17c起草社区

SHE has played everything from an Amazon warrior queen to 鈥榯op dog鈥� in a women鈥檚 prison, but Danielle Cormack鈥檚 latest role in upcoming mini-series Deep Water offered her a chance to play something a little different.

Deep Water is a four-part crime-thriller series that was inspired by the gay hate crime epidemic that engulfed Sydney in the 80s and 90s.

Cormack portrays Brenda McIntosh, a crime scene investigator who works to help unravel the mystery of the murders – many of which remain unsolved to this day.

鈥淚 was attracted to this project for many reasons but mostly because it is a really important story to tell,鈥� she tells the 17c起草社区.

鈥淎ll the stars were aligning in terms of this project, the people involved, the timing and of course the character. 聽I could see her but also her potential and I was granted some license to help form the character on the page.鈥�

It was also an opportunity for Cormack to work closer to her home in Sydney – filming around 鈥渂eautiful鈥� Bondi in the middle of summer.

But the icing on the cake was working alongside a stellar cast including Orange Is The New Black鈥檚 Yael Stone and Game of Thrones鈥� Noah Taylor, and reuniting with Shawn Seet who directed her as Kate Leigh in Underbelly.

鈥�(Yael and I) had a few brief conversations about Orange is the New Black and Wentworth – I鈥檝e been a big fan of it since it started,鈥� Cormack remembers.

鈥淚 was interested to hear what the experience of working on a mostly-female prison drama in the US was like compared to what it was like for us here.鈥�

To prepare for the role of Brenda, Cormack had extensive conversations with an experienced female constable who was able to talk her through the role of a crime scene investigator.

鈥淚 was intrigued about her experience within the force as a woman and how over the years that has changed,鈥� she says.

鈥淚t鈥檚 important with any character I play that the experiences they鈥檝e had are embedded into the character as much as possible, and I鈥檓 only able to do that by having the experience myself or researching it.鈥�

Cormack relished the role, and found the forensic nature of Brenda鈥檚 personality satisfying.

鈥淢y observational skills had to be on high alert at all times,鈥� she says with a laugh.

When she鈥檚 not starring in hit television programs like Wentworth and Rake, Cormack likes to focus her energy on raising funds for charities that help children.

She recently completed a 100km charity walk, and just returned from a trip to Cambodia – where she got to witness firsthand the things money do for the children.

鈥淟eanna (Walsman) and I have been good friends for a long time – especially after we worked together on Wentworth and she said 鈥榙o you want to do this walk?鈥� Any time someone asks me to help out, it鈥檚 usually an emphatic -yes.

鈥淎nd then I go back and think, 鈥極h wait, what did I just say yes to?鈥欌�� Cormack says with a laugh.

After describing the 26-hour, 100km trek as an 鈥渆xtremely grueling and challenging experience鈥�, Cormack admits that she would gladly go back to do it again next year.

鈥淚 recovered more swiftly than expected – the physical pain left me quickly but the psychological element was another thing,鈥� she says.

鈥�(At the end) it felt like I didn鈥檛 really do it, it was just a blur, but my body kept screaming that I definitely did do it.鈥�

Cormack has also been an ambassador for Childfund Australia and New Zealand for years, which led to her recent trip to Cambodia to see how fundraising affects the lives of people on the ground.

During the trip, she had the opportunity to speak firsthand with the children and families who are benefiting from the programs that Childfund enables.

鈥淭o be an ambassador for anything, it鈥檚 important that you know that the organisation is actually doing what they say they do, and you get to experience it firsthand,鈥� Cormack says.

鈥淎lthough it can be difficult seeing how some people live, it can also be incredibly humbling and enlightening to witness their resilience and that people are actually being helped by your contribution.鈥�

While speaking to the village elders and governing bodies, Cormack says she found clean water and education were two of the biggest priorities.

鈥淧rimarily it comes down to clean water because that鈥檚 imperative for good health. If you don鈥檛 have a healthy community, you don鈥檛 have healthy children and they can鈥檛 function,鈥� she says.

鈥淎nd secondly it鈥檚 education so kids can stay in school, so they aren鈥檛 separated from their families and sent out to work.

鈥淲hat I found was parents want the best for their kids, they want their kids to be educated, they just don鈥檛 necessarily have the resources. And after schools being built, its things like access to solar lamps so kids can study at night instead of using kerosene lamps because there鈥檚 a danger of toxicity and of their huts burning down. It鈥檚 little things we take for granted, it makes such a difference.鈥�

The trip to Cambodia coincided with the airing of 奥别苍迟飞辞谤迟丑鈥檚 controversial season four finale, which saw Cormack鈥檚 beloved character Bea Smith sacrifice her life to bring down the show鈥檚 villain, Joan 鈥楾he Freak鈥� Ferguson (played by Pamela Rabe).

