Kassandra Clementi’s reverse take on the journey from Aussie soap to Hollywood

For any fans of the character Maddy on H&A, this is a Daily Telegraph article mainly on Kassandra Clementi (who has landed a role on UnREAL), but also a general article on Home and Away & Neighbours:


Kassandra Clementi’s reverse take on the journey from Aussie soap to Hollywood

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IT’S a well-trodden path taken by so many of our young Aussie actors - a stint in either Home and Away or Neighbours before stardom beckons in Hollywood. But for Home and Away graduate Kassandra Clementi, it was the reverse.

The bubbly blonde who played teenage Summer Bay runaway Maddy Osborne used the Aussie role as a means to return from America where she had been honing her craft.

“It was the first time I’d been away from Australia by myself and it was harder than I thought it was going to be,” Clementi, now 26, tells BW Magazine.

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“I put in a call to my agent and asked if there was any work back in Australia that would require me to return because I was too proud to just call it quits. Luckily for me that’s when the role of Maddy in Home and Away came up.”

Proving Aussie drama is a great launch pad for our young actors, Adelaide-born Clementi returned to the US after almost four years on Home and Away and picked up a role in the hit US reality spoof unREAL.

Screen Australia CEO Graeme Mason says Australian TV in general has been a “hit factory” for Aussie actors breaking into Hollywood.

“Australian drama has been an unbelievable hit factory for Aussie actors,” Mason tells BW Magazine. “Nicole Kidman came from Australian TV in BMX Bandits and more recently former Neighbours star Margot Robbie has received five-star reviews at the Toronto Film Festival for her role in I, Tonya.

“The fact Neighbours and Home and Away still sell around the world is more powerful than any tourism campaign out there. Guys like the Hemsworths represent Australia in such a positive way globally and that’s powerful.

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“Aussie drama is in a golden period right now, just look at Yvonne Strahovski in The Handmaid’s Tale and Nicole Kidman in Big Little Lies, a role which just gained her an Emmy. There are currently multiple dramas on every TV channel here with shows like Offspring, Wrong Girl and Doctor, Doctor drawing great ratings.

“The industry has changed so much in the last 10 years, it’s more a global business than ever before with live streaming and on demand services. It’s how you end up with people like Aussie Catherine Langford starring in 13 Reasons Why. And that will open more doors for young Australian talent.”

Clementi is the latest in a long and proud alumni leaving Summer Bay for success in Hollywood. Home and Away’s biggest star is undoubtedly Chris Hemsworth who played teen Kim Hyde on the show for three years before heading to Hollywood where he is best known for his role as Thor in the movie franchise.

Before he was the Joker in Dark Knight, the late Heath Ledger also starred on the beachside drama as bad boy Scott Irwin. And Gypsy star Naomi Watts spent several months at the Bay playing wheelchair-bound Julie Gibson.

But Home and Away isn’t the only launch pad for young stars in Australia. Neighbours has also helped launch dozens of careers, most notably singing sensations Kylie Minogue and Delta Goodrem and more recently Suicide Squad star Margot Robbie, who played Donna Freedman on Ramsay Street for three years.

David Knox of tvtonight.com.au says Home and Away and Neighbours in particular have proven a perfect training ground for young Australian talent.

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“Aussie-wood has really taken off in the last decade and our soaps have proven excellent training grounds, particularly as actors have to deal with so much material in punishing time frames” Knox says. “That makes them quick on their feet, versatile and collaborative.

“Uniquely, there is also a tradition of seasoned actors fostering young talent on these shows which helps to keep them grounded. I remember interviewing Jackie Woodburne on the Neighbours set once and when I asked why she appeared a little sad, she told me she had just farewelled a young cast member heading to LA. Her name was Margot Robbie.”

Clementi says her years on Home and Away prepared her well for Hollywood.

“The pace was a lot slower on the unREAL set,” Clementi says. “In Home and Away they complete five episodes a week and work on 10. But in America you only film for three to four months of the year.

“You get a lot of stamina doing Home and Away, you show up every day, if it’s freezing cold you work through it, if there’s an extra scene thrown in at the last minute on the day of filming, you just do it.

“So I think you learn a really good work ethic. That really prepared me for everything over in the US.”

Clementi who famously dated Bondi Vet Dr Chris Brown in 2015 says she enjoys her anonymity in Los Angeles. But that may all change from January when the series of unREAL she filmed screens in the US.

“I do feel pretty anonymous in LA,” Clementi says. “When I was coming back to Australia recently I was walking through the Virgin Australia lounge and a young girl was calling “Maddy” over and over and it didn’t register she meant me, I had forgotten I was recognisable here. I used to respond to either Maddy or Kass while I was doing Home and Away.

“I’m lucky I get to come home often, I still get homesick but it’s not as bad.

“Australia will always be my home.”

FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS ...

Chris Hemsworth: He was a regular on our screens for three years playing teenager Kim Hyde before he crossed the Pacific to find fame in Hollywood as Thor.

Heath Ledger: He was only in a handful of episodes but within two years of leaving Summer Bay Ledger made it in Hollywood with the teen hit 10 Things I Hate About You. He went on to star in Brokeback Mountain and The Dark Knight.

Isla Fisher: More than three years playing Shannon Reed at Summer Bay led to a Hollywood career in which she landed roles in Wedding Crashers and The Great Gatsby.

Dannii Minogue: She may have got her TV start on Young Talent Time but two years playing troubled teen Emma Jackson kickstarted her career.

Naomi Watts: Long before she starred in Netflix hit Gypsy, Watts played wheelchair-bound Julie Gibson for several months.

Margot Robbie: Three years as Donna Freedman in Ramsay Street launched a successful career which includes roles in Suicide Squad, The Legend of Tarzan and I, Tonya.

Liam Hemsworth: While brother Chris was starring in Home and Away, Liam (right) was honing his craft on Neighbours. The younger Hemsworth broke into Hollywood with a recurring role in The Hunger Games franchise.

Guy Pearce: One of the earlier soap stars to make the transition to Hollywood, Pearce played mild-mannered Mike Young on Neighbours before starring in movies such as Memento and The King’s Speech.

Kylie Minogue: One of our most successful soapie exports, Minogue launched her career as a pop star while still playing Ramsay Street’s Charlene Mitchell over
three years.

Delta Goodrem: She is best remembered for playing Nina Tucker, a three-year role which helped to launch her international singing career.



...and the Daily Mail article:

From Summer Bay to LA! Former Home And Away actress Kassandra Celementi reflects on moving to the US after landing a role on UnREAL

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz...r-Bay-L-A.html