Brooke Satchwell: ‘Every woman on set had a story of abuse’
Having experienced physical assault in a relationship several years ago, actor Brooke Satchwell knew her latest TV role as an emotionally abused wife would force a reckoning with her past.
Stellar
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With her bright smile and impressive range, Brooke Satchwell has lit up Australian screens for more than 25 years. Her latest TV role as an emotionally abused wife, however, is a sensitive one, intersecting with her own personal story as a survivor of assault. In this Stellar exclusive, Satchwell opens up about the complexities of abuse, the conclusion of Neighbours and why turning 40 was “bloody brilliant.”
Brooke Satchwell will do almost anything for her craft. “Yeah, I played a white woman who thought she was a black woman in Black Comedy, and strapped on a dildo for Preppers,” the actor says, laughing broadly.
After more than 25 years in the industry, the Australian star isn’t afraid to go out on a limb or teeter on the edge for a role. For the record, those performances – which were both potentially risky appearances in Indigenous-led ABC comedies – scored rave reviews, supporting Satchwell’s ethos that good work should always be the driving force.
It’s why, in 2021, she jumped at the opportunity to appear in the Australian remake of buzzy Belgian courtroom drama The Twelve.
“I was juggling groceries and coming in my front door when I got a phone call saying that [producer] Ian Collie, who I have immense respect for, wanted to offer me a role,” Satchwell recalls.
“And then there was this name-drop of a stellar cast and the information that Warner Bros Australia was backing it and it gave me another run with Foxtel, which I adore. It seemed impossible to say no – and I’d only just gotten through the door.”
The 10-part series tells the story of 12 ordinary Australians who are selected for jury duty on a trial that sees a woman stand accused of murdering her teenage niece.
It’s slow-burning and stirring, offering a compelling glimpse into the criminal justice system, and features a roll-call of stars including Sam Neill, Kate Mulvany, Marta Dusseldorp and Brendan Cowell.
“Turning up on set that first day was like arriving at a surprise party with all my favourite people,” Satchwell tells Stellar.
“Every department was crammed with people I’ve worked with across three decades; some of them I hadn’t seen for a really long time; pretty much all of them I considered family; and everybody I held in high regard professionally. [It] was superb.”
The 41-year-old, who’s been a mainstay on Australian screens since making her TV debut on Neighbours in 1996, admits that after her initial excitement about the project, she was hit with a rush of doubt.
“In that first phone call I suddenly thought, hang on, this is too good to be true. Am I just the person who people go to when there’s something that needs to be done that no-one else will do? What’s the catch?” she says.
“Sure enough, there was a silence on the end of the phone. Then I found out there was a sensitive storyline, which has an intersection with my personal life.”
In The Twelve, Satchwell plays juror Georgina Merrick, a mother-of-three who appears to have it all: a big house, a happy family, a devoted husband. But behind the veneer, her relationship oscillates between solicitous and vicious.
“Control and coercion are an element of Georgina’s story,” Satchwell explains, nodding to the parallels with her own past, in which she experienced physical assault in a relationship.
Satchwell says her decision to step into Georgina’s shoes was, first and foremost, a professional one.
“My job is to tell stories, and I was compassionately advised that my personal experience shouldn’t discount me from accepting the role,” she explains.
“As someone who has worked incredibly hard for over two decades, I knew this was a great opportunity. But I’ve also worked incredibly hard personally to be the most well-rounded, thriving human I can be…
“I experienced something nearly 20 years ago that I’ve had to live with and wake up to every day; to learn how to progress through; to heal; to grow; to reclaim my life.”
The gruelling subject matter of the show, however, is something Satchwell may still be processing.
“I was in trauma in nearly every scene, so much so, they struggled to find a picture of me smiling for the promotions.
“[But] I only recognised that after the fact… Quite often, it’s only when you come out the other side of an experience that you realise what you’ve been holding or carrying, because now you can release it.”
However, the actor simultaneously found empowerment in the project. While filming in Sydney last summer, with surging Covid cases and floods creating production chaos (“It was like being on a mad teacup ride!”), she began to use her voice.
“I’d suddenly realise that certain beats of the story needed a little more attention or care for the current landscape in regards to coercive control and domestic violence,” she says.
“I had to learn to ask for what I needed… and step into a sense of ownership and power.”
Satchwell hopes Georgina’s plot line will help shed light on the complexities of abuse, not least because the story is so pervasive.
“It’s extraordinary what will end up on screen, [because] the little details from top-to-toe came from almost every woman on that production,” she reveals.
“Everybody has a story. Everybody has an understanding or experience or anecdote they wanted to contribute to this character.”
While Satchwell gladly uses her art to bring these raw and real issues to audiences, she’s veered away from talking publicly about her own trauma.
