Marshall Law: articles


Jane Hall and Vince Colosimo

Fame and family

The stork's arrival will top of a colossal year for star partners Vince Colosimo and Jane Hall

This has been quite a year for Vince Colosimo and his striking partner Jane Hall. Last November he took out a coveted AFI award for his performance in the movie Lantana. And he's scored praise for his work as Rex, the handsome heartbreaker in The Secret Life of Us, and as the cheating bridegroom in Secret Bridesmaids' Business.

Now he's landed a host of new movie parts, as well as a starring role opposite Jane, with the couple playing husband and wife in the Network Ten telemovie Life.

And hot on the heels of Life Jane joined the cast of the Seven Network's new series Marshall Law, which debuts in August, as power-playing young barrister Prue Staley.

In the middle of all this Vince hopped on a plane to the US, where he was signed by International Creative Management, whose list of clients includes such huge stars as Russell Crowe and Julia Roberts.

The agency will be putting Vince forward for numerous film and television roles, so it won't be a surprise if he pops up in guest spots on programs such as ER, Sex in the City or The Guardian before too long.

But by far the biggest surprise of the lot came about four months ago, when Jane delivered the eagerly awaited news that Vince is about to become a dad.

"We've talked about this for so long," Jane excitedly tells New Idea.

"Vince and I first met on the set of A Country Practice, and we've been together for nine and a half years now.

"I didn't want to be in my 40s when I started having babies, and I'm 31 now."

She says that as neither of them have ever had a child, they have no idea how fertile they were—or weren't.

"We had no idea how it was going to be. It must be heartbreaking for people who can't conceive. And it could have happened.

"So we both imagined it would probably take some time—but not a chance! I got pregnant virtually straightaway. And we are both so thrilled," she smiles.

For Jane, the toughest moment came when she had to tell the producers of Marshall Law that she was pregnant.

"But they were fantastic," she reflects.

"We finish filming this series in September, and I'm not due until January. But there's going to be a few scenes showing me half-hidden behind a pot plant or carrying a whole pile of legal files!"

It wasn't the first time producer Alan Hardy had heard the news—it's been a virtual baby epidemic on Marshall Law. First there was Lisa McCune's surprise news, which resulted in the series being delayed before it even went into production.

Then co-star Alison Whyte gave birth to her first child—a baby girl—just before she began work on the show.

And now Jane's about to become mum number three!

Jane says she has no idea whether she's expecting a daughter or a son, although neither she nor Vince really care either way.

"We'll just be so concerned that our baby is perfectly healthy—that's really our only priority," Jane says.

"I'm going to have a scan in a few days, but I'm not going to ask—because I'm absolutely hopeless at keeping secrets!"

What Jane did insist on finding out from her GP was whether or not she was pregnant with just one baby.

"Vince is a twin, and while they usually skip a generation, there are so many children on both sides of his family that I wanted to make absolutely sure."

Vince nods in agreement.

"My mum was one of eight children and my dad was one of nine," he says. "I've got about 36 first cousins, so we're hoping this article is going to let them all know—because there's just too many people in my family to contact everyone!"

For Jane the early month f pregnancy have been relatively easy. There were no strange cravings in the middle of the night.

"And there haven't been any morning sickness either," Jane says happily.

"Jane gets night sickness," Vince jokes.

"Yes, at about five or six at night I start to feel really tired and nauseous. But apart from that everything's been fine."

For the first three months of the pregnancy, Jane and Vince didn't breathe a word to a soul about the exciting news.

"You never know in a situation like this, and we just wanted to make sure that we'd passed the danger zone before we told anyone," Jane explains.

While the couple are thrilled to be able to now share their news with the public, they are quick to point out that the one item not on their agenda is getting married—for the moment at least.

"This baby is going to be loved, and there's no way it could be any more loved if we got married," Jane says.

"We're not saying that we'll never get married—we might. But we honestly don't see how a piece of paper is going to make any difference for us."

Perhaps the biggest question—aside from settling on a name for their new addition—is exactly where Jane might give birth.

"There's every chance that we could be looking at a move to the States by them, so we'll just have to wait and see," Jane says.

"Either way out house is not really suitable for a little person, so we're wither going to have to extend or more. And the problem is that at this point we don't know whether we'll be in Melbourne, Sydney or the US.

"But Vince is going to be there for the birth, no matter what. There's no way I'm going through this on my own. He can suffer with me," Jane jokes.

"Are you kidding? I wouldn't miss this for all the world… Jane going through all that pain," Vince adds with a grin.

At this stage the acting family haven't decided on a name for their first baby, or even settled on a short list.

"You wouldn't want to hear the names he has in mind!" Jane says, shaking her head.

But if Jane and Vince have their way, their child won't grow up to be an actor.

"No way," Jane says. "Hopefully they'll become a doctor or a lawyer or an investment advisor, or something useful like a plumber—someone who can make a solid living for themselves and look after us in our old age!

"But all we want is for them to be happy."

Both Jane and Vince suggest their baby cold be born with a stubborn streak. And would that flow from Mum or Dad's side?

"His!" Jane suggests—as Vince points back in Jane's direction and choruses: "Hers!"

"We're both pretty volatile," Jane says. "But Vince will be a totally superb dad.

By Patrice Fidgeon
Picture: Lindsay Kelly
July 2002
New Idea