British actress Juliet Stevenson travelled halfway across the world to shoot Australian crime drama Dustfall, despite not knowing any of the other actors – all because of the script.
In Dustfall, Juliet (Truly, Madly, Deeply and Bend it Like Beckham) plays Olivia, mother of police detective Tig Pollard, who is played by Anna Torv (The Newsreader).
“It was one of the most riveting scripts I had read for a long time,” Juliet, 69, tells TV WEEK. “And the subject matter at its heart – sexual violence towards women and the way in which it is so embedded in the culture – is very close to my heart.
“But it’s also a rattling good thriller and the role of Olivia was complex and very interesting.”
Dustfall is set in a Queensland country town. In this first episode of six, a teenage girl, Edie (Zoe Phillips), is found naked in a sugarcane field after being sexually assaulted. Tig is assigned to the case.
Tig has only recently moved back to the town where she grew up, and she’s living in the house previously owned by her grandmother, who has just died.
When Tig’s mother, Olivia, comes to stay, she doesn’t exactly welcome her with open arms, because Tig felt Olivia abandoned her when she was a child to focus on her academic career.
“This has left their relationship strained,” explains Juliet. “When Olivia returns and moves in with Tig, the tensions between them begin to emerge.”
Tig has recently started a relationship with a local single dad, Mitch (Ben Knight). But, when she was a teenager, she had a relationship with a much older musician, Andy (Peter Fenton) – and she’s unsettled when he reappears.
Olivia, however, is keen to spend time with both men!
“She is a fun character,” Juliet says. “She loves the good life… and her hedonistic and flirtatious streak also gets her into trouble with Tig when she misbehaves at a supper gathering!”
Dustfall premieres Sunday, 8.20pm on ABC and iview.
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