There's Something About Marais

She’s jaw-droppingly beautiful, with the brains and talent to match. But, as her friend and co-star Kerry Armstrong discovers, actress Jessica Marais struggles with the same insecurities and self-doubt as the rest of us

- Kerry Armstrong

 Jessica Marais is a woman in demand. Taking on two lead roles (endearing hot mess Lily Woodward on The Wrong Girl and the sophisticated Dr Joan Millar on Love Child), plus trying her hand at producing and writing, has meant the past year has been one of her busiest yet. But set her award winning characters aside for a moment and there’s an inspiring woman more complex than any scriptwriter could hope to create. In the interests of delving a little deeper into Marais’ beautiful mind, we handed the conversation over to her on-screen mother and offscreen mentor, fellow actress Kerry Armstrong. With the dust not yet settled on The Wrong Girl season two wrap party, the passionate, strong and successful women sit down to talk about everything from motherhood to mythical creatures. We listened in.

KERRY ARMSTRONG: How are you feeling today?

JESSICA MARAIS: Like, right now? I’m feeling a little bit tired but generally quite happy.

KA: Have you had a chance to let go of The Wrong Girl, or are you still holding onto Lily?

JM: I feel like I’ve been holding onto her. I watched some of the edit yesterday. I had trouble suddenly just detaching from it.

KA: What do you think about the edit? How does it feel to you?

JM: Sometimes I think I’m talking myself out of a job – I’ll be like, “Why are we paused on that frame? No, get rid of that.”

KA: This is what runs through all our lives. Are we wanted? Are we good enough as women? Are you aware it’s probably the producer in you speaking?