‘I DON’T CARE WHAT PEOPLE THINK’
THE BELOVED AUSTRALIAN ACTOR IS LOVING LIFE
‘WE ALL HAVE SOME SPECIFIC GIFT OR TALENT. IT’S UP TO US TO TRY TO FOSTER THAT TALENT’
She’s been a regular on our screens for more than four decades. Yet Noni Hazlehurst isn’t about to start resting on her laurels.
In fact, the star of Foxtel’s acclaimed A Place To Call Home is working harder than ever – something the mother of two grown-up sons isn’t complaining about, even for a moment.
‘I’ve never been so busy, and it’s just fantastic,’ she says.
‘I’d be crawling up the walls if I wasn’t working and my kids would be saying: “When are you working again?”’
These days Noni is based at her country home, inland from the Gold Coast. And, at the age of 64, the performer at last feels truly comfortable in her own skin.
‘It’s a great relief to finally learn what I hope women can learn younger than I was – that you’re OK just as you are,’ she muses. ‘You’re not special, but you’re unique. We all have some specific gift and some specific talent. It’s up to us to try to foster that talent. It’s interesting to get to that point where you feel confident.’
When she’s away from the cameras, Noni relishes cooking, using ingredients plucked from her own kitchen garden.
‘It’s suffered with my being away quite a lot, unfortunately, but there are still plenty of herbs,’ she says. ‘When I do have time off, that’s what I love to do – come home and create lovely meals. It’s a great solace.’
Currently touring her hit one-woman play, Mother, Noni is also about to grace the big screen as Miss Cartwright in the feelgood movie Ladies In Black, directed by Bruce Beresford.
But despite her extensive body of work, there’s one show with which Noni knows she will always be associated.
‘Most of the time, I’m recognised for Playschool,’ she smiles, adding: ‘Every day of my life it’s about Playschool, and that’s really rewarding. I’m very proud of it. It’s had a remarkable effect on the children who watched it.’
Having also won a new legion of fans the world over as Elizabeth Goddard in A Place To Call Home, Noni reveals that filming the show’s final series was bittersweet.
‘It was a bit surreal,’ she says. ‘We were doing the last few scenes and the set that had been finished with was being dismantled between takes, and the wardrobe department was diminishing as we watched. It was sad to see it all disappearing into the ether.’
Noni, who wouldn’t have traded working on the show for anything, believes fans will be more than satisfied with the final series.
‘I think it’s the right time [to conclude the series],’ she says. ‘Bevan [Lee], whose brainchild and baby it is, had decided that, and it was his prerogative.
‘It’s probably a good idea because some series do tend to stay on past their use-by date and people are disappointed, so I think it will be nice to leave on a high with this one.’
Has there been something extra special about working on this historical drama?
‘Oh yes – the underwear!’ exclaims Noni with a laugh. ‘It’s extra special, believe me! I won’t miss that for a moment.
‘But,’ she continues, more seriously, ‘I think there’s an exactitude that you have to aim for. People spoke differently, they acted differently to the way we do now, so you really have to try to understand that sensibility of what the world was like before internet news feeds. It was a much more protected time.’
For Noni, working with the show’s tight-knit cast, including Brett Climo and Marta Dusseldorp, as well as real-life husband and wife Craig Hall and Sara Wiseman, has been a joy.
‘We’ve gone through the equivalent of high school together – six years,’ she reflects. ‘For sure, we’ll stay in touch. Sara and Craig come and stay at my house when they’re in Queensland, as do a number of other people. We really have created some very close friendships.’
As for Elizabeth, Noni promises there’s still much in store for the sharp-tongued matriarch in season six.
‘She’s meandering for a little while,’ she says. ‘But she may ultimately find that true love, which she hadn’t known for much of her life, is possible and the best thing of all.’