MY HOLLYWOOD DREAM
Home and Away’s Sophie Dillman reveals
She’s captured hearts around Australia portraying the fun and spirited Ziggy Astoni on Home and Away and Sophie Dillman couldn’t have asked for a better role. “The cast are all one massive family,” she gushes. “Everyone looks out for each other.” Now, the bubbly actress sits down with WHO to talk everything from her career to her ultimate Hollywood co-star.
Your character Ziggy is loved by so many on Home and Away, what do you most enjoy about playing her?
She’s confident, she’s loving, she’s fiery, she has a lot of qualities that I admire. [She taught me] that you need to have more confidence in yourself and back yourself. Your career is really taking off thanks to the show. Would you ever like to move to LA for work and get into films?
Maybe, but it totally depends on what career opportunities I have here. I haven’t made the definitive decision I would go, but it is always an option. I mean, I’d love to do as much and any and all as possible.
Do you have a dream co-star?
Will Smith! And if I was picking an ultimate role, I’d want to be in a Bad Boys film – they’re my favourite. I would love to do an action film. I’ve always wanted to do something like that, something really badass. Speaking of action roles, you recently filmed a race car rally in the Flinders Ranges for the upcoming Home and Away special. How did it compare to shooting in Summer Bay?
Shaking things up is always really good
because you get so used to Summer Bay and, yes, it’s like your home but going on location you’re aware of all these different smells and sounds and beautiful views, so you can’t help but get swept up in it. And I think it makes you act better.
You shot in the middle of summer. What was it like working in temperatures reaching 46 degrees? Well, it didn’t affect me as badly as it affected some people. I got lucky for some reason – I think it’s because I’m a real Queenslander at heart.
If it did get too hot, we had our fantastic nurses there who were absolute lifesavers who had ice cold towels around our necks and the cameramen had ice vests and we had shade and heaps of water. So, everyone did everything they could to make it as comfortable as possible. I was just so lucky to be given the opportunity to be part of an away shoot that was so fantastic.
Ziggy is also in a budding relationship with Dean on the show. What’s it like working with Patrick O’Connor?
We’ve known each other for years because we went to acting school together. So, working with him is really cool. If you don’t like the person you’re working with, you’re in trouble, because you have to work 14 billion hours with each other. [Laughs]
Do you ever find filming the love scenes awkward?
The first time you kiss the person is always going to be awkward, but once you do it once it’s fine. But I mean, kissing anyone with 60 people standing round staring at you is always going to be weird. And you have to call them out if they’ve got bad breath. Sometimes you eat something really gross before a kissing scene to psych them out. [Laughs]
Being on screen all the time, is keeping fit something that’s important to you?
It’s a big stress reliever for me, so I try to do it as much as I can and that’s what I use it for … I’m a very energetic person, so if I don’t work out, I can’t sleep. I have to keep myself sane and balanced and all that jazz.
Is it harder when you’re on location to find the time to exercise?
I think it’s important to [exercise] any chance you get. The hard thing is, as a girl, once you get your hair and makeup done you can’t muck it up again, so you have to do it before or after, which is hard. But I find I go a bit stir-crazy if I haven’t exercised in a couple of days. So, I have to find that time.
Is diet something you are also conscious of? I love food and I love enjoying my time with my friends, so I don’t think it’s super important, but you have to stay healthy – because if you eat heaps of bad food, you don’t have any energy.
“The first time you kiss the person is always going to be awkward”