TV Week
8th February 1986
Actress scores her first on-going role in new series.
NINA LANDIS is taking her role In the Nine Networks newest series, Prime Time, very seriously indeed.
In spite of behind-the-scenes production problems, Prime Time premiered late last month.
Shortly after production began, producer Lex van Os resigned and was replaced by Graham Moore.
But rumours of scripts being re-written and abrupt changes in shooting schedules haven’t affected Nina.
“What happens behind the scenes is of no concern to me. I haven’t got time to think about what other people are doing,” Nina told TV WEEK. “The role caught my interest. It’s a chance to play a professional woman who is successful and quite powerful, but she’s different to most TV characters in that mould because she’s not incredibly wealthy.
“I have never worked in a series before and this time I have signed for six months, so we’ll just have to wait and see how it goes.”
Prime Time renters on the fictitious Network Five’s weekly TV current affairs show, Assignment. Nina is Kate MacArthur, a new reporter who joins the team and sometimes finds herself up against tough opposition.
“In so many ways Kate is shown as the victim,” Nina said.
“I have a challenge to portray her as a believable character.”
Although her character of Kate has already been compared with Jana Wendt from 60 Minutes. Nina stressed that all characters on Prime Time are fictitious.
“Kate is certainly not modelled on Jana,” Nine said.
“When I first got the role I watched every current affairs show I could and went out on the road with the Willesee team.
“Luckily I have a sister who is a journalist in Queensland and from her and her friends I have been able to learn quite a lot.”
Although extremely willing to talk of her work and career. Nina is reticent to speak oh her private life.
“Because I am an actress I think it’s very important to remain just that,” she said.
“I don’t want people to watch me on television and be thinking about my private life. You then cease to be an actress and, instead, become a personality.
“There is really nothing I can say of give you about my private life. At the moment I am working 60 hours plus a week racing from the studio to location and back again. At night I learn my scripts and eat in restaurants because I haven’t got time to cook.”
Also starring in Prime Time are Chris Orchard, Peter Kowitz, Tony Hawkins and Sonja Tallis.
“They are a fabulous cast to work with. All of them have good, solid background,” she said.
“In Prime Time there are no pretty faces picked up from off the street. We are all working extremely hard and give great encouragement to one another.
“Luckily there is quite a lot of humour written into the script, so we bouce off one another. When you are working at the pace we are you need encouragement.”
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