're
like, cause Emily and I are moving to Canada and stuff and we haven't officially announced
it yet, like to our parents, um, my parents know, but like we're planning to get engaged
and it's very like exciting, but we're sort of like, so I think for us, it's sort of a
solo key, but I do remember also way very excited, like, you know, one, you know, have
immediate, um, close friends and family around us and, you know, do it on a very small scale
and then have a big celebration with friends, like in Sydney, cause we want the wedding
to be outside of Sydney.
We don't like the hustle and bustle of Sydney very much.
We like the quietness of like countryside and everything.
And then it will make living in Canada easier because I will be married to someone who is
a Canadian citizen.
Right.
So I won't have to, we won't technically be kicked out of the country.
If my working visa runs out, like I will still be legally married and not deported.
Which is a nice feel.
Um, you know, so I'm, I know your pain with that because, you know, it's one of those
things that I, I think is very exciting, but it's also, you know, it comes with a whole
lot of logistical things because I think there's always like, I think it's, it's those two
separations of things.
Cause you know, there was always the discussion very early on a relationship, which was we
will get married, but when it came to like that immediate, we've got to get something
done, let's do it now.
It does feel a little bit like, you know, I don't know anyone who has been since the
pandemic has not had that happen to them where they're like, there is a crunch time and we
need to do it now or never.
It's that's not fun.
You don't want to work under, you know, under pressure and under like, you need to get this
done now.
Otherwise it's all over.
Yeah.
Especially because it's like such a big, big moment for you.
Like, and it's such a pinnacle point to be like, I love you and I want to spend the rest
of my life with you.
Right.
It shouldn't be rough.
Okay.
Yeah.
Let's get this done.
Yeah.
I love you.
Okay.
Yeah.
Let's sign the paper.
Okay.
We're cool.
Yeah.
I don't get deported now.
Okay.
Like, do you feel that the church wedding and sitting felt more like a proper wedding
for you or did it feel a little bit like to both?
I want to say both.
I think it felt more, what was the word you just used?
Which one?
I used many.
I used a lot of words.
Not a proper wedding, but I think it felt more, oh, I don't want to say this, but-
Genuine for you?
Yeah.
Only because my family and friends were physically present.
And that was something, our first garden, civil wedding was beautiful, but it was bittersweet
because my family was watching via Zoom, and all my friends were watching via Zoom.
So it was kind of like, yeah, this is, yeah, it's happening, but it's also not what we
had planned at all, obviously.
So that was kind of, like I said, bittersweet.
So I think that's why this wedding felt maybe a little more genuine because I could hug
my mom, I could hug my dad and my siblings and all my girlfriends were there present
and we were giggling.
And yeah, it was just, yeah, I guess it felt more genuine.
Yeah.
Because that's a very surreal feeling when you're not surrounded by the people.
I wouldn't know what to do.
It was very weird.
I don't recommend it.
No.
And I think like it was very weird because with my brother and my sister-in-law's wedding,
it was very much, they had originally weren't meant to do this big wedding and then COVID
kept happening and you know, like it just got pushed and pushed.
And then I think they were moving to Germany because my sister-in-law had got work over
there and so they were about to jet off to make it easier.
And for the papers, they were just like, okay, we're going to get married.
And so they did it down in the park and myself, I was my brother's best man and a witness
and my brother's best friend was the celebrant and Lisa's best friend was also another witness
and her bridesmaid.
And we just like, you know, did everything, signed the papers, witnessed it and everything.
And then we went back to mom and dads and had drinks and food with Lisa's parents and
my parents and like, it was quite nice.
It was very, it was very sweet, but it was, oh man, it was just like chaos, chaos to kind
of like, and I think even to this day, they felt like they had wished a little bit nicer,
nicer wedding, even though it was sweet.
So my opinion, I think, you know, now having two weddings.
Yeah, don't do two.
No, no.
I mean, yeah.
Hey, if you want to have as many weddings as you want, but I actually, because both
the Australian wedding and the American wedding ended up being fairly small in size.
And I think having like the people, you know, your people who you love, you know, not, and
I know it's, you can have family members who say you need to invite aunt Margaret and,
you know, uncle Jerry, you know, and, you know, the wedding party can grow.
But I think it is very beautiful when you have just the most, you know, important people
in your life and then afterwards you can have like a big bash, you know, big party with
everyone, you know, uncle Jerry can come, you know, auntie Margaret, you know, can join
the party too, you know, like, but just the ceremony, you know, the joining of hands,
because it's such a beautiful thing and having your most.
Yeah, I absolutely agree with that.
I think that's also why I've always been very like, I don't know yet.
It's also kind of why I think with it's the same with parties because I remember like
my 18th birthday, it was like, oh man, that was a disaster.
I was the oldest kid in, in class.
So everyone's like, you know, when you turn 18, you're like free drinks.
Everyone's like, let's get wasted.
So, you know, 18 year old me, I was like, yeah, right.
And like I was, it was at my parents' house because, you know, like supervised.
But you know, like no one really as a parent, I understood didn't want to watch 17 year
olds get drunk.
Yeah.
Like it's not a fun experience as a parent because it's just kind of weird watching
like slight.
And the thing I remember is like, particularly is like, you need that period where you think
you're an adult, but you're clearly you're not like you're pre-pre-dead.
You're like in that awkward.
When I think back, yeah, I'm like, oh, I knew nothing.
I thought I was the coolest and just, I was so old.
I was like, I'm 17.
I literally like, I can do anything and I know everything.
And I'm like, I don't know anything and I'm almost 30.
