Georgie Parker: ’I’ve never wondered what might have been’

GEORGIE Parker says she has no regrets about the choices she did - and didn’t - make as she built upon one of Australian television’s most successful careers.

Georgie Parker reveals to Stellar how she manages to balance work and life.

AUSTRALIAN television’s much-loved overachiever talks about her very grown-up attitude to social media, keeping her family life private and stepping out with an old friend.

You’re part of the furniture on Australian television, with stints on everything from All Saints and Play School to A Country Practice. But your first gig was as “Country Girl Fan” in the film Young Einstein. Do you miss the grind of those early days?

I have to say, the “grind” part never really goes away. There’s always a feeling the job you’re doing could be your last. Establishing yourself is definitely hard, but as you get older, especially as a woman, roles aren’t plentiful. You’re mostly offered stereotypes, which don’t interest me. So really, the challenge to find work never leaves.

You’ve been on Home And Away since 2010, which is fabled as an incubator for rising talent. Chris Hemsworth started there, so did Naomi Watts. As a veteran at 52, do you feel the landscape has changed a lot for today’s up-and-comers?

The landscape hasn’t changed in the sense that you still have to learn your lines, be comfortable in front of a camera and be professional. It’s evident — look at the number of people who left this show and went on to huge careers. Home And Away was a great training ground then and it’s a great one now.

No one in the public eye escapes negative attention — even Play School presenters. Social media only upped the ante. How do you deal with that side of the job?

I don’t read any of it, and I definitely don’t pay attention to social media because anyone can grab that microphone. It’s like when someone drives past you and honks, shouts and becomes aggressive — but can do nothing in reality.

Do you rue the day it entered the picture?

I think it changes the emphasis and motive of a lot of things. It’s a great distraction, and I understand how it serves as a promotional device, but it’s so easy to portray a totally invented image. It’s like Monopoly money: it has false value. In the end, a lot of followers doesn’t actually equate to anything.

Between 1990 and 2002, you seemed to win every Logie going, including the Gold two years in a row. Looking back, how do you feel about that hot streak?

Georgie Parker: “The most important part of my day is going home.” Picture: Christian Gilles

I tried not to personalise that kind of attention — I think of those awards as a success for the shows on a whole. I certainly don’t pine for those years, or look back on them wistfully. It was one time in my life, but there’s still work to be done.

Like most Australian stars, you had to make a decision about trying your hand in the US, but you chose to stay close to family and friends. Does that still feel like the right decision?

Absolutely. I’ve never wondered what might have been. I just had no desire to go, no appetite for it. I love my work, but I don’t live to work. The most important part of my day is going home.

And you have a 16-year-old daughter at home. But you definitely don’t do the “celebrity mother” thing. It’s not like you’re angling to be a local version of Kris Jenner. Is that by design?

I don’t talk about my family at all. Especially for children, I think it’s not their career — it’s mine! So I would never drag her into the spotlight. She can start her own life and be known for who she is, not who her mother is. That’s definitely been a conscious choice.

This Q&A appears in Stellar July 9.

You’re about to head on tour with Todd McKenney. You first crossed paths in a dance class 32 years ago — the perfect “meet cute”. Do you remember the day you met?

It was a pas de deux class where you’re paired up the moment you come in. I had to run at him so he could lift me over his head … sort of an instant trust exercise. We’ve been friends ever since.

With so many other commitments, how do you manage being on the road?

I just say no to everything else. It is pretty tricky. What helps is the fact that Todd and I know each other so well. We have a sort of shorthand, so we don’t have to waste a lot of time.

Onstage, you’ll be belting out all the classic duets from Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers to June and Johnny Cash and — our personal favourite — Captain and Tennille. Be honest, were you as personally devastated by their recent divorce as we were?

I can only imagine it was for a very good reason. But yes, it turns out that love did not keep them together after all. [Pauses] I might use that to make the introduction to the song.

Georgie Parker and Todd McKenney’s Duets tour starts in Adelaide on August 5; toddmckenney.com.au

Originally published as Georgie Parker: ’I’ve never wondered what might have been’