1st September 2008
The former McLeod’s star heads back to the bush.
Rachael Carpani just can’t seem to escape droughts, floods and fires. Two years on from leaving Drover’s Run, the Sydney-based actress has found herself back in the bush, as a TV journalist investigating a water crisis gripping New South Wales in the new telemovie Scorched.
Off-screen, the 28-year-old reveals her two-year relationship with McLeod’s hunk Matt Passmore is adding more joy than drama to her very eventful life.
Q. You’ve gone from a farm set on McLeod’s to facing fires as a reporter in Scorched. That must be tough on a girl!
A. It’s quiet ironic because I’m not the most coordinated person in the world and I’m not an action chick, so it’s quite funny that every role I get I do a lot of these things. It’s just not me.
Q. How was it working with Cameron Daddo and Vince Colosimo?
A. Cameron is gorgeous; I did a couple of scenes with Vince and he was awesome … and gorgeous. [Laughs]
Q. Is it true that on your first day on a new set you’re sure you’re going to be fired?
A. That’s just me! [Laughs] I think everyone has that thoughts when they start a job. Scorched was the first Australian job I did since leaving McLeod’s, so I was quite nervous.
Q. Do you keep in touch with your McLeod’s cast mates?
A. Absolutely. I caught up with Aaron Jeffery while he was filing The Strip. Simmone (Jade Mackinnon) and I catch up every time she comes to Sydney. I still speak to Michala [Banas], and of course I see Matt.
Q. You’ve spent a lot of time in LA, but where’s home?
A. I split my time between here [parent’s home] and Matt’s. I can’t quite put any roots down at the moment because I’m at the stage where I know I’ll travel for work. I’ve been lucky. I made a very important decision early on that I wouldn’t go from something so secure as a long-running series in Australia to throwing myself into the deep end of the auction circuit in LA. I know I’m not built that way. I went four times last year and [it was] for a job each time.
Q. Do you see yourself moving to Hollywood one day?
A. I see myself ending up here … but I’ll probably have to put some roots down in LA at some point. Someone wrote in a newspaper article a while ago about me giving up on LA and it was quite misconstrued. I was quite angry about it because I love LA and I’ve got a lot of work over there.
Q. With your 28th birthday this month, do you think about settling down with Matt?
A. [Laughs] Yeah, I’m on my way, aren’t I? No that’s not something without our immediate future. We’re just plodding along. It’s working out really well.