Yeah.
What was I talking about?
Yeah.
It's so weird.
And I just remember like, you know, everyone got the everyone got booze.
And I think like, I just got to a point where I was like, I don't care about like 50% of
the people in this bit are like my own house.
Why are they here?
And I think like from then on my parties have always gotten smaller because I'd rather surround
myself with like honestly kind people.
Yeah.
But it's funny because I think, yeah, you sort of rely on and I see it all the time.
I think like social media and social pressures, like we with our engagement plans, like we're
not traditional at all.
We like throwing tradition out the window.
So we're both getting engagement rings for each other.
No.
It's very sweet.
But we're very excited and we were going to do that whole like tradition where we, you
know, like, and we have this running joke is if I don't propose first and we'll do it
at some point during the trip, we should get too pissed off.
And I love that.
But it's like one of those things that, you know, we went to a couple of jewelers and
then we found a particularly like a nice ring on XC.
With engagement rings, you can either go to the big deal or you can kind of go simple.
We're very simple.
With our wedding rings, we want to get something that lasts a long time because, you know,
obviously, you know, when you pay for like a hundred or two hundred dollar rings, you
want to get something that's at least probably a bit more pricey, like, you know, three to
five hundred is a good and proper metal.
Like it's going to last.
But I'm terrible because, you know, like anything with crystals or jewels on it, I break.
So bad.
So we try to avoid anything with sort of like flat stone.
And we got this nice like Turkish rock.
So I think it's called Zulanite.
Basically the premise is changes color and different lights.
So it never looks like one stone.
It looks like many different stones.
And it's so cool.
And this guy, this jeweler in Broadway was talking to us about it and he was selling
rings for like one hundred and fifty.
We found one on Etsy, which was like down from two hundred dollars to like forty dollars.
And we're like, yes, we'll take cheapskates.
We're going to take this.
Save some money.
But yeah, it was like massive discount.
We're very excited.
But I mean, like it's one of those things that I think when you love someone and particularly
like, you know, when you're, you know, it's like that long term, it is more about like,
you know, I always see people at work with massive rings.
I'm like, how much did that actually cost?
Sometimes they are family heirlooms.
Like sometimes they like my mom wears my her mom's engagement ring, which I love.
Like it's very sweet and you know, like it's now probably like over a hundred years old.
You know, and I think about that kind of like mentality of like, well, you know, my parents
are probably going to give their wedding rings and engagement rings once they get to a certain
age to be like, give these to your kids and pass it on.
And I think that's really sweet.
I love that.
Yeah, I love, I love like tradition, like little things like that where it's traditional.
But also just, I love like the fact that, you know, when you go to a wedding and you
know, like we've asked our friend who's trained as a celebrant to be our celebrant and you
know, it's mostly going to consist of friends that we know who were doing stuff.
Like I asked, I asked Susan to be my best man.
So she's going to be there at my wedding.
I'm so excited.
And she was just thrilled.
I was like, oh my God, yes, please.
And I've known her for 12 years.
And I think it's like to have that and be like, one, my brother might not be in the
country so he might not be able to be present for our wedding.
But we, you know, we're doing it on like, we're going to book out an Airbnb.
We're going to have it on the property in, you know, because we wanted to do an embermer
and bermer will rake us for millions of dollars if they could.
So we're like, cheap.
Find a nice location.
Do it and then throw a big party to kind of make, because I mean, like also we, we, I
think it's really interesting because my parents had a church wedding.
They loved it.
But I think, you know, I, I don't feel like, um, like I grew up going to church.
I just never felt like I get married in a church and I never have.
And I don't know why that is.
Um, but I know so many friends, you know, like who do the big rent out of barn.
Like I went to a barn wedding.
That was the most expensive wedding I've ever been to.
And they got a divorce.
I was like, why do you spend?
Yeah, that's tough.
That's always the thing, like as well that I get worried about the price of things.
And weddings, uh, the prices are astronomical.
I mean, also, yeah, we had, um, we did have a church wedding, but our party was at my
parents' house.
Yeah.
So did, was it a church you went to growing up or?
Yeah.
So they knew you as well.
Yes.
So it makes it a little bit easier.
Oh yes.
Uh, and that's why I, you know, we, we chose, um, that church and it was really nice actually
being back because I, I, you know, went to church and I kind of felt like a celebrity,
honestly, because it's, uh, you know, all the older women, especially who haven't, hadn't
seen me for four years.
I'm like, Oh, not that lucky.
You know, you, you know, you look exactly the same.
And, you know, then meeting, you know, AJ and having like that community, but it was
again, just like a few older people and some of the church community.
And that was really nice.
And then the, the after party actually was even more intimate.
It was literally just my friends and family, like cousins, um, and you know, aunts and
uncles.
Yeah.
That was it.
Wow.
Yeah.
And talking about, you know, cheap, we wanted, I mean, we don't have a ton of money at the
moment, especially since, you know, we just traveled to Greece and now we're traveling
around Australia.
So I was about to say like shrinking.
Oh yes.
Uh, so we had to do things as cheaply as possible.
And I mean, my, um, so we keep talking about how, you know, we would update certain things
maybe in the future when we, you know, we have a bit more money.
Cause I mean, my wedding band is also is from Etsy and it's like silver, um, and was $15.
Can I just say, I love that.
I love that you think like me and you know, but I look at that and I don't think of that
because anyone who can't see that it's actually gorgeous.
It's so sweet.
It's very, you know, it's, it's simple.
Yeah, it's elegant, but it also like, what's the gym?
