Melissa George on the Morning Show.
Remember this if you’re ever interviewing Melissa George: don’t ask her any questions about Home and Away.
The Australian actress (who is now a US citizen) reportedly had a meltdown on Channel 7′s The Morning Show last week when they played a clip of her from her time on Home & Away.
According to news reports today:
CHANNEL 7 spoke out yesterday about a tirade unleashed by former Home And Away castmember Melissa George, who threw a hissy fit on Friday’s The Morning Show because the segment referenced her days at Summer Bay.
The brekkie newsroom was still reeling from the outburst yesterday, which witnesses described as “erratic” and “unbelievable”, as the Aussie actress threatened to walk off the set if hosts Larry Emdur and Kylie Gillies made mention of the character that made her a star, Angel Parrish.
“She kept saying she’s had so many bigger roles since Home And Away that it was offensive to talk about it – she even said she’d send Seven an invoice because she inadvertently promotes it through the media,” an insider said.
Melissa George in Home and Away
The program’s executive producer Sarah Stinson, said she originally thought the meltdown was a prank.
You can’t see what went on behind the scenes but watch how frosty Melissa George is when they come back from the Home & Away clip. Awkward.
Sure, it’s been 16 years since Melissa played the character of Angel Parrish on the soap – and since then she’s moved on to roles in Friends, Grey’s Anatomy and Alias. But, naturally, her former role comes up in interviews – especially when she’s in Australia.
Is it really something to be so ashamed of?
In a subsequent interview, Melissa went into surprising detail about why she was reportedly “offended” when The Morning Show’s Larry and Kylie mentioned H&A and why she threatened to walk out:
“I don’t need credibility from my country any more, I just need them all to be quiet,” she said. “If they have nothing intelligent to say, please don’t speak to me any more. I’d rather be having a croissant and an espresso in Paris or walking my French bulldog in New York City.
“I’ve never spoken out about it because I have to be the loyal good Aussie, who goes away and comes home.
“But I’m a really hard-working woman and people have to respect me for what I’ve done … my next call will be to Home And Away to ask them to pay me because nobody does more promotion for that f … ing show than me.”
Australian expat and Mamamia contributor, Kirsty Rice feels Melissa’s pain. Today she has written in defence of Melissa’s comments (and Melissa has even tweeted a link to Kirsty’s story, saying “This lady has said it all”).
Kirsty writes:
Kirsty Rice
A girlfriend of mine was telling me the story of a mutual friend’s return to Adelaide. After a nine year break from the city of churches and serial killers, she returned to her old work place. In the time she’d been away she’d travelled extensively overseas, become a mother, and tried her hand at a few different roles. She was a little surprised on her first day back, when an old colleague asked if she’d been on holiday because she hadn’t seen her for awhile.
“Did you have a good holiday?”
She’d been gone for nine years.
On a recent trip back to my hometown, I made a stop at the dry cleaner in the town next door. A business I had once visited on a weekly basis for about two years.
“G’day Kirsty – haven’t seen you for awhile” said the same beaming man I’d remembered from twelve years earlier. ”Are you still working at the radio station?”
I had to think about it for a minute. I’d erased that part of my life from my mind (let’s just say it wasn’t a career highlight).
“No, I moved, I don’t live here anymore”
“Where’d ya go? Back to Adelaide?”
I could have just said yes, and got on with the day, it had been thirteen years since my previous visit, and it was possible it would be another thirteen before I returned – but I couldn’t. It felt dishonest to the new life not to acknowledge how much it had changed from the old one. It wasn’t just that I felt I wanted to tell him, I needed to tell him. Everything was different, it was a fib to pretend it wasn’t.
I told him about how I’d fallen in love and then taken off on an adventure. I opened my wallet to show him a picture of the little travellers, and talked about where they’d been born and where they were now. I explained I’d had some time off but then returned to work. Within a couple of minutes I’d almost erased the single girl who arrived rushed every Friday afternoon to pick up her party clothes for the weekend, and penciled in the new mother of four, living in the desert. Ta da, that’s what I look like now.
Thankfully, he seemed interested. He listened, said he was happy for me and then filled me in on his news. I don’t know if he really cared, but it felt nice that he appeared to be happy for me.
