TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS

The verdict is in: Thetwelve is first-degree drama beyond all reasonable doubt, writes Siobhan Duck

IN another universe, Sam Neill would have been a barrister rather than an international star. In fact, the veteran actor reveals, he studied law for a year before getting waylaid by the theatre.

“I have absolutely no capacity for learning by rote all the cases that are pertinent for any avenue in the legal profession,” he says of his change of course.

“For a profession that’s so absolutely fascinating, there’s something about the way they teach it that’s completely at odds with the rest of it. I’m always baffled by that – it’s so boring. You couldn’t ask for a more interesting job and you couldn’t ask for a duller way to teach it.”

Thankfully there’s nothing remotely dull about the way Neill practices law on screen in his latest TV project The Twelve. Loosely based on a chilling 2019 Belgian series, the Australianmade courtroom drama follows a jury as they deliberate a shocking crime.

While the Belgian version centered on a mother accused of killing her daughter, Foxtel’s reimagining focuses on troubled Kate Lawson (Kate Mulvany), who faces jail for the alleged murder of her teenage niece. Both series explore the lives, prejudices and personalities of the dozen jurors deciding the fate of the accused, leaving you wondering if it’s ever possible to have an unbiased verdict.

While not usually a big fan of crime stories, Neill says The Twelve’s unlikely twist on the genre appealed. “Crime novels are huge, and my friend [and fellow actor] Bryan Brown just lent me one because they’re all he reads. But this is a departure from the usual courtroom dramas because most of them have a jury [who] just sit and nod. This show is interested in the jury itself, and their own stories and how the trial is impacting on those stories.”

Taking a seat in this jury box is a roll call of local talent that includes Brooke Satchwell, Brendan Cowell and Ngali Shaw.

Neill plays the role of Brett Colby, the accused’s defence barrister and “rockstar of the Sydney bar” whose tough exterior hides a soft heart, and for which the Kiwi actor says he didn’t have to do much research. “I have a couple of very good friends who are QCS and [this is] loosely based on them, and I’ve told them, ‘I hope it’s a reasonably kind portrait… because you’re all over the show,’” Neill says with a laugh.

Facing off against him is co-star Marta Dusseldorp as chief prosecutor Lucy Bloom. The acclaimed actor is no stranger to playing prosecutors following her award-winning role in ABC series Janet King, but it also prompted her to hesitate (albeit briefly) over The Twelve. “That was the first thing on my mind, like: ‘Oh, I feel like I’ve [done this sort of role]’,” Dusseldorp says. “But I love the Foxtel family. I loved the [Belgian] series. And, I thought, there’s a way to see [this role] through a different lens.”

THE TWELVE

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