Um, I'm, I mean, I believe the gym is a, is a diamond and then the little gems are amethyst
cause that's my, um, oh, you're birthstone.
Lovely.
Um, cause like the toss up between us was like, I love Ruby.
Um, Ruby is like one of my favorite.
If I had to think, my like is, um, oh, amethyst or something.
I'm a February baby.
So yeah, so it would be amethyst and I love amethyst color, but I've always been attracted
to the Ruby color and it was, we went to Prouds, which is also another great jewelers.
Um, and they had a band, which I think if it was a wedding ring, absolutely would pay
like it was about $300.
I was like, okay, yes, I probably pay that much for those.
I am talking about seeing people wearing things that I would, you know, like the most expensive
thing that I own on my finger is this, which is a Tiffany and co thing.
And I got it for a 30th birthday present.
My mom got it for me.
It is about $700.
It's and I'm like, it is made of like, you know, proper silver.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
But I would, but I'm like everything else on my fingers, 50, 20, like 10, like, you
know, actually, no, this was free.
Like, you know, like the thing is I'm, when it comes to jewelry, I never think, oh, I
need to buy something expensive.
As long as it looks aesthetically nice.
It's why I, you know, like Emily and I thrift all the time, like thrifting is the best thing.
So speaking of bargains, actually my, so the, my wedding dress, tell me all I, when I first
bought it, it was, I mean, more than I would have liked to have spent, but it was over
$2,000.
I know for, I know people who spend 50,000 and more, you know, for a struggling, you
know, artists, you know, trying to look, you know, their best.
I was like, all righty, yeah, like there's a lot of money, but I'm going to do it.
Here's my mortgage.
But it was again, during COVID and I thought I had bought the right size because that's
what the lady told me at the store would be like, I'm a size, whatever, it doesn't matter.
And then one day I decided, I guess I should try the dress on now that I've had it for
like over a month.
I should try it on to see, like to make sure that it fits.
And lo and behold, it did not fit.
It was, it was too small.
So I had to return it.
And even though I was outside of the return policy because of COVID, they allowed it.
And then I realized that the dress had gone on sale.
And you know, I kept telling myself, well, now is the time to buy it.
Now is the time to buy it, you know, in my, the right size.
And I kept putting it off and then the dress went on sale further.
And I was like, okay, well now this is the sign.
Like I need to buy it now.
And it went on like a final sale.
How much was it?
I think it was 399.
So from over 2000 down to 399.
And I said, okay, I need to buy it now.
It's now or never.
And I went to go buy it and it was sold out.
Yep.
And it was the most, you know, sad thing.
I was like, well, I found my perfect dress and now I'll never get to wear it.
So I had to, I kept checking because I called them and they said that no, they have none
in stock.
The only way you'd get it is if someone else returned it and I would check every single
day.
And one day my size got returned, you know, obviously.
And I bought it immediately.
So it was a happy.
But did you still pay 2000?
No, no, I paid 399.
That's insane.
Yeah.
So from over 2000, I think it was like 2800, I ended up paying like $400.
That's nuts.
I know.
I, I was so happy.
I mean, I was very stressed when they didn't have it, but you know, it was, it was sad
to be ending.
Cause how far away was your wedding at that point?
Well, we didn't really know because it was during, you know, we had to keep postponing.
So initially, actually, no, I guess we did.
We didn't know it was going to be July, July 29th, I want to say.
Wow.
Okay.
Yeah.
And this was 2020 at this point?
Yeah.
So you officially got married in 2021.
Did you?
No, actually we got married in 2020, um, August 6th.
Wow.
Yeah.
Just cause we had to keep postponing, but we couldn't postpone it any longer.
Otherwise we, we would have been separated.
Um, but actually, so that dress, um, I ended up wearing to the church wedding here in Australia
and the, the first dress that I wore at our American, uh, civil wedding, um, I found at
Goodwill.
Yeah.
For, I think, uh, $20, which was also, you know, very cool, kind of funky.
Um, but yeah.
I love a good bargain.
Yeah.
I love that.
Yeah.
Look at you finding bargain.
I'm very proud of myself.
I mean, like Emily's not telling me what wedding dress she's wearing, but she's getting it
off Etsy.
So, you know, that's all I know is she's found an Etsy dress and she is very excited.
Um, I'm very like, I, I, I don't fit all my old suits anymore, which is very sad because
I've, I've gained this thing called weight since I turned 30.
I just, I've expanded.
But it's funny because like, you know, when you get older and you said like your weight
fluctuates, you don't like fit anything you did as a teenager.
And I think I just, um, I guess came to terms with it.
And cause I would always try and fit into things that just did not fit me anymore.
And I said, what is the point?
Like I'm not going down to like my year 10 size, you know, like when I was 13 or 15,
you know, like I'm, I'll never be that small.
So why am I holding onto these clothes?
So yeah, I just got rid of actually a whole bunch of stuff.
It felt good.
Yeah.
Cause I realized like I used to wear a lot of small t-shirts, like, you know, and now
I can only fit mediums because my, my chest is just now much older.
And it's one of those things that I was like all my old jeans.
Um, and I, and it happened to me in the, like the last, you know, six months as well.
Like I've got jeans from last year that no longer fit me.
I bought last year.
I'm like, how did that happen?
But yeah, there's like a suit that I bought like three years ago that does no longer fit
me.
Like it doesn't even button up.
Um, I can't even get the pants to, you know, cause it like, you know, when you go to the
gym or something, you just, it's this wonderful thing of you gain muscle and then you can't
do anything about it.
