SCRUBS TO SCREENS
HOME AND AWAY’S SOPHIE DILLMAN WAS WORKING AS A NURSE WHEN SHE GOT HER BIG BREAK, WRITES ROSEMARY BALL
I t’s not exactly the glamorous moment you’d usually associate with a big break.
The moment Sophie Dillman’s life changed, she was working as a nurse and mopping up the damage after a patient had thrown up on her.
“As I went to clean up and swap my nursing scrubs, I realised I missed a call from my agent,” the now-actor says.
“I couldn’t believe it. I got the role of Ziggy on Home And Away.
“I screamed and swore so loudly that I got in trouble from one of the doctors. But I told them I didn’t care and I wasn’t coming back.”
In 2017, Queensland-born Sophie took a leap of faith into the acting world and landed her dream job on Channel 7 television drama Home and Away.
Acting wasn’t on the cards for Sophie growing up – she’d always wanted to be a nurse, just like her mum.
Her dad questioned her career path, but Sophie went on to complete a Bachelor of Nursing at Queensland University of Technology in 2012.
“I was always interested in the gory side of it but I really enjoyed the connection I made with patients,” she says. “I loved chatting with patients, learning about them and their lives. Honestly, I can talk underwater so I think sometimes patients would have liked me to shut up.”
Sophie dipped a toe in the water with multiple theatre productions and commercials but eventually took the plunge and moved to Sydney in search of her big break.
“I got a house with two of my acting girlfriends,” she says.
“A house full of actors and all being poor together was the best.”
By day Sophie worked as a day surgery nurse to pay the bills, by night she auditioned for as many roles as she could.
“I hadn’t got a job and was a bit disheartened,” Sophie says.
“So, I decided to go to Vietnam for a break and breather.
“Four days before I jumped on the plane, I got the role of Ziggy and the rest is history.”
At her first Home and Away audition, Sophie recalls instantly falling in love with her character Ziggy Astoni, a mischievous mechanic.
“I feel like I am quite similar to her but she has a lot of qualities that I admire,” she says. “She is fearless, she will get in and try anything, she is so confident in herself and who she is.”
The 27-year-old also has a common interest when it comes to her on-screen love interest, Dean Thompson, played by Patrick O’Connor. After falling head over heels on the show, the duo found love off-screen and have been dating for over a year.
“We actually knew each other at uni – we went to acting school together years ago,” Sophie laughs.
“Our characters conveniently got together and we liked each other’s company a lot.”
Sophie’s mum Karen, dad Mark and sister Hannah live in Brisbane and any chance she gets she loves to go home. She says her family have been a super support team since her diagnosis of endometriosis, a uterine disorder, seven years ago.
“It hasn’t been a smooth journey,’ she says.
“I had my first severe symptoms and surgery when I was 20 and since then, my pain has been on and off. I had surgery again in December 2019 but recently the pain has been quite bad.
“Isolating was helpful because I could lie down but when I am at work I just have to deal with it.
“Hannah, my sister, suffers from adenomyosis, which is similar to endometriosis.
“Despite being in chronic pain, not being able to wear tight jeans, relying on medication and lots of hot water bottles, I am determined not to let it get the better of me and still have a normal life.”
The actress is one of about 176 million women around the world with endometriosis. That’s why Sophie became an ambassador for Endometriosis Australia.
Sophie says she is still overwhelmed by the entertainment industry and has a lot more to learn.
“I want to explore different aesthetics, different characters and see how far I can get. If I don’t go to LA or London to see what it’s like, I think I would regret it.”