鈥淚 hear the world lost a bit of colour last night,鈥� Cormack wrote on an Instagram post while travelling through Thailand.

Fans of the show are in denial over the character鈥檚 death, with many speculating that they will 鈥楯on Snow鈥� her – in reference to the Game of Thrones character who was killed off and brought back to life.

鈥淚 can鈥檛 help but feel鈥� there鈥檚 a huge amount of joy from me that the character has been so loved and held so dear by so many people,鈥� Cormack says.

鈥淚 think that’s a victory. Regardless of whether the character has good intentions or not – the fact that people want to see her on screen, have watched her journey and have emotionally invested in her, I say to the whole team of Wentworth and myself included, job well done.鈥�

When asked if she has mourned the loss of 鈥楺ueen Bea鈥�, Cormack quickly counters: 鈥淲ho says I鈥檝e left the character?鈥�

鈥淚 feel a great sense of pride around the character and at this point, I don鈥檛 think I ever leave any character. After four seasons of playing Bea, after a while – and you might have to qualify this with the writers – they start to write for you as well,鈥� she adds.

鈥淲hen you step on board they have a stronger idea of the character but slowly you amalgamate, and you fuse together through the design of it. The directors, the other actors, and the writers you feed off each other and all contribute to form the character.

鈥淚t wasn’t like Bea was a fully formed human that was created and I just stepped into the skin of her. She was created as a joint venture. I can’t step out of that skin, she is part of the fabric of me.鈥�

Much of the criticism surrounding the death of the character relates to her season four storyline, which saw her finally explore her sexuality – falling in love with another female inmate, Allie Novak (Kate Jenkinson). The coupling – dubbed as #Ballie by dedicated fans – ignited hearts and imaginations all over the world.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been an incredibly important relationship for the show and on to be on prime time television,鈥� Cormack says.

鈥淏ea never identified as gay and then we follow her journey, going through that confusion and feeling destabilised and 聽聽questioning labels. I loved that journey. I thought it was so true to the human experience.

鈥淚t really surprised a lot of people, I certainly didn鈥檛 expect it to resonate as strongly as it did鈥� It was a surprise that this cheeky, playful and damaged character of Allie was able to enable a deep love in Bea that she hadn鈥檛 experienced before.鈥�

Cormack auditioned with a number of actresses who were all right for the role, but Jenkinson – or 鈥楯enko鈥� as she is known by her fans and friends – had something extra that landed her the part.

鈥淚 loved every minute of working with her and we鈥檝e become dear friends,鈥� Cormack says.

鈥淧eople speak about the chemistry between the characters and you can鈥檛 have that without actually having a chemistry between the actors and that was definitely there. And I love her.鈥�

Cormack says the show has also allowed her to make some fantastic friendships and relationships from the show that have enabled other creative endeavors. She has formed a production company with Nicole Da Silva, who plays Frankie on the show.

鈥淚 see a creative equal (in Nicole), we鈥檝e worked together for a long time, even though we鈥檝e been at odds with each other character-wise, we鈥檝e always worked well together as creatives,鈥� Cormack adds.

鈥淲e鈥檝e spoken for many hours about doing stuff outside of the show. But she鈥檚 an incredibly busy woman.鈥�

Now she鈥檚 out of prison so to speak, Cormack is on the look out for the next well-written role she can sink her teeth into.

鈥淲hat interests me is playing characters that are well-formed鈥� exposing all the colour and nuance of their interior world, or the chance to show they have secrets. It鈥檚 about creating a full human being, not just an archetypal character, especially as a female because historically females have been there to enable a male character’s journey,鈥� she says.

鈥泪苍 Deep Water, Brenda plays an integral role in terms of relaying facts and exposing the forensics of the story, but she鈥檚 not integral to advancing emotional plot. It was a welcomed relief that she was emotionally uncomplicated, but playing someone like Bea Smith, Kate Leigh or Scarlett – the character I played in Rake – the emotional weight of those characters and the complexity of their journey, was a major part in advancing the plot.

鈥淔or me, there are so many different factors as to why I choose a role.鈥�

Describing herself as a strong advocate for marriage equality, Cormack says she is flabbergasted that Australia hasn鈥檛 honoured everybody the right to marry.

鈥淕rowing up in a family where there were never any barriers up against race, sexual orientation or gender, it saddened me when I became old enough to realise there was homophobia, racism and sexism in the world,鈥� she says.

鈥淚 champion any movement that supports those who have been marginalised to help them find a voice and to be heard. 聽For example, it was such an education working closely with Socratis Otto who played Maxine (on Wentworth), and doing more research into transgender and what that means now.

鈥淭hankfully there鈥檚 a much needed, louder conversation about unfair discrimination and human rights and helping people understand that journey鈥� for people to be more empathetic and educated – most importantly educated about people鈥檚 choices and/or lack of, is the path to acceptance.鈥