The Secret Life of Us: articles


wedding

Alex (Claudia Karvan) and Rex (Vince Colosimo) are marrying and heading to London for six months in The Secret Life of Us.

Bye bye Alex

THE prospect of portraying deep emotion can fill an actor with dread but Claudia Karvan had no cause for anxiety when it came to shooting a wedding episode for The Secret Life of Us.

Karvan says the emotions come easily when you're filming your final scenes for a show you really love.

Alex (Karvan) and Rex (Vince Colosimo) are marrying and heading to London for six months in a storyline that leaves the door open for Karvan should she decide to return to the role.

What is certain is that she will direct some episodes of the show later in the year—a challenge she describes as "very exciting".

Speaking on holiday from New Zealand, where she has just managed to put baby Audrey to sleep, Karvan has bittersweet feelings about saying goodbye to Alex.

"It was absolutely hard to leave," she says. "I'm leaving to spend more time with Audrey and my family but, at the same time, I have such a sentimental attachment to the show because it's been a very big part of my life in the past three years and so much has happened in that time."

The wedding episode is typical of Secret Life—it's a spontaneous, modern affair which takes place on the rooftop garden of the apartment block central to the plot.

Karvan says it was difficult shooting the exchange of vows over three hours in windy conditions.

"There are moments you get very swept away with the emotion but after all the rigmarole you start thinking, 'who in their right mind would ever get married?', " she says.

At first, Karvan says, she had doubts about taking on a role in TV.

"I thought it (TV) would be something I could get a bit complacent in," she says. "But I've found it to be the fastest learning curve of my career, purely because you are working every day and also the scripts continued to be challenging for my character."

As well as directing future episodes of Secret Life, Karvan hopes to make more films, but at the moment her priorities are Audrey and partner Jeremy Sparks.

"I'll have a bit of a break and see what comes up and if there is anything really worthwhile," she says. "It's got to be really good if it's going to take me away from Audrey for any length of time."

The Secret Life of Us, Ten, Monday, 8.30pm

By Luke Dennehy
March 13, 2003
The Courier Mail