“That thought never goes away – that the next job might be the last job for me”: Jessica De Gouw
It’s been a huge year for Aussie actor Jessica De Gouw, who has starred alongside Mark Wahlberg, Halle Berry and Sam Neill. But her sexy new thriller may be some of her best work yet.
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It’s been such a busy year, Aussie actor Jessica De Gouw can barely recall what was shot when.
She appeared in The Artful Dodger, The Portable Door and C*A*U*G*H*T. Not to mention shooting international drama The Couple Next Door and the TV adaptation of Ladies in Black for ABC.
And her co-stars were as big as they come – Mark Wahlberg, Halle Berry and Sam Neill.
Yet the 35-year-old still wrestles with how long it will last.
“I think no matter how visible or established you are as an actor, that thought never goes away – that the next job might be the last job for me,” De Gouw says.
“And so you sort of wrestle between being grateful and then being anxious about whether the work will continue, and whether you get to have choice and work with wonderful people.
“I can’t speak for everybody. But most of my friends I think would say the same thing.
“It’s the same for crew as well. You get to near the end of a job and everyone starts wondering about what the next one will be and where they’re going to be.”
Her latest role as Aussie wellness instructor Becka in The Couple Next Door sees her paired with Outlander’s Sam Heughan, who she found an absolute delight.
“He’s just the loveliest man that you could hope for – as a friend, as a co-star, as an on-screen husband,” De Gouw says.
“We met for the first time during a chemistry read and as soon as I read the scene with him, I was like, yeah, I definitely know that I want to do the show.
“He’s just very generous and he elevates the scripts from the outset because he’s really smart.”
It’s a sexy, psychological thriller which challenges the traditional notions and limitations of monogamy, as de Gouw’s Becka and Heughan’s Danny pursue an open marriage.
“What I love about (my character) is there’s such a lack of judgment around alternative lifestyles and different relationships and lives lived,” she shared.
“That’s something that I really wanted to do justice to – this presenting other lives and loves without judgment.
“I think what the show does nicely is that there is a real openness about the conversation and a real curiosity without judgment.”
Splitting her time between her London base and Sydney where her partner Sophie Roberts lives, De Gouw had been hoping for an extended break with her here in the new year, but has just signed on to a yet-to-be announced overseas project. Fortunately she will get a chance to catch her breath briefly over Christmas, heading home to Perth.
“I’m going to going to go home and see the family and probably spend Christmas Eve on the beach. I can’t wait – it’s going to be really beautiful.”
The Couple Next Door streams on Binge.
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