Australian actor Heather Mitchell on ageism, her new role with Jacob Elordi and playing feminist icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Whether she’s fuelling conversation or playing a feminist icon, acclaimed Australian actor Heather Mitchell explains why she doesn’t shy away from life’s sharp edges.

As an actor with five decades of experience under her belt, Heather Mitchell is well acquainted with the power of words. But there are some that she prefers not to utter once she has left the stage.

“The word ‘fight’, like people saying, ‘We’ve got to fight against cancer,’” she offers as an example, referencing her 2004 breast cancer diagnosis, long recovery and arduous treatment in 2022 when it returned.

“I never saw it as a fight. I never think of things as fighting for things. We must always fight for what we believe in, obviously – but fight in a way that people will listen.

“I feel people deserve things,” continues Mitchell, 66. “And they deserve to be heard as to the reasons why they believe they need those things. We shouldn’t have to be shouting for them. And that takes time. That’s where I feel time is being so squeezed in every level of life. I feel like we [need to] somehow connect and talk more.”

Heather Mitchell says she is ‘really happy working hard’ as she prepares to unveil a new project with Jacob Elordi. Picture: Daniel Nadel for Stellar

Listen to the latest episode of the Stellar podcast Something To Talk About out now:

That’s part of a plan Mitchell has, actually: offering up the living room in the apartment she shares with her husband of 33 years, cinematographer Martin McGrath, as a salon to reintroduce the idea of conversation as common practice.

“I think we’ve lost the art of discussion,” she tells Stellar. “I feel, for women in particular, let’s go back to discussing things.

“I personally want to start with particularly younger actors … I love the profession [and] I think people need to feel that they’re safe to have a discussion, whether the discussion is about women’s rights in terms of their body, or their workplace or personal family dynamics, to parent or not to parent, whatever it is.”

Picture: Daniel Nadel for Stellar

It’s no surprise that Mitchell brims with ideas and energy – it’s in keeping with her continually prolific work as an actor who seems to have no intention of slowing down.

In recent years, she has been showered with a Silver Logie and an AACTA Award for her work in the Binge series Love Me, and appeared as Asher Keddie’s mother in Fake. Next month she’ll star in the Jacob Elordi-led wartime miniseries The Narrow Road To The Deep North.

“I’m really happy working hard,” she admits. “I like to feel stretched. I like to feel uncomfortable.

“I don’t mind discomfort – I find discomfort makes me feel kind of alive.”

Away from her television roles, Mitchell is returning to the stage for a third go-round of her acclaimed one-woman show RBG: Of Many, One, in which she gives a 100-minute performance as the late US Supreme Court justice and feminist icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

“I feel very excited to be able to do it again,” Mitchell says of the intimate play, which premiered in November 2022 and went on to earn packed houses, glowing reviews and a raft of theatre awards.

(The show opens in Parramatta this Thursday before heading on tour to Melbourne and the Gold Coast, concluding its run at the Sydney Opera House in April.)

Picture: Daniel Nadel for Stellar

Picture: Daniel Nadel for Stellar

“The difference between the very first time, the second time and this time around is enormous,” she goes on.

“[Women’s rights] are under attack at the moment … So it takes on a whole new relevance.

“I think her story is possibly even more important now, to remind us of how fast we’re travelling and how quickly even words have taken on new meanings.”

Ahead of International Women’s Day on Saturday, Mitchell adds that the women she admires most are “the women who are like Ruth, who are listening, taking their time – not just having strong opinions, but listening and evolving their ideas so they’re not just spewing out opinions”.

The late US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Picture: AFP

Away from challenging roles, Mitchell jokes that she and McGrath travel so much that they live with their adult sons – artist Finnegan, 26, and basketball coach Seamus, 24 – rather than the other way round.

“Parenting is a massive, massive undertaking,” Mitchell says, reflecting on her sons’ childhood years.

“When they were little, there were times I was beside myself with tears.

“When my youngest son was diagnosed with meningitis, and then when he was diagnosed with autism spectrum, and then the other son had some difficulties, and then when I got breast cancer – they all seemed to collide and coincide at once, as often drama does in families.

Listen to the latest episode of Something To Talk About out now:

“Those things pile up and then you get to a point you think: can I cope with this?

“Am I coping? And sometimes you’re not, and that’s when you – or that’s when I – go, ‘I’m not coping’.

“And I have a huge cry, and then I ask for help.

“I ask for help from other people but I also ask for help [from] the universe.

“I don’t want to sound too weird about that, but I suppose that’s what people do when they pray, when you’re asking beyond the realms of human ability for extra help.

“You’re asking for some sort of law of nature or energy or guidance or a sign. You’re asking for things beyond what you feel capable of achieving yourself. I definitely do that, and that’s held me well.”

RBG: Of Many, One tours nationally from Thursday. For more information, visit sydneytheatre.com.au. For more from Stellar, and the podcast Something To Talk About, click here.

Read the full interview and see the shoot with Heather in Stellar today - inside The Sunday Telegrph (NSW), Sunday Herald Sun (VIC), The Sunday Mail (QLD) and Sunday Mail (SA).

Originally published as Australian actor Heather Mitchell on ageism, her new role with Jacob Elordi and playing feminist icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg