On and off-screen, Summer Bay’s newest cop is tackling life with all guns blazing.
Kirsty Marillier, a South African-born actress, made her debut in April as police officer Rose Delaney, a half-sister Jasmine (Sam Frost) didn’t know she had, at the same time her first play was being played to sold-out audiences in Sydney.
Her first film, the time-travel drama The Greenhouse, had just been released on Netflix a few months prior, in February.
“I’m a playwright as well as an actor although, arguably, I’ve been an actor longer as playwriting is still a new venture for me,” she says, of filling both roles at the same time. “I’d say that from January, which is when (the Home And Away cast) came back from our Christmas break, I’ve been all guns blazing.”
Marillier won the 2019 Rodney Seaborn Playwrights’ Award for Orange Thrower, an Australian coming-of-age narrative, and the 2020 Max Afford Playwrights’ Award for The Zap, her second play.
“It’s such a privilege to have written something and see it come to life while also performing during the day in Australia’s number one drama,” she says, adding she is glad she has not yet had to choose between the two jobs.
“I feel like I need both of them. I feel much more comfortable in the acting space but writing is something that is so exciting to me.
“I hope to do both of them for the rest of eternity, really.”
Marillier and her family relocated to Perth from South Africa when she was ten years old. While acting has always been a goal of hers, she admits that breaking into the profession from Perth was difficult.
She was admitted into the Western Australian Academy Of Performing Arts (Waapa) after three auditions, where she studied with her Home And Away co-star Lukas Radovich, who plays Ryder.
“Once I got into Waapa, it just all started to make sense to me and I went, ‘OK, this really is the path I’m going to follow,” she says.
Marillier relocated to Sydney after graduation and worked there and in Melbourne for several years, largely on stage.
Her first major television job is on Home And Away, and she is embracing the opportunity to recite words penned by someone else.
“I think that it’s just a beautiful part of the collaboration, figuring out how to create a character from the stuff they put down on the page,” she says. “I’m learning so much and really feel like I’m exercising my skill set in the best way possible. It is just such a gift to get up and go to work and act every day.”
When Rose and her brother Xander (Luke Van Os) arrived in Summer Bay after their father’s death, they caused a ruckus.
Their goal was to track down Jasmine, their father’s little daughter, and pass on a bequest he had made to her. Jasmine gave them a cold welcome at first, but the brother and sister are finally settling into the coastal town.
Her first major television job is on Home And Away, and she is embracing the opportunity to recite words penned by someone else.
“I think that it’s just a beautiful part of collaboration, figuring out how to create a character from the stuff they put down on the page,” she says. “I’m learning so much and really feel like I’m exercising my skill set in the best way possible. It is just such a gift to get up and go to work and act every day.”
When Rose and her brother Xander (Luke Van Os) arrived in Summer Bay after their father’s death, they caused a ruckus.
Their goal was to track down Jasmine, their father’s little daughter, and pass on a bequest he had made to her. Jasmine gave them a cold welcome at first, but the brother and sister are finally settling into the coastal town.
“I’m not entirely sure why, but it’s something that’s never crossed my mind,” she says.
“However, I’ve started to really think about what it might be like.
“I believe you must be tenacious, cautious, and keep your wits about you.” As an actor, it’s a really, really exciting position to be.”
While she is fully aware that the drama has served as a stepping stone for many actors on their way to Hollywood glory, she is currently content to be in Summer Bay.
“I think it’s an amazing place for young actors to be. You feel like you’re really exercising your acting muscle,” she says.
“I hope to do all sorts of things (in the future) but, right now, I’m just focusing on the job and doing the best that I possibly can.”
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