April comes full circle with Mischa
When new neighbours star April Rose Pengilly joined the show, she met her idol.
Entertainment
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April Rose Pengilly returned to the set of a revamped Ramsay Street with a proud purchase on her arm – a vintage Chanel handbag she saved for a few years ago – and one identical to that worn by Mischa Barton’s iconic OC character, Marissa.
Because, as a teen, it was The OC that Pengilly would rush home to watch after school, just as today’s teens will with Neighbours in its new 4.30pm timeslot. So for Pengilly to work with ‘icon’ – and her own longtime fashion influencer – Barton, well, that was a dream, the 35-year-old tells Insider.
“I was so nervous because she was like, an icon,” Pengilly says of meeting Barton on the Melbourne set of the show’s fictional Erinsborough home.
“When I was growing up, we all loved her. We all loved The OC,” she gushed.
“I realised that, actually, a vintage Chanel tote bag that I saved up for and bought a couple of years ago is quite similar to the one that her character on The OC carried, and that’s why I always wanted it, because she had it on The OC.
“And I realised without thinking, I brought it to Neighbours with all my scripts in it the day that I shot with her.
“I didn’t show it to her, I didn’t tell her or anything, but I was just like, ‘woah, that’s so weird’.
“But I was really, really nervous and excited to work with her – she was really lovely and we we’re so grateful that she came to film on the show.
“Fun fact – and she didn’t even know this – but she was maybe going to come in and play another role a couple of years ago. We were in talks with her management but obviously didn’t go to the point of her being told – but she was meant to play the role that Christie Whelan Browne ended up playing on the show, who was bit of an unhinged ex-girlfriend of Ned – Ben Hall’s character.
“So I told Mischa and she was like ‘wow, I didn’t know that’.
“I started to re-watch The OC when I was down there filming and then I had to stop because it was making me too nervous to work with her,” she laughs.
On the show, Pengilly plays the guest role of Chloe Brennan, one half of fan-favourite couple with Elly Conway, played by Jodi Gordon.
Another ‘fun fact’ and TV coincidence – Aussie Neighbours alumni Alan Dale also played Barton’s stepdad on The OC – both featuring heavily in Pengilly’s own upbringing.
“Neighbours was always on Channel 10 when I was growing up – it was Neighbours and The Simpsons back to back I remember, so I used to watch in the Delta Goodrem days and that era,” she says.
“We’re all really excited to be back on the home of Neighbours, on Channel 10.”
While Pengilly won’t feature on the series until November, she says she was thrilled to be invited back for the show’s second life, after fans from all over the world were shocked it would come to an end after 37 years on our screens.
“We had a tour a couple of months ago, and got to meet fans in the UK – the love in the UK is just unbelievable,” she says.
“We did about 16 shows and before each one we do about five hours of meet and greets, which was a lot – and stressful and quite tiring – but it was just so lovely meeting all these fans who the show means so much to.
“They were devastated when it ended – but they were so excited it was coming back.
“So many people said, even for their mental health, Neighbours was something that they looked forward to every day and gave them routine and made them feel good about the world – and they were really lost without it.
“I was really grateful when they asked me to come back – it’s just for a short stint at this stage but we’ll see what else happens down the track.
“But it was so nice to be back and see everyone’s faces.”
The daughter of INXS frontman Kirk Pengilly, she says her personality is the opposite of what you’d imagine.
“Through it all, I’ve been a nerd,” she laughs. “I’ve never been a big drinker, I’ve never done drugs or anything. I think people think ‘daughter of a rock star’ and ‘model who lived all over the world’ that I had this partying lifestyle – but I’ve always been a goody-two-shoes – on time to my photo shoots, clean hair and fresh face.”
Pengilly started as a model in her younger years, signing to Sydney’s Chadwick Models at age 16, then to New York’s Wilhelmina Models after graduating from Wenona, on Sydney’s north shore. In 2006 she became a youth ambassador for the David Jones Summer collection, along with Megan Gale – and it’s something she still enjoys today.
“To be honest, I really miss it,” she says.
“Looking back, it’s a much easier job than acting – there’s a lot more work to go around, you’ll have lots of castings every week – whereas with acting there are so few roles that are right for you, and then you have to put a lot of work into the audition and it’s obviously a lot more work. Whereas modelling is in and out, jobs are usually just like one day working with different people all the time, which is really interesting, and getting to travel.
“They definitely both have their pros and cons but I love modelling – it gave me the opportunity at such a young age to live overseas and work. I got to live in Japan, in London, in New York, which was my absolute favourite.
“I’m so lucky to have been able to do that.”
So is her father the rock star proud of his daughter?
“He definitely is. He actually wrote me a really nice card when I finished on the show saying how proud of me he was and everything, so I’m really lucky. I’ve got two amazing parents who are really supportive and proud of me,” the stepdaughter of surfer Layne Beachley continues.
“Mum and dad are both in creative industries – my mum (Karen Hutchinson) makes children’s clothes and things like that, so I didn’t have much chance of being an accountant,” she laughs.
“I was always going to go into something more creative and a bit out of the box, so they’re both really proud of me.”
And while she’s “definitely a Sydney girl”, she would love to work overseas soon too – and comedy would be her first choice. Think Debra Messing on hit ’90s sitcom Will and Grace.
“But obviously that’s not really possible now with all the strikes going on, but I’m just renewing my US Visa now,” she says.
“I actually got my US Visa right before I booked Neighbours and I was planning to move over there in a matter of weeks – and then I got Neighbours and I was like ‘change of plan, I’m moving to Melbourne’ – so I’ve got to renew that now.
“I’m also house hunting at the moment, trying to buy my first apartment, which is very difficult for a freelancer and just in Sydney in general, so that’s taking up a lot of my time ad I want to have that sorted before I start making my next career moves.
“I need a bit of a base but I’d love to work on a project like that, where you just get to make people laugh every day – that was always my favourite part of Neighbours because, thankfully, we got a bit of comedy and a bit of drama.
“A lot of actors, they’re like ‘I want to do those scenes where I’m crying and digging into my pain’ – whereas I was like, why would you?
“I want to do the ones that make people happy, and make me happy – and have fun.”
Being a role model for young fans is a lot of pressure but that’s pressure she’s equipped for.
“I’m not someone who’s partying or that kind of thing. I think I’m quite normal and down to earth, so if someone wants to have me as a role model, I’m probably a safe option,” she laughs.
In terms of the new series, she says loyal fans will be happy to know it’s not drastically different – although, maybe a bit more ‘glam’ with the likes of Barton involved.
“I think they’ll be really happy it still follows the same formula. They’ve changed up the lighting and a few little things like that, so it might look a little bit more glam, and there’s a lot of new faces, but plenty of familiar faces and familiar sets and scenarios and things," she says.
“There is a two-year time jump, so there’s a lot of catching up in the first few episodes, a little bit of flashbacks to catch people up, so I think that will be really exciting.
“The first episode is going to shock everyone – it definitely shocked me.”
Neighbours will return on Monday, September 18, with new episodes airing on Ten at 4.30pm Monday to Thursday
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