“I’ve chosen not to speak about the intricacies of my personal experience because it doesn’t necessarily serve the conversation,” she explains.
“People historically – and certainly where the conversation was at two decades ago – got bogged down in irrelevant details and weren’t actually discussing the issue at hand,” she recalls.
“I’m also interested in growing and moving forward from my experience. And my view is that everybody involved should be allowed the same.”
Indeed, the public discussion around gendered violence has evolved dramatically since the noughties. Women across the world have marched for #MeToo, while the media is reckoning with its toxic treatment of celebrities.
Meanwhile, abuse survivors Rosie Batty and Grace Tame have been named Australian of the Year. It’s progress that’s applauded by Satchwell.
“I’m glad the conversation is moving into territory that encapsulates the nuance, vulnerability and honesty it deserves. By that token, I also recognise how difficult it is for the [women] whose lives take that trajectory.”
She highlights the predicament faced by survivors who are asked to speak openly of their experiences: “To not respond honestly is taking away your voice; but responding honestly allows other people to take your words and use them for their own agendas.”
In a world awash with clickbait and hot takes, Satchwell fears that conversations about abuse are often distilled into a neat narrative of good and bad.
“I think anyone who’s been in a situation such as domestic violence or coercive control knows – while I’m not condoning any of those behaviours – that the reason these relationships get so tricky is there’s [often] love involved. There’s connection and there’s intimacy.
“And yes, it often ends up in a very unhealthy place, which is what we’re trying to unravel. But that needs to be part of the conversation as well. Otherwise we’re fighting in the dark.”
When asked by Stellar what she thought of the recent Johnny Depp and Amber Heard case, she says: “Anything that reduces these really important issues to squabbles over individuals’ choices or binary, black-and-white perspectives is such a waste of time and energy. It’s a distraction from progressing us forward as a society.”
While filming The Twelve, Satchwell had a front-row view to a trial, of sorts – although she jokes that she would also steal the occasional off-camera jury moment to get on top of personal admin, organising her finances and writing notes to herself like, “Don’t eat Burger Rings before 10.30am.”
Recalling the moment she learnt that Neighbours would cease production after 37 years on air, Satchwell is funny and frank, saying she was “probably doomscrolling on the loo like everybody else” when she found out.
“It has been such an institution and training ground, and a cultural icon,” she says. “So there’s great loss there.”
While Satchwell won’t reprise her role of Anne Wilkinson in the finale – noting that “a lot of productions won’t share cast during Covid” – she admits that the show’s conclusion has prompted her to reflect on the cycles of life.
“I kind of feel like I’ve hit a clean slate, a new beginning,” she explains.
“Maybe that’s what we’re all looking towards at the moment. Maybe [this comes] after the big pause; the recalibration of priorities and values. But to have something that was literally the launch pad [for my career] ending right as my new chapter begins is interesting.”
For now, that new chapter remains unwritten. She finds joy in gardening, cooking and watching her beloved AFL team, the Melbourne Demons, and describes turning 40 in 2020 as “bloody brilliant. “I was never really built to be a teenager or in my 20s. I kind of knew it wasn’t my jam.
“I breathed a sigh of relief when I turned 30, and I got really excited about 40 – and now 50, 60, 70 and, fingers crossed, 80 and 90. Getting older just makes more sense for me.”
Healing is ongoing, and pertains to all of her life experiences, she says, including her escape from a terrorist attack in Mumbai in 2008 (during which she had to hide inside a bathroom cupboard as gunmen shot at hotel guests).
“If you’ve come from any form of trauma, your main work is to reclaim your voice,” she tells Stellar.
“I think it’s something we’re all doing throughout our life – trying to own our space and empower our sense of self. And trauma certainly takes a lot of time and energy away from being able to grow.
“But I know that I’m now in the most balanced, secure, supported, self-governing place I’ve ever been in my life.”
Despite her success-studded résumé – from 2013 drama Wonderland and hit 2018 black-comedy Mr Inbetween to the 2019 reboot of ’90s series SeaChange – Satchwell is the anti-star of Australian TV.
Decidedly private, she’s never had social media and has chosen to stay in Australia rather than chasing the bright lights of LA. Her MO is “no bullshit” and she values good work above all else – and goodness in people, too.
“We’re beginning to recognise the power of the individual within the collective – that’s been shown at the polling booths… and in grassroots actions in the face of [natural disasters],” she says.
“I’m heartened by the fact that kindness is being placed back at the top of our priority list as a society. I think that needs to be infused in every decision and every choice we make.
“It makes me incredibly happy that we’re starting to make decisions that reinforce that.”
If you or anyone you know needs support, call 1800 737 732 or visit 1800respect.org.au.
The Twelve premieres at 8.30pm on June 21 on Foxtel On Demand and Fox Showcase.
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