0/5

Social media no place for nice girl like Asher

While Offspring draws its fans to social media discussions, Asher Keddie admits she isn't one of them.

Screen Shot 2014-05-12 at 9.48.04 pm.jpgIf there is one local drama that gets fans talking on social media, it’s Offspring.

Fans debate Nina Proudman’s choices in everything from men to scarves on Facebook and Twitter, usually while the show is on air.

Last year when heartthrob Patrick (Matt Le Nevez) was killed off, it seemingly sent Twitter into meltdown.

But while she is appreciative of the response, it’s not a forum she engages in.

“I don’t participate in social media, so I don’t directly see it. But there was so much talk around at the time that people were saying ‘You should see what’s written here….Twitter’s gone off because of the death of Patrick…’ so I was aware there was a lot of talk,” she said.

“Even though I choose not to participate in social media it doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate the response and the conversation that begins from it.

“For an Australian drama like this we want to be wide-reaching and we want conversations to begin. Offspring has always been a show where the writers and producers have been conscious of what message they want to send and issues they want to discuss. They’re pretty bold in the issues they’ve chosen to explore on screen.”

The reason for her reticence, Keddie explains, is about looking forward as a performer rather than backwards.

“It’s a combination of things. One is the time factor. I don’t know where people find the time to participate in social media,” she explains.

“The other reason, I suppose, is that once I have completed the work I don’t really want to rehash it and pull it apart. Part of the process of working on television, or film and theatre, is that the process is private for me. I’m more than happy for people to comment on my work, our work, as part of the show. But I don’t really want to be part of that discussion.

“I just want the work to speak for itself without having to explain the work, I guess.”

The work in Season Five is one of optimism despite the low emotional point last visited at the end of Season Four.

Deftly juggling a sense of mourning and retaining Offspring‘s uplifting spirit were key considerations for the writers. The season picks up 6 months later.

“Although we left Nina and her family in deep, crippling grief at the end of Season 4 I think what’s been most satisfying in shooting Season 5 is that the writers have done the most fantastic job in balancing the grief and the re-emergence of Nina into life,” she says.

“We don’t want it to be all doom and gloom, that’s not what the show is. But I’m glad we didn’t shy away from what was a very real aspect of life and that is death.

“So I’m hoping that people will enjoy that we have allowed the audience to move through some of the grief with Nina in the early stages of Series 5, but it is so beautifully balanced with the hi-jinx and those heightened fantasies that people like about the show. And the joy, because of course we have a beautiful baby.

“There is so much life affirmation and relationships for the family that have come out of this loss. We really start to build on that right from the get go.

“It was very important to me that they were able to come on the journey with me as opposed to just watch me go through it.

“The way the writing has been crafted is quite brilliant, in that way.”

Le Nevez still appears, albeit fleetingly, in this season, conveniently taking advantage of the show’s fantasy realm. But Keddie explains it is used to further Nina’s story.

“There are big turning points and choices in Series 5 and they become even more compelling to me, after the loss of a partner.

“For a certain amount of time Nina can’t help but indulge in the fantasy of him. That’s a defence mechanism, or she’s in denial, she just can’t help it,” she insists.

“But everytime she indulges in a fantasy of him there is a turning point and a stepping stone. So they’ve placed very carefully throughout the show.

“They allow us to see what she’s struggling with emotionally. But eventually there is an emotional maturity that comes from her indulgence.”

ALong for the fifth season is Nina’s own ‘offspring’ in the form of a baby daughter. While it would have made an ironic headline had Keddie not enjoyed working with toddlers, it was not to be.

“I’ve heard people say ‘Never work with kids and animals’ but I couldn’t disagree more with that. I suppose because of the kind of actor I am I enjoy the organic process and I really embraced that fact that you never know what you’re going to get with a baby,” she admits.

“But we were very lucky with the babies we had on this series, they were just so beautiful.

“I formed quite a bond with them, they were wonderful.”

Offspring returns 8:30pm Wednesday on TEN.

5 Responses

  1. I find her incredibly difficult to warm to, especially when she says things like “I find the process is private for me”. News flash, you are working in a hugely public arena, engaging with it is part of that process.

    1. Giving an interview to social media such as my site might suggest she is heavily engaged. Actors are required to do publicity for their work, they aren’t contracted to respond to social media yet.

  2. Good for her i think all television people and sporting athletes should keep away from social media.It does more harm than good.Don’t watch Masterchef but we can do without twitter comments on TV Shows.Waste of time and annoying.I’m on Facebook and you don’t need to get involved in conversations.Unlike Twitter which is what it’s all about

  3. So-called “social media” is very anti-social. Pleased to see I’m not the only one with no Twits, Facebook, etc., etc., account. Now MasterChef has added stupid Twitter comments. Annoying, distracting, on something that was recorded months ago.

Leave a Reply