A story about Melissa George rolled through my facebook feed this morning. I read a few “who does she think she is” comments before getting the gist. Melissa who is now 36, according to the piece, “chucked a hissy fit” about being asked about a role she played in an Australian soap 16 years ago. A role the article tells me “made her a star”.
These are the tweets Melissa sent after the show.
I don’t know Melissa George personally, and I was never a Home and Away viewer, but I did love her recent performance in The Slap. I can’t really remember her as Ross and Rachel’s nanny on Friends and I don’t watch Alias, nor Grey’s Anatomy, but I would imagine all of these events would have had her pretty excited out about how much her life and career has changed. And I’m guessing the nomination for a Golden Globe for her role in “In Treatment” may have been one of the highlights.
A quick Youtube search of Melissa will show you she has happily answered her fair share of Home and Away questions (it’s usually question one or two in any Aussie interview) – so why did it get up her bum so much this time? Why doesn’t she want to go back and revisit a job she had 16 years ago, answer the same questions, laugh at the same old pictures?
Maybe she’s just moved on?
Maybe, it’s time everyone else did too.
Melissa George on the cover of Australian Playboy
The post was originally published here and has been republished with full permission.
Kirsty Rice is an Australian writer and Blogger currently living in Qatar. After calling 7 countries home over the past 11 years she’s embarrassed to admit she still can’t pack a suitcase properly. Visit Kirsty’s blog here.
Do you think it’s understandable for Melissa George to feel exasperated when Home & Away is mentioned? Does Kirsty have a point? Have you ever been frustrated in a similar way?
Comments
207 Comments so far
You cant manage other people’s actions, only your own reactions.
Even my 7 year old knows this.
I dont understand her problem. Should we forget that those who’ve moved away had a past? That past is the point of reference for those who havent left.
I too lived OS for 13 years and have this year returned to Oz. Have furthered my career, learnt a new language fluently, and the skills of fitting into a culture that is not my own; and bring with me 3 little travellers back to Sydney (and a big one), that were not with me when I left.
Many people who I (obviously) dont see very often are not aware I’ve left or what I’ve been doing, and they ask banal questions. Who am I to be rude in response??? Doesn’t say anything about them, says a lot about me though …..
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She comes across as incredibly un-likeable.
For what it’s worth, she seems like a hard working and dedicated woman but perhaps she is bitter that after 16 years, she has not a proper ‘breakthrough’ role in the US, a la Naomi Watts or Eric Bana?
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I get Melissa’s annoyance to an extent, but on the other hand, that’s an actors life. Your most well known role will always be brought up. Five minutes after I read about this yesterday, I read an new interview with Sally Field, who was promotinga new film, & was instantly asked about her old roles in Gidget & The Flying Nun. They are frigging 40-50 years old. And STILL being brought up everytime she speaks to the media. She’s won Oscar’s, has an enormous body of work since then. But she just laughed about it, answered the questions, and moved on. Classy lady…..
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Those kind of comments make her seem like the biggest snob!
She should be grateful of Home and Away, because without it, would she have made it to where she is today?
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She is a snob. You should have heard the way she spoke on the radio the other morning.
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She’s one of those expats that is ashamed to call Australia home. After living in England I can recognise it. I too used to be ashamed of being Australian but having lived overseas I know am truly proud to say I am Australian. We have a beautiful country and we’re lucky people. Melissa can take her US citizenship and her croissants and get lost in Central Park.
She should be proud to revisit the job that gave her her first real break.
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Why didn’t she divert the conversation to how many Emmies, Golden Globes and Oscars she’s won over the last 16 years? What’s that..? Oh, she’s not had any.. I see. Awkward. but she did win Logie Awards, yes? For what’s that show on Ch 7 called…. ?
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I don’t understand why she even made an issue out of it. They barely references Home and Away any way. They only showed a small snippet to actually remind some people who she was.
The interview itself was all about her new role and McHappy Day.