Um, so no, I don't miss the days where I had pipe cleaner legs, um, you know, and couldn't
fit anything.
And so AJ is also a pretty, uh, slender man and he actually, he struggles to find, um,
well, he, we struggled to find a good fitting suit for him because he's just, he's just
a little too skinny.
Um, and, but he does want to bulk up, but for the wedding, we found a perfectly fitting
suit and it like, it fits him perfectly.
But now he's worried that, well, when he starts going to the gym and trying to bulk up it,
you know, unfortunately that is, unfortunately that's the way, isn't it?
Um, I'd, you could sell it.
Yeah.
Say once you zone, I know, but then I just keep it in the wedding.
Um, I mean like, yeah, I think my, uh, my parents have some old clothes, but it's funny
because, you know, like, yeah, it's, it always is funny when you look at old clothes and
you go, I'll never fit this anymore.
I'll never fit this.
And I, you know, but then you look at old like, oh, it's, yeah, it's the same.
Like Emily's had the same issue where she doesn't fit old jeans or old skirts anymore.
And it's just like, oh yeah, we changed shape.
You kind of forget about it.
Do you, do you worry like, because you've taken a break from acting as well, what's
your plans to get back into it now when you return?
Yeah, yeah.
So after, um, after our time here, uh, we'll be going back to Wisconsin for a bit and then
we're planning on moving to Chicago.
Yes.
Um, and Chicago is not say as big in acting as LA is or New York, um, or maybe like Atlanta.
I think Atlanta, Georgia is getting very, um,
Atlanta has a lot of film scenes.
Yeah.
Um, but Chicago I feel has a good mix of both, you know, it's, it's a, on a smaller scale.
Um, but we both come from a theater background and Chicago has decent theater.
So yeah.
And plus AJ has, um, family there.
So we have some connections to Chicago, which will be, will be nice.
But yes, the plan is to get back into it.
I miss it.
Yeah.
And I think it's something, I mean, I've, yeah, I've always wanted to do it and I feel
as though I haven't, I haven't given it my all yet, you know, like I started to, and
then I stopped.
Um, but I haven't like put in the sweat, you know, yet, you know, like I want to before
I, um, even though I don't think I'll ever give it up, you know, I always want to be
creative in some way.
Um, just because I am a very creative, um, person, but yeah, I need to, I'm not, I'm
not done with it yet.
Do you feel like, you know, that now you're getting older and older, um, that you've sort
of missed opportunities because of COVID as well?
Um, yeah, probably.
Probably.
Um, but.
Yeah, I'm, I'm, actually that is a bit sad thinking about it.
I didn't really think about that.
It wasn't meant to make you feel sad.
No, no, but you're right.
And I do think that, yeah, I've probably missed, you know, a few windows of, you know, now
I can, my age bracket is probably, you know, 25 to 30, not like 17 to 25, but you know,
like, so, and I missed all those little, you know, I could play high school, you know,
now I probably.
Can play a young adult.
I mean, it's interesting as well, because I feel like the, the demographic towards women
and, and aging is, is very problematic.
Like it's still to this day, like, you know, unless you're Meryl Streep or Halle Maron
or somewhere like that.
It's like, oh, that's right.
Yeah.
You show one wrinkle and it's like, sorry, you're out.
Like you can't do this anymore.
Like how, how are you with that?
Because like theater background and stuff, do you want to get into film?
Is that your like as well?
Yeah, I'd like to.
And that's why I chose LA, you know, three years ago.
I moved there because I wanted to get more into film and TV.
Yeah.
And yeah, they're not forgiving at all.
Like they do, especially for women, like you said, it's.
Yeah.
Whereas I think theater, and that's why I kind of want to get back into theater because
it can be, you know, you can be 30 and play a 25 year old or like, you know, even a young
twenties person and you can get away with it.
Cause what's the, what's the genres that you like to steer towards?
What are the things that you love?
Comedy.
I mean, I love everything.
I just feel for some, and maybe it's, I feel as though my coping mechanisms in real life
are also, I don't love, I don't like confrontation.
You know, I don't, you know, when someone gets angry at me, I'll find a way to like,
make light of it and giggle.
Yeah.
I'm so that's why I think I enjoy comedy.
Cause it's kind of my, yeah.
And it's my, what's it called?
My, the default, you know, I just fall into that, you know, it could be a serious moment,
you know, we could be crying and I'll start laughing, you know, because I don't know,
that's the way that I am, I guess.
But yeah, comedy.
Do you think, cause like you went to Newtown Performing Arts School, which is a great school
and chaos school.
Yes.
It's a very chaotic school.
A lot of people have come out of there and it's chaos.
But yeah, like it encourages a lot of people to take risks as well in terms of acting,
which you know, and the fact that you also studying Wollongong and you know, I think
it's very interesting because like, you know, there's actors and then there's actors.
And I think there's a, you know, people, people who don't know what that means are very two
different things, which is like, I feel like people who come in and you know, Newtown Performing
Arts School tend to be the actor, like the actual proper thing.
Yeah.
And it's a very, like there's some of the stuff that I was seeing there is quite heavy,
very heavy, like some of the content, especially for like teenagers to do.
And I was like thinking, how is that appropriate?
Cause like, you know, you're talking about like sex and drugs and you know, like.
Do you know the play Black Rock?
Yes.
Yeah.
We did that in year 10, I want to say.
Is that the one which I'm thinking of, which is the Heath Ledger movie?
The one where the girl gets murdered?
Yeah.
She gets raped and murdered.
Yeah.
