Teresa Palmer: The Aussie actress with no filter

MANY Hollywood stars refuse to talk about their private lives. Not Teresa Palmer. Ask away.

The Aussie actress with no filter

DON’T be surprised if you’re watching Teresa Palmer’s life story on the big screen one day.

The actress who just celebrated her second wedding anniversary with actor-director Mark Webber told news.com.au, “The way Mark and I began our relationship was like a Nicholas Sparks movie. Seriously, he should write our story,” she gushes, referring to the author of such weepies as The Notebook, and The Last Song.

“Ours was a really beautiful way of falling in love, an old school romance.”

The Adelaide-born beauty is relatively unfiltered compared with her Hollywood peers and explains their unusual courtship. “We wrote emails to each other before we met face to face. We chose not to speak on the phone because we wanted to hear each other’s voice for the first time when we were looking at one another. We fell in love with each other’s spirits as opposed to anything physical.”

The sentiment may be old school but the technology was certainly of the Zeitgeist. “We began talking through Twitter,” she explains. “I tweeted about a trailer for a movie he directed and then he started following me and I started following him. He said, ‘You’re a vegan, I am a vegan, you are into spirituality, I am into spirituality, do you mind if I start emailing with you?’ And I said, ‘I would love that.’”

“The little small emails turned into 10-page long emails. I would describe my way and he would describe his way. I described my dreams for my life, and what I wanted to do and we were so on par. Actually, at our wedding we read snippets of these emails. Everyone was laughing and crying, it was really beautiful.”

Clearly, Palmer is thrilled that she is testament to the fact that life can change in the blink of an eye. “Before I met him I was in a really dark place. I was really sad and had gone through a breakup [with actor Scott Speedman]. I was also obsessing about auditions and what roles were going to other actresses. I’d be thinking, ‘Oh, Amanda Seyfried has got another movie at Sundance!’” Palmer laughs at herself.

“The last two years have been a rollercoaster for me,” she smiles. “I became a mum which is of course a huge transition in itself but becoming a mum was always my greatest desire in life.”

“And while I was so immersed in the magical world of bonding with Bodhi Rain (who turns two next month) all of a sudden these films came along and I was able to bring my family everywhere with me. I haven’t spent one night away from my son yet. That’s been amazing.”

Like most new mums, she visibly lights up when she mentions her son and could talk about him for hours. “His name means ‘enlightened one’ and it had such a beautiful meaning for us. Rain means abundant blessings from above and that’s how I felt when I was pregnant.”

The origin of her own name is equally interesting. “I was named after Mother Teresa because my mother is very religious and so I felt I had so much to live up to. My mum wanted me to be like her and that was quite a lot of pressure on me.”

Palmer has previously described her mother as ‘bipolar with schizophrenic tendencies’. “Growing up, I had three main caregivers in my life, in terms of women — my own mother, who is still a beautiful woman, is a single mother, and she dealt with some mental illness in her life, so it was a really interesting upbringing being with her.” Mother and daughter continue to be seen together and evidently enjoy a great relationship.

How does her husband get along with his mother-in-law? She smiles. “I have a funny story to tell you. My mother is almost 65 and she grew up in a very strict Catholic environment and, as I mentioned, is mentally unwell. She has this idea that men are the man of the house, men are the leaders and men go to work and the mothers stay home. So she thinks it’s crazy that I make money. Mum said to me, ‘Teresa, you need to listen to Mark and do what he says,’ and I explained, ‘My husband is the biggest feminist in the world and that’s not the way it works.’ So Mark said to her, ‘Okay. I am the leader of the house and I command you to think of yourself as an equal to me,’” she laughs.

“That is just a beautiful reflection of who my husband is.”

With several movies coming out this year including Triple 9, The Choice, Hacksaw Ridge, and Message from the King, she is worlds away from worrying about auditions and how many films Amanda Seyfried has at Sundance.

“Yes, I’ve had so many beautiful opportunities which came when Bodhi arrived. And I’m doing bigger roles and less supporting parts,” she says.

Palmer is refreshingly and unabashedly herself. Does she ever worry she might be giving too much away? She says, “I’m myself and I’ve always been that way. I’m very open, that’s my spirit and that is who I am.”