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I was at a charity function a few years after she had left Home and Away. I was only a teenager at the time. I will never forget the blonde little girl with her parents that came up and called her Angel. She said ‘My name is Melissa, not angel’ The little girl’s (about 6) mother said ‘you will always be Angel to our family. At which point Melissa turned and ignored them.
I don’t believe for one second it is tall poppy syndrome from Australia but from Melissa George all these years.
I did try to ‘get over it’ and think she was only young at the time and a bit big for her boots. Obviously she still hasn’t her shoe size right after all this time!!
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To be fair to Melissa though – she was never Angel – she was playing a character. It’s a bit insulting to her personally that she get told that she is essentially her job and not actually a separate person.
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To be fair to the SIX year old who apparently called her Angel (or her parents who did so in front of their SIX YEAR OLD) – ah… she’s SIX… kids of that age don’t really understand the difference between an actor and a television character. Would it have killed her to be a a little bit gracious? Doubt she would have her career at all but for that six year old, her family and many others like her.
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Insulted by a child? With little grasp of the difference between a character and their real life? Speaks volumes about her ability to relate to people IMO
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Personally I think there are two issues here:
1. We are all busy living our own lives. The drycleaner probably didn’t really notice (or care) that you were gone. He was trying to be polite by recognising past connections. Fair enough to give an update on your activities but recognise that he was making an effort to engage with you (and many don’t). Did you ask how his life had changed over last 12 years? Personally I like being recognised and don’t mind a bit of guesswork to get the conversation started. We can’t expect strangers to have ESP – just be glad they are asking in the first place.
2. IMO this was just a case of a combination of shoddy journalism and a bit of ‘diva-ism’. Melissa could have been introduced in more flattering (and accurate) way, and in turn she could have handed the reference in a more appropriate manner. Poor day of work for everyone. First world problem.
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Couldn’t agree with you more on the shoddy journalism and the first world problems, did I mention my coffee plunger broke this morning and I had to have instant! The man at the dry cleaners had become a part of my regular routine so I was genuinely excited when it was him that at the desk that day, and OF COURSE I asked what he’d been up to for the past 12 years
Thanks for such a well balanced comment.
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Dont really know who she is but I have no respect for someone who strips down for playboy.
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I know! Would Melissa rather Australian media constantly reference her Playboy spread, instead of H&A? “Next up, an interview with our very own Playboy bunny, Melissa George!.” “Now Melissa, tell us how you were feeling as you stripped down for that illustrious publication? What was your motivation?”, “What’s that? You don’t want to talk about? What would you rather talk about? Home & Away? OK then!”
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After watching the footage, I was shocked at how little H&A was actually mentioned. She made it seem, via her comments, that it is all she was asked about. Couldn’t be further from the truth – they were all about her newer roles. She really needs to wake up to herself – all she’s done is made herself seem completely arrogant and precious. Jennifer Aniston still gets asked about Friends occasionally – she doesn’t feel the need to threaten to leave the set!!
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I was a ‘junior reporter’ on the Brisbane kids’ TV show Wombat from 1978-1980 and I never miss an opportunity to discuss it. Not that anyone ever asks.
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I remember Wombat well. Several years in a row it won the Logie for best children’s show. Not bad for a “little” show made in Brisbane, when at the time, if it didn’t happen in Sydney or Melbourne it simply didn’t happen.
I have great memories of Eric Summons and Julieanne Everleigh hosting. Was Fiona McDonald on the show for a while ?
Wombat was really a darn good TV show for kids.
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Wombat? Oh wow, that brings back some memories from the past. I remember going to Warana and wondering who would be there from Cartoon Connection and Wombat. Mind you, I was quite a fan of Simon Townsend’s Wonder World too – I begged for the day off school when Woodrow died.
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Despite all the other discussion on the show of Home and Away and everything else she does, wasn’t she really just on the show to promote McHappy Day? Such a shame that such a good cause has been lost in the celebrity dramatics, if i was in the position to easily promote such a good cause I wouldnt be too concerned about people talking about my past jobs.
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Melissa George? I’ve never heard of her.
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She’s that chick who played Angel in Home and Away.
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Pure gold, Miss Finance!!!
