Pictures: Guy Coombes.
When Rebecca Gibney’s son Zac Bell declared he wanted to be an actor, she had her reservations. Having been in the business herself for over 40 years, she knows it isn’t an easy path to follow.
“Actually, I think it’s a lot harder now than when I started out because there’s not a lot of work around with lots of people wanting to do it,” says Rebecca, chatting to Woman’s Day from her home in the Marlborough countryside. “That’s why I was concerned when Zac decided he wanted to be an actor. It can be a tough job because you have to spend time out of work and the rejection is painful too.”
Even as a child, Zac was a performer, always happy to grab a microphone and jump on stage or getting his parents to film him making nature documentaries. At 17, he started studying at Wellington drama school Toi Whakaari.
“I was still a baby, really, and had to grow up quickly, leaving the comfort and safety net of home,” recalls Zac, 21. “There were some tricky times, but then I found my footing and really loved it. If you’d asked me in the first year, I’d probably have said that I was quite excited to finish and now I just want to be back.”
With drama school completed, Zac’s living at home again. He’s busy trying to get his career off the ground with some practical help from his mum.
“We’ve set up a little studio in the shed where we’ve been doing his audition tapes,” explains Rebecca, who admits she’s a demanding coach. “I’m like, ‘No, do it again. Do it like this’. I can be quite tough on him because I know what he’s capable of. I’m always pushing for more in auditions.”
Zac has already appeared in an episode of Under The Vines and the series Wanted, both starring his famous mum, but he’s very much determined to make it on his own merits.
“It’s not so much that I’m stepping into Mum’s shoes,” he explains. “But I want to make her proud and carve out a lane for myself. I feel extremely lucky to have the mum I have. I always acknowledge the benefits, but I want to work hard and not take advantage of that.”
The fact he’s called Zac Bell rather than Gibney means that when he auditions for roles, people don’t necessarily make the connection.
“He’s going to have to make his own way and I think that’s good because he can’t be accused of the ‘nepo-baby’ thing if no one knows who he is,” says Rebecca. “There have already been some auditions Zac has gone for that he hasn’t got. He doesn’t talk about it much, but I know it’s disappointing and there’s nothing I can do.”
Much as she loves having her son home, Rebecca’s aware that he’ll need to fly the nest again. Most likely, Zac’s next move will be to Sydney as there is more opportunity.
He admits to finding the prospect daunting. “I know I’ll get a bit homesick when I first leave, but it makes sense for me to be there instead of out here in the middle of nowhere. So I just want to go, do some theatre and make connections.”
Zac and his mum have always had a close bond. They love hanging out watching movies, cooking together and taking long walks.
In his speech when she was honoured at the Logies last year, Zac said that while many people love Rebecca Gibney the actress, to him, she is “the kindest, most loving mum anyone could ask for”.
Says Zac, “When I get invited to places like the Logies, it really brings home to me how important Mum is to a lot of people. I’m always meeting people that she’s worked with who say she’s like their own mum on set. She looks after them so well. I’ve got these little adopted siblings all over the place!”
Rebecca may have turned 60 in December, but she isn’t planning on slowing down in any aspect of her life any time soon. As excited about new challenges as she’s ever been, she participated in the latest Aussie series of Dancing With The Stars, saying it pushed her to the limits physically and emotionally.
“We had four to five hours of training a day and I was in pain the whole time,” she recalls. “There were days when I thought I couldn’t do it and there were a lot of tears. But we also laughed from start to finish. By the end, I was almost back to being able to do the splits again!”
Rebecca’s latest Kiwi TV production is also something different. In Three’s Happiness, a brilliantly funny musical comedy, she plays a stage mother involved in an amateur theatre production.
“It’s such an incredible show,” tells Rebecca. “I knew from the very beginning that we were making something special. I haven’t felt that way about a show since I read the first episode of Packed
To The Rafters. The music’s brilliant and I think there’s something magical about it.”
Rebecca hopes there will be at least one more series. In the meantime, she has an Australian crime drama in development and will be spending the winter acting in her first-ever Sydney Theatre Company play.
Throughout her long career, she’s worked consistently, starring in a host of much-loved TV shows. Rebecca thinks the secret of her success is pretty simple.
“I show up on time and I’m not a diva,” she says. “I’m easy to work with, I always know my lines, I treat people very respectfully, regardless of who they are, and I work really hard. That has had a lot to do with it.”
With her own mother turning 90 and Zac’s 21st to celebrate, Rebecca’s also had plenty of fun in 2025 so far. The Gibney family held a big, noisy reunion for her mum’s birthday with five generations gathering in Brisbane.
“There’s always a karaoke machine at our reunions,” reveals Rebecca. “I never get anywhere near the microphone because my brothers take it over.”
Rather than a party, Zac is marking his milestone birthday with a fabulous family holiday in the Maldives.
While her life and career may take Rebecca interesting places, she says she’s always happy to return to Aotearoa and that Marlborough is her forever home.
“It’s so beautiful here,” admits Rebecca. “It’s isolated, which I love because I think I’m a hermit these days. There’s an incredible garden with flowers, peaches, plums, apples and pears.”
Not that country life is ever that quiet in the Gibney-Bell household.
“We’re a creative family, so at the moment, we’re talking about making a short film,” says Rebecca. “We’re encouraging Zac with his writing – he’s in the middle of two plays. Dad’s set up a gym, so we’re on a campaign of getting fit again. There’s lots to do on the property – Richard’s out there tending to it now. It’s ridiculously idyllic here. None of us want to leave!”
Happiness screens 8.30pm Thursdays on Three and streams on ThreeNow.
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