Angourie Rice dazzles at Mare of Easttown premiere

Rising star Angourie Rice shines bright at global premiere of Mare of Easttown.

Red carpet? Check. Glamorous rising star of the screen? Check.
Live audience buzzing with anticipation? Check.

We might no longer be anywhere near the golden age of Hollywood but the global premiere of the latest must-watch HBO miniseries, Mare of Easttown by Australian streaming service Binge, in Sydney on Wednesday night was a heady taste of the pre-pandemic world of movie magic.

The premiere marked the first global screening of Mare of Easttown, ahead of screenings in London and the US this weekend.

Angourie Rice told the audience at the Hayden Orpheum, a heritage jewel in Cremorne, North Sydney, she was convinced she wouldn’t be cast in the much anticipated miniseries.

“The character is quite rebellious, and I’m a goodie two shoes,” the Melbourne-born actor had confided. Sure enough, the 20-year-old landed the part of Siobhan Sheehan, the daughter of Kate Winslet’s character, Mare Sheehan.

Mare of Easttown is the young actor’s first starring role in a TV project. The show is directed by Craig Zobel. Winslet is an executive producer.

Australia’s Guy Pearce also stars, but was not present at the premiere last night.

TV personality Jules Robinson at the Mare of Easttown premiere

Fox Sports presenter Hannah Hollis and Foxtel chief executive Patrick Delaney at the Mare of Easttown premiere

“It was fun playing Siobhan, because I could act out that part of my life, my rebellious teen phase that I never had,” offered Rice, whose major film credits include The Nice Guys, which she starred in alongside Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe, as well as Australian film Ladies in Black.

The miniseries, straight-to-streaming on Binge, follows Winslet’s character Mare, a detective in rural Pennsylvania investigating the death of a young girl and a possible connection to another teenager’s earlier disappearance. All the while, Sheehan is dealing with her own personal struggles.

Also in attendance at the Mare of Easttown premiere was Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany, who is confident the show will be the streamer’s next big hit.

“This show is a good example of the quality of the content that‘s coming through, from HBO, BBC, and a range of other suppliers. We’re very excited about it. And it’s great to see the reviews it’s already getting elsewhere around the world.”

“It comes back to what we stand for,” added Binge CEO Julian Ogrin. “We‘ve got the best shows in the world for $10 a month.”

Winslet, Rice and Pearce lived together in Pennsylvania for a short time during filming. The cast was forced to abandon set when the pandemic hit, which eventually caused the filming period to stretch out over two years.

It was Rice’s first time living away from her family home in Melbourne. She says that Winslet, who also has a 20-year-old daughter, was a motherly presence on set.

“I learned from Kate to have fun on set. She brings so much energy to every performance but also just hanging around, especially when it‘s cold or it’s late at night and having that energy and taking everything as it comes,” offers the young actor.

“Kate was really great with that.”

She says she missed her family, but felt different coming home after having that experience. “I really felt like I grew up with Siobhan.”

“Living and working in Philadelphia, I was there by myself. I had never lived alone before. So it was a big change for me and in that way. I was becoming an adult as my character was also learning to become an adult,” she adds, drawing one parallel between her and her character.

Stream Mare of Easttown on Binge from April 19.