And it's like, that's a very line.
I remember that.
Yeah.
That was, it's great play.
Yeah, it is.
Great play, but it's, it's heart wrenching.
And for high schoolers, it's just, it doesn't seem, I mean, it is their age group.
I think the kids in the play are kids, you know, they're in 15, 16, 17 and 18 years old.
Yeah.
You know, so it makes sense, but boy, is it heavy and disturbing and you're playing, yeah,
like the friend of the girl who got, you know, raped and murdered.
Yeah.
And I think it's like, you know, whenever I think about like stories that particularly
have like, you know, sexual assault or anything like that and are portrayed by young people,
you know, and having known people who've been survivors of actual sexual assault, it could
be quite triggering.
I think it's like, a prime example, I keep thinking of the Nightingale, which has, is
Jennifer Kent's film.
And that has quite a gruesome scene, which is where a child gets killed and the mother
gets sexually assaulted and raped and a husband gets murdered.
Like it's awful.
Like you don't sit there and go, this is great.
But you know, it's one of those things that it's so heavy.
And I think the main actor was like 22, like 21, 22.
So it's like quite heavy for a young performer.
But you know, like we're doing it with teenagers and stuff.
And I think it's interesting because like all my friends who have come out of like,
you know, I think it's the inner west vibe as well.
There's something about the inner west where we, I'm going to say very bluntly, we're
fucked.
We're all very fucked kind of people.
But it's sort of, I feel like there's something about growing up in the inner west, because
whereabouts did you grow up?
Well, so when we first moved to Australia, I lived in Newtown.
We lived here for a few months.
And then I lived in Elwood.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Because I mean, like.
Marrickville, yeah.
Yeah, Elwood's nice.
Marrickville is kind of a little interesting.
But yeah, like, you know, I remember growing up here and I grew up in Stanmore.
So it was like, you know, like in between going to, because I went to end up public
school and then I went to Leichhardt.
One of the other schools that we were offered was Newtown Performing Arts School.
I think we were just like, my parents didn't know what to do.
And I think I was very determined to go to Leichhardt High School because I knew a friend
there.
So I was like, if I hadn't gone there, I probably would have gone to Newtown Performing.
But because we knew everyone was like, everyone has been in the vicinity.
But I just remember there was a lot of like, a lot of like, in the 90s and early 2000s,
there was a lot of crime around here.
Oh, yeah.
So much crime.
And I think it just made everyone a little bit kind of edgy and disturbed.
Because it's funny as well, because I think that I've always been attracted to like dark
stories, like, and I'm particularly like comedic tones with like dark underlings.
Yeah, I like that too.
Yeah.
And you know, with a happy trying to stay positive about bleak, bleak outlet.
And like, do you sort of see yourself like wanting to, I guess, go into that sort of
like more due to experiences and like growing up in the West and you know, and the craziness
that was Newtown Performing High School by going into more dramatic roles eventually,
or like dark undertones?
Oh, for sure.
Yeah.
I do love a good, you know, dark comedy or drama, for sure.
I would love to get into that.
And I, not that, not necessarily, what's her face?
You know, the joke is, um, oh, Margot Robbie, like Harley Quinn, Harley Quinn, you know,
maybe not someone like that, but I've always been fascinated with, um, like the Joker or,
I don't know, that's, you know, very, I feel as though everyone's kind of like, yes, every
actor is like, I'd love to play the Joker.
Um, but, um, or, you know, Ameri-, have you seen the movie American Psycho?
Yes.
Like that Christian Bale?
Yeah.
Like that kind of, you know, twisted character.
I love the scene where he's running down a hallway naked with a chainsaw, like literally
about to murder people.
It's great.
So it would be, um, fun, is not the right word, but I would love to explore a character
like that.
Um, but see how it's still, it's not, it doesn't have comedy, but it's, all the characters
that I'm talking about are kind of, um, uh, not fully serious, you know?
Like I'm always drawn to, you know, even when I do want to play something more dramatic
and serious, there's an aspect of, you know.
Undertone.
Yes.
I mean, isn't that the way as well?
Like it's, it's performance-based, you know, you want to play the villain, but the villains
tend to be the most multifaceted.
Yeah.
Yeah, I know.
Why is that?
I have no idea.
I think it's, I think it's like the, you know, the way that people write them, because
like our heroines always are just very boring.
Yeah.
Like, who wants to play that?
Give me the, uh, yeah.
Give me the Joker.
Give me, I'm looking at, um, Beetlejuice right now.
Yeah, no, I like a little Beetlejuice.
I mean, like Michael Keaton also is a fantastic, phenomenal actor, like, um, who's done a,
but I mean, like, you know, like I look at Margot Robbie's career, you know, because
she's played like Harley Quinn.
And I think that as an actor, she has kind of done her own stuff.
And I, um, if anyone's seen I, Tonya, go and watch it.
It's a great movie.
So good.
Um, it's so messy.
Like it's such a messy life.
Um, and I love how, like, I think Margot Robbie said in the interview, she was like, the problem
was doing this film was no one was giving us an honest, true story.
Like everyone had their own version of what actually happened.
And she was like, that's why we left it like really vague to actually what, like it was
told through very fractured ideology and lenses.
Um, all we know was that, you know, the opponent's legs were broken, um, or a kneecap was bludgeoned
in.
It was awful.
It was awful event.
I can't believe this actually happened.
Um, but you know, like, I think like I love twisted characters.
I always think they're fun to write.
They're fun to direct and they're fun to like portray.
Um, I mean, as an actor now, especially like.