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The fact is that Home and Away is the most significant thing Melissa George has done. What… she played a nanny on Friends, and the role of the wife in Amityville Horror. People don’t introduce Kylie Minogue as ‘former Neighbours star…’ because she’s built an amazing career post that.
Ugh. What a princess. Earn your credentials, and people will respond accordingly.
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Everyone knows she has done well since Home & Away – it’s just a bit of fun to look back on those beginings. They do it all the time, Eric Bana on Fast Forward, Kylie on Neighbours etc. She’s being very precious about it. If you can’t take the piss out of yourself occasionally, Australia probably isn’t a great place to be.
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Exactly! I’ve never heard Kylie Minogue get upset when asked about Neighbours.
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I think she should have arrived on set dressed as Angel, spoken like Angel, and then right at the end her and Dieter could have had a re-union pash and we could all pretend it was 1996.
I miss 1996.
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except Dieter would have had to carry her in…
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She could have arrived on-set in a wheelchair and then miraculously walked at the end!
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There will always be people in your life who can’t accept that you’ve changed, whether you’re a celebrity or not. I have friends who I see regularly, not even after going away, who think I am still the same as I was in high school.
Melissa George needs to realise that her role as Angel saturated the country through TV and magazine covers. She hasn’t had another role like that. Until she lands something more high profile she’ll have to live with it – gracefully or otherwise.
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This time last week, Melissa George was most times referred to as “Angel from Home & Away”. Most old H&A viewers would go “oh yeah, her, great actress”. Sadly now she will be Melissa George best known for throwing a tanty on Morning TV for being reminded about “Angel from Home and Away”. Does John Travolta throw a tantrum every time he is asked about Danny from ‘Grease’ or Vinnie Barbarino from ‘Welcome Back Kotter”?? No. Does Kylie, Jason or Guy Pearce get their knickers in a knot if old “Neighbours” footage is dusted off?? No. And as for telling Australia to be quiet?? Sadly she’s made some of Australia talk that little bit louder. It’s very sad all this occurred on “Remembrance Day”. I know who I was thinking about yesterday and it certainly wasn’t Angel or Melissa, her bulldog or Parisian coffee. Best of luck to you Melissa, best of luck.
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I can appreciate why the reference to Home and Away might annoy her, however I definitely think she could have made her point in a more gracious way than this. If she’s so concerned with how people view her achievements then this incident probably won’t win her any new fans or help her reputation.
Also, I do think a lot of people need reminding about who she is – I don’t think she is a household name for everyone.
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I think it’s fair enough that Melissa has moved on in her life and wants to be known for and talk about what she’s doing now rather than what she’s done in the past. I’d get annoyed too if there was always a mention back to something I’d done 15 years ago. I also thought that Larry and Kylie were rushing the interview and talking over her without letting her finish what she was saying. Not the best interview.
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I don’t get it, sounds like a storm in a tea cup to me. Did she really have a hissy fit or just get embarrassed about seeing herself from back then? I don’t think they focused on Home & Away more than any of the other shows they went through on the reel. They certainly mentioned her success since then. I guess you usually cover all of it when introducing someone on a show like this – there would be plenty of people who hadn’t seen some or all of those shows. She’s an awesome actress and I’ve never watched Home & Away, but it’s just where she started. If she cringes about it now, that’s okay, maybe she’s still got something to prove to herself.
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Whilst I can understand what she is trying to say the fact is the show did “make her a star” … if she had simply packed her bags and headed to the US without any experience would she have landed the plum roles as she has or would she still be waiting tables in LA?? I guess we’ll never know but I could make a good guess. I have enjoyed some (not all) of her work and do think she has good dramatic scope. I will admit though that I saw an interview a couple of years ago done with her in LA and I don’t know quite how to explain it but it did seem like success had gone to her head a little – I think it was when her role in Grey’s was big news and okay, I’ll be *really* picky here but the ‘plum in the mouth half-Aus half-US half-UK and whatever else is in there’ accent is a bit irritating. I have travelled extensively and still speak like an Aussie. Personally I think it comes with the job – she gets paid a ridiculously large amount of money to pretend to be somene else for a while … surely she can suck it up when they mention her roots. Besides the interview as it is above barely mentioned H&A (or was that after the so-called hissy fit?) and went into detail about a lot of what she has done since – surely she can’t find fault in that?
