Over two decades, Kiwi actress Michala Banas and Aussie star Brett Tucker have navigated loss, love and life together, always having each other’s backs. Initially winning hearts as lovebirds Kate Manfredi and Dave Brewer on global hit series McLeod’s Daughters, the pair are now starring in brand-new local crime drama Blue Murder Motel.
“We’ve known each other more than half our lives,” says Michala, 47, who grew up in Wellington, before her family moved to Australia.
“And she’s still talking to me!” grins Melbourne lad Brett, 53.
Having a connection to New Zealand is particularly important for the Upper Middle Bogan actress right now, after the unexpected death of her dad, legendary Kiwi screenwriter and director John Banas, at the end of last year.
As part of honouring his memory, when Woman’s Day speaks with Michala, she has just arrived back in Aotearoa to reprise her role as pyro-technician Kylie Shorrock in the hit TV series A Remarkable Place To Die, written by John.
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Carrying his legacy
“I’m putting extra pressure on myself because I want to do really good work since it’s his last series,” she says.
“It’s surreal to speak words that he’s written. I’m still in a big place of shock and grief, so it’s also very odd, but I’m rolling with it.”
John, who worked on shows like Blue Heelers and Water Rats, was Michala’s “touchstone”, she says.
Stepping into the spotlight
He was particularly thrilled that she and Brett landed the lead roles in Blue Murder Motel, which follows married cops Vanessa and Peter, who quit the force to run a beachside motor inn that becomes a hub of murder and mayhem.
“At my age, I didn’t think I’d be the lead of a show again, so for Brett and I to be helming this feels cool,” says Michala.
“Dad was stoked for me.”
Love and support on set and beyond
Her actor husband Toby Truslove is also in New Zealand to support her during this difficult time and the couple hopes to explore the South Island while they’re here. Married for six years, both are firm friends with Brett.
“We still really like hanging out with each other,” she says. “Which is handy because we do that lots – and sometimes we let Brett hang with us!”
From saddle club to lifelong friendship
Brett and Michala first met in 2001, when they appeared together in the Aussie series The Saddle Club, but it was on McLeod’s Daughters that they cemented their lifelong bond. Reflecting on their time
on Drover’s Run, working alongside Kiwis like Lisa Chappell and Jessica Napier, they say the cast became “one big family”.
Michala recalls, “It was hard work but super-fun. I remember Brett having his arm up a cow’s butt several times!”
Life off set
The fun followed off set in Adelaide as the cast went to the movies, had barbecues and attended league games.
“We were regulars at the strip club for a bit,” reveals Brett.
“It was the kind of strip club where people just went to hang out. They were like, ‘Oh, the McLeod’s crew are back.’”
Michala adds, “There were no phone cameras then, so there was no footage of our shenanigans!”
Both Michala and Brett were close to late McLeod’s star Rachael Carpani, who sadly died last month at age 45 after battling chronic illness. Brett says Rachael, who played Jodi Fountain, was “way too young to go”.
A friend remembered
Michala continues, “She was a really good friend and a sparkling, excellent human being.”
While Brett says he’s open to a McLeod’s reboot “if it was the right thing at the right time”, like Michala, he continues to stay busy, carving out a successful career in the US with roles in CSI, Grey’s Anatomy, Mistresses and Netflix’s The Residence. Working with Hollywood couple Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell on The Americans was also a highlight.
Hollywood lessons
He says his biggest lesson was remembering that working in Tinseltown is no different to anywhere else – just on a bigger scale and with different accents.
“Once you relax into that, you can concentrate on doing the job and it’s the same challenges as anywhere else. I’ve been lucky to keep working, mostly through sheer persistence because I don’t know how to do anything else!”
Blue Murder Motel premieres 8.45pm Sunday on TVNZ 1 and streams on TVNZ+.
