'I'VE BEEN A BIT SPOILT'

THE MODEL IS MAKING HER RETURN TO THE SCREEN

- Sara Tapia

It’s been a decade since Gemma Ward last stepped onto a film set in Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby back in 2013, so the star was understandably a little hesitant about taking on a new acting project. But when she got the call from director – and good friend – Elissa Down to play a supporting role in SBS’s new historical drama, While the Men are Away, Ward knew she couldn’t turn it down.

“Because I haven’t done acting in a while, [Down] was really keen to kind of help me find my way back into it – with someone I was familiar with and with a role that was not too much to take on at first,” she tells WHO of stepping into her character Sadie’s shoes. “It was something easy for me to sink my teeth into with someone I felt supported with, so it was really nice.”

A witty reimagining of 1940s Australia set during WWII, the 35-year-old admits she was “in good company” in the queer revisionist series, working alongside “some really amazing comedic actresses” such as Michela De Rossi, Max McKenna and Phoebe Grainer. “I spent a lot of time just chatting and getting to know everyone and that was kind of a way to ease the nerves,” she explains. “Of course, there were nerves when I had to get the scene down and perform. But at the end of the day, Sadie’s quite a confident character – so I kind of played her like she doesn’t really care what anyone thinks of her, and I just used that energy to ease the nerves.”