Is there anything you wouldn't do?
Because I feel like Newtown performing arts makes it very impossible to not do anything.
Oh dear.
Is that a good thing?
I don't know.
I feel like it's like, um, it was definitely when we went to school, there was less of
a, you know, it was during the area where I guess like the me too movement and the whole
work safety thing hadn't really fallen in place as heavily as it had now.
Um, do you feel like there's a lot of roles that you wouldn't play now or do you think
you'd be game for almost anything?
Hmm.
Um, I want to say I would be game for almost, um, everything.
I don't know if, um, and maybe this is just me, but I'm not very confident in, you know,
my body or, um, so I wouldn't necessarily.
I don't know if I, it would be tough for me to play like an overtly sexual woman.
Um, I think it would be very, uh, fun, but nerve wracking character to, um, to dive into
because I'm just, and I mean, that's why I love acting.
And I have played, um, characters like that in the past, but on a small scale, so kind
of like, uh, you know, an audit, an audition scene, you know, or like a, a scene study
class, you know, I've been given a, a character who's very like, you know, like a prostitute
who's trying to seduce a man and it's very, um, not me.
And so I think that is kind of the most uncomfortable character.
Um, yeah, so it would be more difficult for me to, um, play someone like that, but I think
I would do it, um, because it would be a challenge.
So no, I don't know if there would be anything I, I wouldn't want to do, but again, I haven't
really thought about it.
Yeah.
Cause I always, I always get intrigued by what people wouldn't do.
Cause I don't think there's a character that I wouldn't play.
It would just be bad writing.
Yeah.
It would have to be very bad writing for me.
Not exactly.
Um, like, I dunno, there's a lot of like independent art out there, which is terrible.
But I mean, like, have you noticed a massive difference between now, like, um, you know,
the, the independent scene in America versus the independent scene in Australia as well?
Like which, which side do you prefer?
So I don't really know the independent scene here.
So I can't, I can't really say.
You left before or something?
Yeah, I did.
Um, my cousin actually, um, small plug, um, but he, uh, he created a short film called
mate.
Um, and it's been doing really well.
Um, been traveling around and going to, um, different, um, film festivals.
Um, and I'm very, very proud of him.
So I, you know, that's more independent, you know, that was a small scale, you know, um,
short film.
And I feel as though, correct me if I'm wrong, but Australian independent films do seem to
be more, um, uh, gritty, you know, gritty, maybe a little, um, not necessarily darker
because some, you know, Americans, you know, love to pretty, you know, dark, um, films,
but, uh, yeah, gritty and more, um, uh, disturbing potentially.
Yeah, I don't know if disturbing is the right word, whether I'm thinking about, but there's
always an, an element I feel as though in general, Americans do like to be more light
hearted.
Yeah.
Australian cinema does take itself quite seriously.
Yeah.
Again, I don't really know much of the independent scene here, so I'm not sure.
It's interesting as well, because I have this conversation with a lot of people and a lot
of, there was a period of time, which was when Marvel Studios, I think was moving a
lot of its productions to Australia because of the pandemic.
And now it's like fading again.
It came in and went like a feeling.
And I feel like the only reason was a couple of big names were able to kind of push a lot
of work here, which meant there was a lot of work.
Um, but there is no, like the independent art scene is so hard.
Yeah.
Um, unless you kind of already made it, it's really very hard to get an original out there.
That's what I've heard, especially here.
It's a very, um, um, actually my cousin, um, it was, um, talking about how it has like
the scene was booming.
The entertainment industry was, um, you know, really, you know, um, uppity, you know, like
exciting.
And now it's kind of fizzled again.
So I wonder if that's because, you know, the, a lot of studios and people from the States
came, um, and, you know, worked on some things here, but now they've gone back.
So I wonder if that's why, um, really?
Yeah.
I mean, they probably went, oh, I want to be home again with my family.
I mean, it is very much the case because Australia during its summer is awful to film in and
during its winter is the best time.
Yeah.
Um, because summer is just where all the tourists come.
Um, but we have a great summer box office.
So we, we get a lot of people coming in and bums on the seats to go.
Yeah.
Um, I mean, like there is a lot of interest in Australia, like in terms of marketing and
stuff, we, we make up a fair amount of like profit for movies and television.
So Australia is a huge bonus.
Um, but it is interesting because yeah, like most of the stuff that comes out of Australia
are like, if it wasn't like Muriel's wedding, you know, if people don't, you know, remember
that, um, you're a terrible Muriel.
Um, you know, like if you don't remember cult classics like that, it's kind of like, you
know, it kind of fizzles out.
And I feel like even the films that are made here, like the big names, they are set in
America.
They aren't set in Australia.
They aren't, but like we're in Australia, like they're elsewhere.
And well, it's fine.
It is a little disappointing because it kind of doesn't showcase and, and they tend to
use already big names.
I think there's the problem I find with Australian industry is there's so much talent here, but
there's no room to let people grow.
I yeah, I've seen that it's a very, um, like the, the two people who work are the only
two people that are getting work, you know, and there are, I do know of a lot of talented
people here that are just not seeing the light of day.
Yeah.
No, I mean, like was that when you moved, was that an intent, um, like a thing for you?
Were you just like, I'm not going to get work here and I want to go and move overseas or
is it a very much, I just want to go and explore.
So I didn't really give Australia an opportunity.
And actually I was told by a lot of people like, why are you moving to America?
Why aren't you like trying acting here?
Cause I did one short film here and I moved.
So, uh, I think it was just, I wanted a change of scene.
