TIARNIE COUPLAND

The Sydney actress, 21, nominated in 2017 for a Best New Talent Logie after her standout performance as pregnant runaway Maggie on Love Child, tells WHO’S Cynthia Wang about getting fatherly advice from Guy Pearce on Season 2 of Jack Irish (starts Sun., July 8, 8.30 PM on ABC and ABC iview).

How would you describe Gus, Charlie Taub’s granddaughter? She’s very internal and doesn’t show her emotions as much as previous characters I’ve played. Her outlet is cabinetry making—she just goes and sits down and starts to use the tools. Did you pick up any woodworking skills? I got to make a couple things, just very basic. What was it like to work with Guy Pearce? I was very nervous the first day because you don’t know what to expect, but he was so lovely and he welcomed me with open arms. For the next three months as we filmed, he taught me a lot of things about the industry and how to change lines around, which was amazing to watch because I’d never really been in an environment like that. How did the father-daughter bond between Jack and Gus progress? We discussed a lot of that as we wanted to explore their relationship and his learning to be a parent because he hasn’t really had that opportunity at all in the past season or movies. As a character, Jack was still trying to learn how to cope with this person and live this new life. And with me, he was like a father figure to me on set. Pearce is a dad in real-life now, too. I know! He was showing us baby photos. I think he was very much missing his newborn, and it was really lovely.