September 2010

The Girl Next Door

We ask Packed to the Rafters actress Jessica Marais about her road to stardom and finding love on location

WORDS KATHY BUCHANAN

Arriving fresh from a morning jammed with interviews, the gorgeous Jessica Marais, 25, rushes into the cast-and-crew kitchen at Channel 7’s new headquarters. She apologises profusely for being 10 minutes late as she reaches for lunch — a tin of tuna — then introduces herself with a radiant smile. Marais is elegantly casual in a blue singlet, jeans and a cream cardigan hanging on her tiny frame, and is even more beautiful than she looks onscreen with her blue eyes and porcelain skin. Housed in the new complex is the Rafters set, now next door to Home and Away.

Marais laughs and says, “We call them the bright, shiny people. We’re all slothing in our pyjamas at the Rafter house while they’re all tanned in their cute school uniforms, with really white teeth. They’re great fun though — we’ve all got to know one another a bit better since, so that’s nice. Our make-up rooms are next to each other, so we all see the before- and-after transformation,” she laughs.

To date, Marais is best known for playing the beautiful yet tempestuous eldest daughter Rachel on the family-friendly smash hit, Packed to the Rafters. With huge ratings for the past two seasons — and currently filming their third — plus a stellar cast, including the legendary Michael Caton and Australia’s favourite TV mum Rebecca Gibney, the show is ratings gold.

Marais has come a long way since starring as Wendy in a grade seven production of Peter Pan. She’s won a Silver Logie for “Most Popular New Female Talent” and the prestigious Graham Kennedy Award for “Most Outstanding New Talent”. Marais’ star is rising fast and the fact she’s grateful for it makes her even more likeable.

“This is an easy day,” she jokes. “I’m sometimes up at 3.30am and in the make-up chair at five o’clock, then usually filming all day until at least 7pm, five days a week. I don’t have a social life.

“If I do get a late start then I might go out for dinner with a friend, but apart from that I’m pretty much a homebody,” she admits. “Of course, I spend time at my partner’s house.”

She’s talking about her on- and off-screen boyfriend, James Stewart, 34, who plays Jake Barton on the show. “At first we were just good mates,” she says. “We tried to fight it. Then it just became so obvious,” she says of their unavoidable natural chemistry.

With their hectic shooting schedules, Marais says their favourite thing to do is hang out together at home cooking pizza. “We love the crime channel and are both obsessed with history. Boring, isn’t it?” she laughs.

“I was determined not to get involved with someone that I work with. I fought it for a long time but when you connect with someone on the level that we did — it jolts you. I instantly connected with him and then he finally plucked up the courage to ask me out.”

She adds, “He really is my best friend. We both love music, and love driving around with the CD on or playing the guitar together. We both have the same values in life and both love John Lennon.”

Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, where her father was a university dean, Marais and her family relocated to Perth when she was nine, after they had lived in Canada and New Zealand for some time. Her father passed away soon after. Her mother is a literature teacher and her younger sister Clara, 23, is a medical student.

She says: “I was always encouraged and I’ve been so lucky to have a mother who has said to me ‘You can do anything you want to and I will support you. I love you and believe in you 100%.’ I think that is such a gift.

“I always had an inkling I wanted to act. I seriously started thinking about acting when I was in year 12. My drama teachers saw that I had a passion for it and encouraged me.” After graduating from high school, she studied history, psychology and philosophy for a year at the University of Western Australia.

“I was also playing guitar and singing in a really daggy little rock chick band,” she giggles. “We played Tuesday nights at Perth’s Claremont pub. We were never very serious or that good, but we thought we were fantastic.”

A year later, she was accepted into the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) where she was a “jack of all trades and master of nothing,” she jokes. With her easy grace, natural talent and dedicated work ethic, it isn’t surprising to learn that before her graduation day in 2008, she’d already scored the coveted role on Packed to the Rafters.

After filming the pilot, Marais starred in the indie boxing film Two Fists, One Heart. She also starred in the US fantasy TV series Legend of the Seeker, the brainchild of acclaimed American director Sam Raimi.

“In Auckland, the landscapes are incredible, and we were shooting a fantasy with wizards and everything, it was such a magical experience. Denna was a character you could liken to a dominatrix — in fact, she was a bodyguard to the king. It was fun,” she laughs.

More recently, she took on a starring role in the supernatural/horror/thriller Needle. Filmed in Perth late last year, it’s directed by John Soto, co-stars Ben Mendelsohn and is due for release in 2011.

Coincidently, one of her best mates at NIDA was fellow student Hugh Sheridan, whom Marais says she “instantly bonded with” and who is now her on-screen brother Ben. She says, “He really is like a brother to me now. It’s uncanny because we hit it off at drama school. We were each other’s family then and now we’re playing each other’s family on television.”

As for her TV mum Rebecca Gibney, Marais gushes, “Rebecca is a mentor and a maternal figure to us all. She’s such a strong source of inspiration and love. She’s fun, has a great laugh and is a true friend. I’m very lucky.”

As for her similarities with Rachel Rafters, Marais says the thing they have most in common is their taste for fashion. “There’s lots of Rachel’s wardrobe that I love. I really relate to her as a character but we certainly have our differences. Strangely, I’ve found myself becoming more neurotic, which I think is her seeping into me,” she chuckles.

“The boundaries definitely become blurred when you’ve been doing it for a long time. One thing I admire about Rachel is that she doesn’t hold grudges and that’s definitely something I’ve taken away from her, which has made me a better person.”

Jessica Marais’ Favourite Holiday Spots

Gold Coast: “I love lush Currumbin — sweeping beaches, forests and long beaches.”

Launceston: “Cradle Mountain is awesome. Here you have the Bay of Fires, forests, wineries, mountainous ranges and valleys.”

Perth: “I grew up in Perth, where it’s very social in the hub of the city with nice restaurants. I love the wineries around Margaret River and the lovely beaches that are perfect for surfing.”

Auckland: “It has incredible black sand beaches and prehistoric forests, plus fab boutique shopping, nice cafés and great nightlife.”