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Is it just me, or did they barely even mention Home & Away? Melissa carried on as if H&A was all they talked about, but it got a brief mention at the start of the montage, then they brought the viewer up to date on everything else she’s done. I understand she’s probably sick of it, but she seems to have forgotten that Aussies love her because of Angel and are largely unaware of the work she’s done overseas. She seems to think she’s a bigger star than she actually is. Sorry Melissa, but you’re not quite there yet and a lot of Aussies do still need reminding of where they know you from. And if you make a habit of throwing these primadonna tantrums, you may not ever reach the heights you seek.
Ugh, arrogance annoys me so much. I don’t think I’d bother watching anything she’s in now.
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I agree – I didn’t see them mentioning Home and Away at all! Except for in the intro and of course they’re going to mention it in that – it’s the show that made her famous and the show that many Australians know her for. They also mentioned a lot of other roles she’s played in the intro so I don’t see what the big deal is. She comes off as arrogant.
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c’mon what does she expect? She is being interviewed on a morning show that is on the same network (7) as the TV soapie, which is still current?
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Jennifer Aniston’s role on Friends was a long time ago too and she will always be known as “Rachel” from Friends. I don’t see her carrying on like this if anyone references her role on Friends.
The part of her response I didn’t like was the “I’d rather be having a croissant or an espresso in Paris”….now hush you peasants!
I think if she doesn’t enjoy coming home she shouldn’t bother if she has that attitude. There are plenty of big name Australian actors and actresses that don’t carry on like that – they probably get annoyed at the local media but act with class when say for instance Toni Colette gets asked about “Muriel’s Wedding” she has a laugh and looks back with affection.
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This just reminded me of Adele admitting on Graham Norton she called Jennifer “Rachel” when they were in the loo together (after Adele had to convince the security people that she knew Jennifer so they’d let her in to pee). Something like: “I’m fine Rachel, how are you?” And then she finishes off with “and we were pissing!!! I heard her go pssshhhhhh!!”
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I can understand why it would annoy her but I think having a hissy fit is a little diva-ish.
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I saw her being introduced on the Morning Show and she made a face when they mentioned Home and Away, and wondered what it was all about. I thought she came across so rude and arrogant. She certainly hasn’t won a fan here.
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I agree with what Melissa was trying to say and why she was annoyed by it…. She was introduced as Home and Away actress….. its like introducing Kylie Minogue as “Neighbours actress Kylie Minogue”, or Simon Baker as E Street actor instead of star of The Mentalist..etc.
When people have moved on and achieve so much more, why don’t we embrace it? why do we summarize them only by their last achievement in Australia? She doesn’t mind H&A being mentioned in interviews, but the interview ONLY mentioned Home & Away in relation to her professional achievements.
I think that’s all she is saying, and I can completely understand!
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But they didn’t just mention HOA? And her introduction was kind of like “…from aussie soapie star to leading lady internationally…”sort of thing. Well the soapie part is definitely true, the international star part is debatable. She isn’t truly a household name in australia (well not mine anyway, my old man and boyfriend haven’t heard her name before- tells you more about them than her though LOL) I mean no disrespect, I think it’s kinda nice some can reason with her logic. I definitely can’t haha
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Good for her! At least she’s being honest. I’m sure that many of the actors who started out in Australia and are now successful overseas are only hedging their bets when they say how much they love Australia and how they hope to move back one day. They’d only move back if they had to.
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I think of her more as a weed….
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Kinda like Guy Pearce (Melbourne), Russell Crowe (coffs Harbour) and Cate Blanchett (Sydney), not to mention those who live in Australia part time, like Hugh jackman. There’s more, but you get the point.
I’m sure there’s some that are just talking the talk, but there’s still some that are genuine.
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I think she needs to get over herself. She’s nothing special. She’s a D grade celebrity at best. Settle down your ego Melissa George and act like a professional. How many other interviewees get asked tiring and repetitive questions? It’s your job!
