Getting paid to make love to your real partner on TV is ‘awkward’

Love scenes are as technical as fight scenes even when you are shooting with your off-screen partner, say this television couple

You have to love a job where you get paid to hook up with your partner.

Obviously that’s not the only reason Sarah Wiseman and Craig Hall enjoyed working on Foxtel’s A Place To Call Home — but it was a nice bonus.

The happily married couple of 13 years spent the last six seasons playing Jack and Carolyn Duncan, secret lovers who ended up together.

Both hail from Auckland and met on the set of a short film after having “crossed paths a few times”, Hall says.

But while acting as if you are in love with your partner is obviously not a huge stretch (for most people), it does come with a downside say the actors — the actual love scenes.

Real life married acting couple Sarah Wiseman and Craig Hall starred together in A Place To Call Home on Foxtel

“It was very strange but we had got to know the crew very well,” Hall says.

“We only had one full-on intimate scene. That was kind of strange but everyone was very supportive.”

Despite that support, it was impossible not to wonder if the crew were watching them and thinking: “So that’s how they do it!”, he admits.

“(Love scenes) are the weirdest, awkwardest things to explore,” Wiseman says.

“But it is always a very respectful process and always about the work.”
Hall agrees. “It’s as technical as a fight scene,” he says.

“The choreography takes away the intimacy and sensuality until it becomes more akin to a dance. It can be an OK experience but most of the time it’s awkward.”

He adds with a laugh: “And who wants to look at your hairy butt — not that I’m the one with a hairy butt!”.

“He’s so respectful,” Wiseman says dryly.

Some actors don’t like to watch themselves back on screen but both Hall and Wiseman do look at the finished product to “see what everyone else is doing”.

“It pays you to watch that stuff and it’s nice to see what the result is when you’ve been inside it,” Hall says.

However, that doesn’t quite hold true for the love scenes.

“I prefer not to watch them with Mum and Dad,” Wiseman says.

Despite having played these characters for six seasons, both agreem there is not crossover into their normal life.

Wiseman has never tried the “Jack Duncan wouldn’t do that” line on Hall for not doing the washing-up or emptying the bins.

“I’ve got a very tidy husband,” she says.

Sarah Wiseman and Craig Hall in real life.

Showbiz marriages don’t have the greatest track record — just look at Angelina and Brad or Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman for example — and for this down-to-earth couple having common upbringing in Auckland helps keep their feet on the ground.

“We’re not having a fleeting relationship sparked off by a film you get swept up in,” Hall says. “We’ve been together for 18-19 years. It’s been very sporadic working together and I hope we can do it again but we understand the industry and don’t get swept up in that situation.”

‘We’re a work in progress,” Wiseman says. “And we won’t be adopting any kids!”

A Place To Call Home was cancelled by Channel 7 before being renewed by Foxtel. The sixth and final season is now streaming on Foxtel Go and has just been released on DVD and Blu-ray.

“The ending is very satisfying for the characters,” Hall says.

“It’s a nice round-off to everyone’s journey. It’s the longest series I’ve ever worked on and a massive part of our lives.”

The pair has other work lined up, Wiseman in a new television show she can’t officially reveal until the end of March and Hall in a miniseries about All Black rugby legend Jonah Lomu — “but I’m not playing Jonah, obviously!”

A Place To Call Home is now out on DVD and digital download.