Teresa Palmer on her new TV show and hitting pause on parenting duties

Aussie star Teresa Palmer and English actor Jim Sturgess have hit pause on parenting duties to reunite in Sydney for the launch of their new drama Mix Tape, a decades-spanning love story told through the songs that shaped them.

Teresa Palmer and Jim Sturgess in Sydney. Picture: Julian Andrews

Aussie star Teresa Palmer and English actor Jim Sturgess have hit pause on parenting duties to reunite in Sydney for the launch of their new drama series.

The pair star in the upcoming Aussie TV series Mix Tape, and while both were battling jet lag, they said the excitement to be back was high, with anticipation “potent”.

Palmer, who is currently 27 weeks pregnant, has just returned from a family holiday in the US where they travelled through Tornado Alley in an RV.

“It was such a dream trip,” Palmer told Confidential.

“We are definitely making it a tradition every year from now on. It was just the best way to spend quality time together and with my eldest 17 and finishing school it almost feels like a last hoorah.”

Now settling back into life in Byron Bay, Palmer is preparing for the birth of her sixth child while keeping busy with a handful of creative projects.

“I’m doing a lot of nesting,” she said.

Teresa Palmer and Jim Sturgess in Sydney. Picture: Julian Andrews.

“After the baby’s born I’ll jump back into work again at some point. But it’s nice to sort of be embracing this slow living and also getting to talk about Mix Tape which I feel really passionate about.”

Sturgess, who recently welcomed his second son, said he’s also been “knee deep” in fatherhood but was grateful for the chance to return Down Under.

“To be honest a week away in Australia is just a godsend,” he said.

“To sort of call it work as well is a real blessing … I’ve got two boys now so I’ve got my hands very full which makes it harder to travel, so I do have to pick my work battles a lot more carefully.”

Mix Tape, which premieres on BINGE June 12 and later on Showcase while also available On Demand, tells a decades-spanning love story through the music that brought a couple together, tore them apart, and offers them a second shot at love.

Teresa Palmer and Jim Sturgess in Sydney. Picture: Julian Andrews.

And just like their characters, Palmer and Sturgess each have songs that take them back to their first loves.

“Tracy Chapman’s The Promise was one of mine with my first love,” Palmer said.

“In the show I think the music is a character in and of itself. It’s such a huge part of it, and the nostalgia you feel when you listen to certain songs, and what that emotes and how that song expresses itself … it’s really unique.”

Mixtape actors are (L-R) Ben Lawson, Teresa Palmer, Jim Sturgess, Rory Walton-Smith. Picture: Julian Andrews.

Sturgess added, “ I think music is the most sort of visceral and impactful in your developing brain at 17 and 18.

“I was listening to a lot of 80s, sort of guitar bands from the north of England. So a lot of bands like New Order and The Stone Roses, The Fall, Happy Mondays and Joy Division which were hugely impactful in my sort of young life.”