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For those of you
that don’t know, I ‘m a huge Asher Keddie fan. I’m completely addicted to the show
Offspring and like many Australian women; I adore her character Nina
Proudman’s fashion sense. I also feel fortunate to have watched Asher’s
portrayal of Ita Buttrose in Paper Giants: The Birth of Cleo, and for giving
us another insight into Blanche d’Alpuget in the tele-movie “Hawke”. I know there are
many other roles Asher has starred in, but these are just the recent roles
that have turned me into an adoring fan. All of these shows have been
successful and her performances have been outstanding not just for me,
but for Australian TV too. I find
watching her act a real treat because she makes me forget about her previous
characters she has played and introduces you to new ones. This is something
that I suspect is not easy when you become so widely known for a particular
role. This is why I was really
excited to see the front cover of Australian Women’s Weekly with a gorgeous photo of Asher, dressed to die for as
usual! I grabbed a copy not only because I wanted to find out what she was
wearing, but also because I wanted to learn more about the woman who has
successfully depicted so many Australian women across various roles in
television, plus the headline Asher Keddie “I don’t need babies to be a
success” (and yes, she did play Ita!) also had me intrigued too.
The article sets
the scene where in one of their meetings, Ita Buttrose and Asher Keddie are
at a chic restaurant in Sydney‘s Surry Hills. This was taking place just a
week out from the filming of the ABC mini-series Paper Giants: The Birth of
Cleo. Asher was just about to embark
on a role where she embodies Ita and plays the most amazing role that had
Australia talking about the fashion, women’s roles in the work place and of
course, Asher’s performance. Australian Women’s Weekly article really gave a great insight into
Asher and Ita’s relationship which I found entertaining. It showed even
though Asher is a big star within her own right, she was still acutely aware
that she was in the presence of a household name and acted accordingly by
perspiring (just like any of us would I suspect). I love how Ita shared that after the show
was finished filming she once found herself believing she was imitating Asher
Keddie while walking. That to me pretty much sums up just how good Asher was
in that role. I thought it was
definitive of Asher’s own character when she was told of Ita’s comment her
own response was “How funny is that?” I think that gives a fairly good reason
to adore her. Asher shared how she
spoke with and observed Ita but how she didn’t actually practice the iconic
Ita Buttrose lisp before filming, instead she preferred to wait until filming
had started not letting it go before, during or after work, perfecting it to
what we heard on screen. Her husband
Jay also shared how Asher would hold herself differently and he would know
she was still in character. This gave me a new appreciation for acting and
how Asher herself likes to inhabit her characters.
Asher also
shared that playing Blanche d’Alpuget in TEN’s critically acclaimed tele-movie
“Hawke”
has been her hardest role to date.
Asher found like most of us that she only knew what the media has told
her about Blanch and she learnt how very one sided it had been. I appreciated how Asher chooses not share
the intimate details of conversations she had both with Ita and Blanche. All
she would say was that she found Blanche to be very courageous when sharing
her feelings about Bob Hawke and that such discussions between her and people
like Ita and Blanche were private.
Thanks to this
interview in Women’s Weekly Magazine, I also know a
whole lot of new and interesting things about Asher. For Example, did you
know that Asher was named after English Actor Jane Asher? She was and her
parents also chose to name her sister Bronte after 19th Century
sibling writers Charlotte, Emily and Anne Bronte. I also learnt that Asher
was inspired to act after watching Meryl Streep and that one of her favourite
movies is Kramer Vs Kramer. Asher
shared that she adores anything French which was strongly stated in her
outfit during one of the interviews. Asher wore blue jeans and black boots, a
black vintage-style jacket and an ivory coloured Rodeo Show blouse that would
do any woman proud on a Parisian sidewalk. The pictures displayed throughout
this article are just simply stunning; Asher is dressed in beautiful outfits
and was pictured several times with a gorgeous white horse on her property
that she shares with her husband and 5 horses in the Macedon Rangers in the
shadow of Hanging Rock Victoria.
During the
interview Asher described herself as a free-spirited – make that wilful –
child. I loved the story where Asher tells us about her 4 years old self
wanting to wear her mother’s wedding dress with an enormous train to Safeway
to go shopping. She tells how people
were either laughing or disapproving of her as the dress was in tatters, but
how much she really loved her Mum for that – how her mother always allowed
Asher to express herself in the way that Asher wanted to. This really made me think about how I could
be a little more like this with my own kids.
Asher also shared how she loved to role- play from a young age and how
she pretended to be adults she knew.
Throughout the
article it is also quite evident that her actor and lead singer husband Jay
Bowen and Asher clearly adore each other. In this article Jay describes a
scene that Asher filmed in busy Taylor Square Sydney for Love My Way and how
she pushed all boundaries because it wasn’t about being pretty or about her
ego. Asher describes Jay as an awesome
showman, part Michael Hutchence, and part Freddy Mercury.
I really wanted
to hear what Asher had to say on the subject of kids as the headline Asher
Keddie “I don’t need babies to be a success” (and yes, she did play Ita!) had
caught my attention. Asher admitted
when asked about children (usually by other women) it can sometimes feel judgmental
and offensive. At 37 she feels successful and asked why were we only
considered successful if we can juggle family and a demanding career?
I had my kids
early so I have to admit that I don’t know what that must feel like, but I am
sure it would be really annoying if you are trying to have a career. Asher candidly shared that It’s wasn’t that
she thought she couldn’t do it, but more that she wasn’t sure. She admitted
that there is a selfish part of her and a very giving party as well, and that
she is very aware of who she is which leads her to the I don’t know part. I
really loved her honesty as women are often scorned for choosing to have
their careers or to not have children at all.
I would love to
hear what you think about women not being treated as being successful unless
they juggle work, career and family.
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