Um, and you know, um, there are so many people who go to LA, you know, I need to go to LA.
I need to be in Hollywood.
Um, and I think I had that kind of vision in my head, you know, like I'm going to go
to LA, go to a school and then make it there.
And of course that's also ridiculous because the industry there, um, see, I don't know
what's better because the industry in LA is huge and there's constantly stuff, you know,
happening.
Um, and you know, there's good, um, student, um, yeah, film schools, um, that are producing
pretty good, um, short films.
Um, so I don't know if it's better to be there where the industry is huge, but you're
also fighting, um, for a seat, you know, among hundreds of other people who look, you know,
look similar to you.
Or if it's better here because it is a, such as smaller scale, the only difference is,
is, you know, there's not a ton of work and the little bit of work that there is, is constantly
given to the same people.
So, yeah, it's tough.
It's tough regardless.
It's not an easy, um, career path.
That's for sure.
No, it's, it's like, this is why I went to the States.
Um, I mean like, yeah, cause, cause that's, I feel like you haven't missed out.
I don't think you've missed out.
I mean, I think it's, it's whatever your calling is, I realize.
Like whatever you feel like is the right move for you because you know, your theater trained
and hopefully, you know, with Chicago, you're able to get some film work and stuff and you
know, fly around, um, depending where the work is.
Um, but I mean, with Australia in the film industry, it hasn't got much of a film industry.
It's got a bit of a theater scene.
Melbourne's got more of a theater scene than Sydney does.
Melbourne does have much more of a theater scene and probably film scene.
Cause you know, just it, I think there's a lot more to Melbourne than there is to Sydney.
Um, but I feel like there are some productions that have come to Australia, which are great.
We have a great musical scene though.
Like for some reason, the Capitol is huge.
Yeah.
Um, and there's a lot of musicals that just pop out of Australia, which is weird.
I know, but I, I've seen that as well.
There's a, I, I can not remember any names today, but uh, yeah.
Well, like you said, the music here is, there's a lot of good indie artists.
Yeah.
I mean, do you ever think that you do musicals?
I would love to.
I just don't think I'm a very good singer.
I'm okay.
You know, I can hit, I can hit notes.
Um, but I don't have that, you know, trained and cause these people, the musical people
are trained since they were babies.
You know, they have incredible voices and I think you're supposed to be a pretty good
dancer as well.
And I'm a goofy dancer.
So you're uncoordinated.
Is this what you're admitting?
I wouldn't say uncoordinated.
I just, you know, I have my own style, you know, it's when you see me dance, it's like,
oh yeah, there's Natalie dancing, you know, she's in her own world.
Just enjoying.
I'm not, uh, I don't, I don't follow the rules.
You know, I love that.
I'm very, would you describe yourself?
Would you describe yourself as chaotic?
Yeah.
Yes, I would.
Very much so.
But hey, I came from Newtown High, so yeah, I know.
I was like, that's a normal thing.
I, what was it like?
So whereabouts were you born?
I was born in Thessaloniki, Greece.
Wow.
Was that just by circumstance?
So my mom is a Greek, but she was, she was born in Greece, but grew up here.
My father is Aussie, you know, as Aussie as it gets.
Uh, but they got married here, then moved back to Greece, um, cause my grandfather was,
um, dying.
Um, and, uh, then I was born and my two siblings were born.
Um, yeah.
And then we lived, I grew up there.
Um, we moved when I was 13 years old.
Wow.
So that's quite a while in Greece.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was.
And then lived here for 11 or 12 years.
And then I moved to America.
So really every, um, 10 or so years I moved to another country.
Um, yeah.
So where's it going to be next?
I don't know.
Yes.
I don't know.
I'm thinking, I was thinking somewhere in Europe, maybe France.
I don't know.
Oh, that would be nice.
10 years in, 10 years in France, but you know, you could really go something there.
How good's your French?
Uh, non good.
Non good?
Non good.
I don't remember the basic phrase.
No, no, no.
I know my French lesson has just disappeared.
J'appelle Nathalie.
Oh, that's pretty good actually.
That I, I mean, I mean, like I've, I've been to, I've never been to like France, but I've
been to the French speaking South of Canada.
Yeah.
That's, um, that's Quebec.
Quebec.
Yeah.
Um, Quebec and Montreal.
So there's Quebec city and Montreal and by the beautiful, like, um, Montreal is a bit
of a more bilingual.
Um, uh, Quebec is very like, you go past the touristy border and then suddenly no one speaks
English.
Oh, really?
Everyone speaks French.
It's not even like French French because the, there's such a debate on the internet.
It's so funny.
But because of the way that Canada was set up, the French that they speak in Quebec,
in the French speaking South of Canada is not proper French.
It's like a, you know, the French call it a bastardized version of what it is.
So it's not proper proper.
And yeah, you do have to kind of like learn a little bit like of what people are saying
because it's like, if you studied basic French, you would not understand a word.
But it is, it's like having been there for like, I was staying there for about a week.
It was really nice.
Like, um, we'd do it again.
And like, you know, when obviously I live in Canada, I get to go there.
Um, you know, but I do, I do like love that idea because having lived in Sydney for 30
years, Sydney is not very exciting.
Yeah, I've been back.
I mean, it is a beautiful city, you know, it really is.
And the people are nice.
Um, but it, it's very, it's very expensive and yeah, I don't know being back.
I don't know what it has to offer besides, I mean, decent weather and pretty views.
