NURSE SWAPS ROLES TO HOME AND AWAY

CHASE THAT DREAM, SAYS SOPHIE DILLMAN AFTER MAKING A SUCCESSFUL CAREER CHANGE TO TV ACTING

When a hospital patient vomited on Sophie Dillman, she didn’t realise her life was about to change. “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 the Channel 7 drama.

When Sophie was a little girl she had no wish to be an actor. She aspired to be a compassionate nurse, just like her mother.

Her father questioned her career but in 2012 Sophie got a Bachelor of Nursing at Queensland University of Technology.

Three years later, she finally listened to her father and high-school drama teachers and decided to go to acting school.

Sophie starred in multiple theatre productions and commercials but eventually took the plunge and moved to the big smoke to get her break.

Reminiscing on her first passion, nursing, she says listening, learning and caring for patients was the highlight of the job.

“I was always interested in the gory side of it but I really enjoyed the connection I made.

“I loved chatting with patients, learning about them and their lives. I can talk underwater so I think sometimes patients would have liked me to shut up.”

But Sophie admits as a teenager at St. Aidan’s Anglican School in Brisbane, her home was in the drama studio.

“I had a really positive high school experience. I had great friends, positive role models and was involved in lots of sport, debating and drama.

“I never thought of acting as a career until I applied for nursing. As time went by, I realised where my true passion lay.”

On graduating with an acting degree at QUT, Sophie moved to Sydney with her drama cohort.

“I got a house with two of my acting girlfriends. A house full of actors and all being poor together was the best.”

By day she worked as a day surgery nurse to pay the bills. By night she tirelessly auditioned for as many roles as she could.

“I hadn’t got a job and was a bit disheartened. 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.”

At her first Home and Away audition, she fell in love instantly 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 is fearless, she will get in and try anything, she is so confident in herself and who she is.

“She doesn’t worry about what she looks like, who she is friends with or what she says. Ziggy has really found herself and her stride from a really young age and I love that.”

Just like Ziggy, Sophie seems like a mad surfer and a motor head – but it’s all smoke and mirrors.

“I definitely cannot surf,” she laughs. “I have tried several times but I can’t. I am very uncoordinated. Also, I am far from a mechanic – I always seem to have car troubles.”

The 27-year-old says if she could be another character on the show, she would be the flamboyant Marilyn “Maz” Chambers in a heartbeat.

“She is such a cool cat and I love Emily Symonds. I feel like we are soul sisters, she is a really lovely lady and great fun to be around.”

The other character Sophie adores is 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 more than a year.

“We went to acting school together years ago. We weren’t particularly good friends but then we started working together.

“Our characters conveniently got together and we liked each other’s company a lot.

“I am very lucky.”

The first time she fought with her Summer Bay sister Coco, played by Anna Cocquerel, she knew they were a match made in heaven.

“Coco is very similar to my real-life 23year-old sister Hannah,” she laughed.

“Hannah is not just my sister but my best friend. We have the same sense of humour. We often say the same thing at the same time, and sometimes even three times.

“But we are also very different. Hannah is the smartest person I know and I call her my second mother. When in strife, Hannah has always come to the rescue and really looks after me. She is a far better person than I am, she really has her s--- together.”

Her mother Karen, father Mark and sister Hannah live in Pullenvale in Brisbane and any chance Sophie gets she loves to go home.

“During COVID-19, I was isolating with my family and their dog Polly. It was great to slow down and spend time with them.

“It’s funny because none of them are in the entertainment industry or anything even close. It’s a real foreign world for everyone.

“My mum and dad are extraordinary people and they have sacrificed a lot for their family and have given Hannah and I every opportunity you could possibly think of. I am really lucky to have the family that I do.”

Her family have been super support team since her diagnosis of endometriosis, a uterine disorder, seven years ago.

“It hasn’t been a smooth journey. I had my first severe symptoms and surgery when I was 20 and ... 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 ... suffers from adenomyosis, which is similar to endometriosis.

“It’s upsetting we are both in pain but it’s nice to have a buddy that understands.

“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. Being an annoyingly determined little cookie has really helped me.”

Sophie says anyone with endometriosis requires that mentality because without it, you can’t survive.

She is one of about 175 million women around the world who have endometriosis. That’s why Sophie became an ambassador for Endometriosis Australia to try to help women just like her. She has also turned her wounds into wisdom, with the help of country music.

“I am not dissing other types of music but I have never heard a country singer talk badly about a female. Honestly, I am obsessed. It has a good beat and it’s truth music and it’s really the only music I listen to now.

“I got a complete shock when I left high school that we live in such a male dominated society. If we are not lifting each other up, who is going to?”

Sophie believes social media should be a positive place – but it’s far from that.

“In comparison to others, I have gotten lucky with trolls and negative feedback on social media. But I’ve experienced some nasty comments and awful articles.

“It sucks for people to comment on what you look like and not who you are.

“I am not an object.

“Now I don’t read comments or articles because out of sight, out of mind.

“But things need to change.”

Sophie admits she is still overwhelmed by the entertainment industry and has a lot more to learn.

“I want to be an actor for the rest of my life, if I can, but I need to get a few more notches on my belt,” she says.

“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.”

Sophie says other aspiring actors should use their positive and negative life experiences as fuel to chase their dreams.

“If acting is something you want to do, jump in and do it. If you don’t, you will regret not trying.”