Gia Carides on why Strictly Ballroom should get a sequel: ‘Whether Baz Luhrmann wants to do it is another question’

It is one of Australia’s most beloved movies. Now, actor Gia Carides has floated a possible sequel to Strictly Ballroom – and why its fate hinges on director Baz Luhrmann.

Some actors grow weary of talking about their most famous roles, but not Gia Carides. “It’s really sweet to have a 20-something barista serving you coffee stop and say, ‘Excuse me, were you in Strictly Ballroom?’” she tells Stellar with a laugh.

“Firstly, I’m shocked they can recognise me because I was platinum-blonde with blue contact lenses in that film. But they do completely recognise me because they love the movie, and they love to tell me. So that’s always a joy to hear. Never gets old.”

With another ’90s Aussie classic, The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert, set for a sequel, Carides can see the potential for Strictly Ballroom to make a glittering return as well, enthusing that she would be over the moon if she got the call from Baz Luhrmann to put her dancing shoes back on. “I would be completely thrilled,” she admits.

“I think it could be extraordinary – but whether Baz wants to do that or not is another question.”

‘Not going to stand to the boring archetypes.’ Gia Carides says Hollywood is finally writing roles for women at different stages of life and love, in a new interview with Stellar. Picture: Steven Chee for Stellar

The timeless appeal of Liz Holt, her twirling alter ego, is also a reminder of Carides’ sustained acting success as she approaches her 60th birthday. She plans to mark the milestone this week with a small celebration, enjoying the bittersweet independence that comes with now being an empty-nester.

“It seems the work has really heated up and I feel really good, positive and excited,” she says of changes in the entertainment industry that have created more opportunities for older women on screen.

“In the last few years I’ve played some really fun characters that are definitely not that old archetype,” she adds.

“It seems to have really evaporated because so many of the writers and directors these days are women, and they’re just not going to stand to the boring archetypes that were once written and directed by mostly men.”

Carides says she considers her role on the new eight-part ABC comedy Austin as one of those gems, especially since it gave her a creative place to channel some of the complex emotions she experienced after her only daughter left home to study at university three years ago. “There was a journey after Bridget went to college,” she concedes.

Picture: Steven Chee for Stellar

In the show Carides plays Mel Hogan, the fiercely protective mother of Austin (Michael Theo), a neurodivergent man who suddenly turns up in the life of beloved British children’s book author Julian Hartswood (Ben Miller) as the son he never knew existed.

The timing couldn’t be better for Julian as he finds his career, and that of his illustrator wife, Ingrid (Sally Phillips), in jeopardy following a disastrous social media faux pas. Perhaps, Julian thinks, this found family could be his path to winning back public sympathy.

Theo, the breakout star of Australian reality show Love On The Spectrum, makes his acting debut as Austin, and after winning her part, Carides watched both series of the unscripted ABC dating show – and spent time with Theo’s mum – to better understand the journey of parenting a neurodivergent person.

Having never acted before, Theo was also eager to learn from his experienced co-stars, and developed such a rapport with Carides that he referred to her as his “second mum”.

Born into an entertainment-loving Greek and English household, Carides and her older sister Zoe, who is also an actor, discovered their love of performing early, leading to more than five decades of acting success between them, while their younger sister, Danielle, pursued a career in music as a singer-songwriter.

Even so, making her screen debut in the acclaimed 1977 film The Love Letters From Teralba Road didn’t go to Carides’ head.

“I think it’s probably because the Australian industry was small enough that, although I started working at 13 and did work through my teens, it wasn’t so often that I lost my school life or my childhood,” she explains.

Razzle dazzle! Paul Mercurio and Gia Carides in a scene from 1992 Baz Luhrmann film, Strictly Ballroom. Picture: Supplied

Yet Carides and her ex-husband, actor Anthony LaPaglia, weren’t keen for Bridget, now 21, to get into the family business. In fact, she didn’t show any signs of wanting to act until she was a tween, when she asked to audition for a major production.

“We didn’t see any value in her doing something like that at age 10, so we said no, and she wasn’t very happy,” Carides says with a careful smile.

“But now she says, ‘I’m really glad you didn’t let me do that then, I was too young.’ Now her passion and creativity are being channelled into art. She’s a really excellent artist and she’s fascinated with fabric and textile design, accessory design.”

Currently single after separating from LaPaglia in 2015, Carides is open to finding new love – provided it doesn’t involve Tinder. “I’m old enough and cynical enough to accept that it may not happen,” she says, shrugging.

“But the romantic in me makes me believe it could. So, I’m definitely open to it, although I’m probably the only person who hasn’t tried the apps. I just don’t relate to it. It feels like a job interview. I like good old real life and I believe if there’s somebody I’m meant to meet, he will materialise.”

Having wrapped her part on Austin, Carides is now shooting Nugget Is Dead: A Christmas Story for Stan.

Both projects draw on her innate flair for comedy, shown to deft effect when she strutted her stuff in Strictly Ballroom, played big-haired Cousin Nikki in My Big Fat Greek Wedding and left a lasting impression as an assassin in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.

About that last one, “The whole joke about my character, Robin Swallows, was that she refused to die, no matter what they threw at her,” Carides says, laughing. “So, I’d like to remind Mike [Myers] she is still alive and ready for action, if needed.”

Austin premieres at 8pm on June 9 on ABC TV, with all episodes available on iview. Read the full interview with Gia inside Stellar, out on Sunday. For more from Stellar, click here.

The latest episode of Something To Talk About is out now:

Originally published as Gia Carides on why Strictly Ballroom should get a sequel: ‘Whether Baz Luhrmann wants to do it is another question’