It's just like, it seems very expensive for not a good enough reason, you know, cause
it's not like San Francisco where it's, you know, it's the tech, you know, the tech, um,
um, giant, or, you know, New York, you have Broadway and like, you know, all these different,
you know, places, LA has Hollywood, um, you know, Melbourne has, like you said, a better
entertainment scene than Sydney.
It's like, well, what does Sydney actually have to offer?
I mean, the more I live here, the less I know.
It's yeah, I feel like it's nice.
It's been great for like the 30 years that I've been here, but it is really like a place
where you raise a family and that's about the only thing you really do.
And then people leave, like they just go, no, okay, bye.
Um, like, but I mean, like, I don't want to have kids in Australia.
Yeah, particularly when I have kids here.
Nothing against people having children here.
I just, I personally don't want to.
Um, but like, do you, do you want to start a family in the next few years?
Is that your plan?
Yeah, I would love that.
Um, yeah.
Is that like, I like that you, cause you said before that you, you always want to do acting.
You don't think like having a family is going to really put that on hold as well.
No, no.
And I, I feel as though I have a pretty good support system cause I know not everyone can
say that, you know, and I know that, I mean, having kids is your world turns upside down.
Um, but I have a pretty good support system and I have a lot of people who are in the
entertainment industry, um, and do have kids and you know, they've told me that it didn't,
um, it didn't really bother their career at all.
In fact, it may have made that, um, bigger.
And actually one of my, um, uh, previous, um, housemates who was a 70 year old, uh,
woman who, yeah, was also in the entertainment industry.
She was a, um, producer, um, worked, you know, in the news field and she's actually won like
19 Emmys or something.
Um, it was great.
I would get to hold them and talk in the mirror and pretend that I'm receiving an Emmy.
It was really lovely.
Um, but, uh, she said that she actually has, um, the one, the one thing that she regrets
in life is not having a family because she thought that having kids would just ruin everything
and she would not be able to have the career that she had, but she had, she has other friends
that are her age, but now have kids and grandkids and also had very successful careers.
So she said that it can be done.
It's, it's, it's a myth, you know, when people tell you, oh, you know, if you have kids,
it's the end for you, you won't be able to do anything and forget acting.
Um, cause no, that's not true.
And I think if you think about it that way, maybe, you know, you might, um, if you go
in that negatively, then yeah, you might not be as successful, but I think, yeah, kids
change your life, but, um, they don't destroy it.
You know, it's, uh, you, you just learn to, um, I don't know, work through things.
I, I, I a hundred percent agree with that.
And I think that's why I also look forward to being a parent because it's kind of half
the fun of living.
It's kind of like, um, I mean, I know we talk, I know we're literally just talking about
like how difficult and annoying our parents are, but I mean, like, I think it's very sweet
to have the ability to have kids as well and have a family.
And I, I think, yeah, it's just, it's just nice.
It makes you feel whole.
Yeah.
Um, I don't know.
I just, and having little mini versions of you and like teaching them about, you know,
how the world works and like passing on, you know, your knowledge.
I don't know.
It's just, yeah, there's a, there's two friends of ours who have three and a five year old.
And they said to us as much as like, you know, they're sleepy and tired, they're like, never
swap it for anything because they're like, this is the best experience I could ever have.
Um, you know, is watching them grow and watching it.
And it's honestly like, that's all you live for.
It's like, uh, I think, I definitely think that some people who don't want to have kids,
that's totally fine.
But I think some people who automatically choose to be like, it will ruin my career.
Don't think of like that.
Yeah.
Have a family.
If you want a family, don't have a family.
If you don't want a family, just do what you want.
I think be like my career is everything though, because that's when you become unhappy later
in life.
Like you can really detriment yourself.
Absolutely.
And I think, yeah, like I said, my biggest, um, example for me now is, you know, my previous
roommate who was so lovely, but she said multiple times, you know, she told me how much she
regretted that.
Um, cause now she's all alone.
Yeah, it's quite sad.
Yeah, it is.
It is.
So I think if you can, and the same goes with, um, travel, I think people freak out.
It's like, you can't travel with kids and sure.
Like it can be more expensive and a lot more stressful, but, um, or now I'm tripped to
Greece.
Actually we met a German couple that had a young baby with them and they told us how
like, traveling with kids is fine.
You know, like I don't understand why people get so stressed out.
Like you just kind of deal with it and kids are a lot more, um, flexible.
I think people give them credit.
Um, credit for, yeah.
Yeah.
Credit for, um, yeah.
Kids are great.
I can't wait.
Only a few more years away.
I'm counting.
I think I'm like three years away.
So, you know, it's going to catch up.
It's going to catch up.
Um, I do have one final question for you, Natalie.
Where can people find you on the internet?
Where can they stalk you?
Oh, um, well, they can stalk me on Instagram.
Um, I have a funny, um, username.
It's a Greek yogurt, but abbreviated like GRK and then yogurt.
And then I have like my acting one, the Nat Rae Wilson, um, or on TikTok.
I think I actually spend more time on TikTok now.
I'm kind of obsessed.
It's not good.
That is a social media dark hole there.
Oh, don't get me started.
I hate it, but I love it.
Um, but yeah, they are there too.
Just Nat Rae Wilson, if they care to stalk me.
Really not that exciting though.
I don't think.
No, thank you.
I've enjoyed this chat.
I've loved it.
Yes, have I.
Thank you so much for having me on.
No, thank you for coming on.
It was an absolute pleasure.
Um, and if you want to go and check out more of the things we do, you can check them out
on Apple and Spotify.
I'll be speaking with another guest next week and I'll speak to you all later.
Goodbye.
Bye.