THE AACTA INTERVIEW - SARAH SNOOK

Moments after Sarah Snook's Lead Actress nomination was announced, the radiant star of Not Suitable for Children sat with Screen-Space to reflect upon her time making Peter Templeman's inner-city dramedy and what this nomination (her second consecutive nod) means to her.

Screen-Space: At this stage of your career, what does an AACTA nomination mean to you?

Snook: I think at any stage of an actor’s career an AACTA nomination is pretty exciting. I was pretty shocked but certainly thrilled. Very thrilled.

Screen-Space: What was the mood like on the set of Not Suitable for Children? Did the project feel a comfortable fit from the start?

Snook: It was confusing in a way because we were enjoying ourselves so much, which is good. But it can be a dangerous thing, if you are enjoying yourself too much, because then maybe the audience doesn’t get to or it can come across as something completely different. Luckily in the hands of Peter Templeman, he was able to craft it that didn’t seem too self-indulgent, that the actors were running off with the script.

Screen-Space: What environment did Templeman create on the set?

Snook: Pretty chilled (laughs). He’s a bit of a surfer dude from Perth and he had a lot of personal experience, living that party lifestyle in his 20s in a big warehouse in Perth so he was able to fill us in on that reality. And we had a lot of rehearsal before we started shooting, which was good, because it allowed us to create a more realistic bond between those core friendships in the film. So when we were on-set, Peter would say, “Right, you all know what you’re doing, now let me go focus on the technical.”

Screen-Space: When you first read the part of your character, Stevie, what appealed to you most?

Snook: I think her wit. She changed quite a lot over the course of the audition process. Where I read her being, at the beginning of the process, and where she ended being was quite different but, I guess, a little bit of the beginning always stayed with me, all the way through. I enjoyed meeting that first person and I enjoyed creating the last version of her.

Screen-Space: How deliberately did the production try to steer clear of the grungy, inner-city attitude? There is a warmth to the story and characters that is at odds with how many people would view that hedonistic, 20-something crowd.

Snook. I know totally what you mean. I’ve just moved from Redfern to Stanmore and almost immediately I was like “Uh, there’s hipsters everywhere!” (laughs) Which I love, they are my friends. The costume designer on the film, the amazing Gypsy Taylor, created a look that was definitely of now but that wouldn’t age so obviously. She still had the tight jeans but she made things that were a little off-beat but also still cool; not so “Wow, that looks so 2012.” And, you know, hipsters are people, too (laughs). You were probably a hipster when you were a kid, right?

In addition to Sarah Snook's Lead Actress nomination, Not Suitable for Children was nominated for Best Supporting Actor (Ryan Corr), Best Original Screenplay and Best Original Music Score at the 2012 AACTAs. It is currently available on DVD.