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I don’t watch much television so the only thing I’ve seen Melissa George in is The Slap. Her acting in that was not ‘D grade’, she did an amazing job with that character. ‘D grade’ actors do commercials, if they’re lucky. They don’t end up on successful shows like Grey’s Anatomy or any of the other shows she’s been on.
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I disagree. Her acting in The Slap was nothing special. It was the character that was interesting – and she didn’t stuff it up, but she didn’t wow me either.
And plenty of D grade actors get occasional roles on big name shows to lift their profile – doesn’t mean they are better actors. She seems to have a delusion of grandeur.
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And…it was an Australian show. You know, Australia, the place she wants to leave behind….that place?
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Although, Ms George was happy to discuss her Home and Away roots on the Jonathan Ross Show just prior to her Morning Show appearance. She also joked that H&A should be canned by now.
Hmmm….
Can you imagine the likes of Nicole Kidman freaking out because someone mentioned BMX Bandits?! Hardly. It’s funny how people with a fifth of the success can have 10-times of ego.
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Maybe she was just having a crap day. I like her. I liked her in Alias and Greys, I don’t even remember her in home and away. I think it is weird that people still ask her about home and away before they ask about what she’s doing now. She’s done really well overseas.
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Wouldn’t we all be annoyed if all we were asked about in a job interview was the first job we ever had??
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completely agree!! while she does sound a teeeny bit pretentious talking about “having a croissant in Paris or walking my dog in New York City” …. she still has my sympathy. i can imagine that being constantly reminded and asked about something you did over 15 years ago would get very old, very quickly.
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No I wouldn’t be annoyed in the least. Mine was a paper round aged 12 and I am proud of it; especially now I am a writer. I will re-tell that first job story to my future kids and other young’ uns because there won’t even be newspapers in existence to read. I’ll have to explain what newspapers were.
Besides, it wasn’t a job interview aka ‘audition’ in this case. It was a personal interview in the country Melissa George started out in, and it was good enough for her at the time. I wonder… now she struts the catwalk for Victoria’s Secret, would Miranda Kerr ever bag the Dolly Comp she won? I doubt it. She probably has fond nostalgia of the exciting time as a young girl bursting onto the modelling scene, with dreams of making it overseas, which she has.
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I think this comment from The Punch sums it up well
“If I was given an amazing chance in my career as a teenager that opened up doors to big money and success that otherwise wouldn’t have happened, then I would always be thankful of it. “
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She might have worked regularly in the years since then, but until The Slap, there wouldn’t have been a role which had such an impact with Australian audiences. Nobody asks Guy Pearce about Neighbours much, precisely because he’s done so much work since then which is better-known than his soapie stint.
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My, someone’s getting a little big for their boots! Doesn’t she know how we treat tall poppies in Australia?
An actress friend of mine (who’s successful now but has known long periods of no roles) says that you always have to remain perpetually grateful and charming to everyone – in her words “that’s the only thing between you and wiping tables at Rooty Hill RSL!”
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I read her comments in the paper yesterday. Its sad when people enjoy success that they forget where it all started, how it started and their roots. And their ego takes over. She sounds like a spoilt brat.
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I don’t think so. It would be like everyone saying to me – ‘wow, you did so well in high school. Let’s talk about how fantastic you were at high school! Weren’t your results great?! And you were int he local paper! Don’t you think you should be so grateful that your local high school looked after you?!’. While it’s nice to think about where it all started for her, after 16 years of that and numerous fantastic things I felt that I’d done in between, I think I’d get a bit jack of it too!
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But that kick started her career and gave her the profile and resume to move forward overseas.
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If I was so successful I’m fairly sure I couldn’t care less if people brought up my first job. There is a nice and gracious way to behave and she just hasn’t mastered it. If you have nothing to say, say nothing at all. I find her cold and really feel sorry for her that she feels she’s so much better walking her dog in NYC than being in Australia. Good luck, Angel I hope your ego doesn’t get the better of you.
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I’m happy to let people bang on about me being fantastic at any point in life!
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I was pretty great at my first job working at a newsagent, why will no one bring it up???
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But that’s not what happened at this interview. The only reference to H and A was the first 10 seconds of footage. There were no H& A questions. Lots of questions about what she’s doing now.
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