Rose Byrne started acting when she was just 8 years old, joining the Australian Theatre for Young People while growing up in the Sydney suburb of Balmain.
From her first film role as a teenager in the 1994 Australian black comedy Dallas Doll, she’s worked steadily, building up an enviable career that has seen her become an in-demand film and TV actress and one of our country’s most successful exports.
“I’m very happy and very grateful. In terms of work, it’s always a challenge,” she tells WHO. “It never ends. I think actors always think the last job, is the last job. I’m no different.”
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Byrne’s breakthrough role opposite Heath Ledger in Two Hands in 1999 scored her an agent and she promptly packed up and headed to Hollywood. Soon she starred on the big screen with Brad Pitt in 2004 flick Troy and in comedies like 2010’s Get Him to the Greek and Bridesmaids the next year.
But by 2012, the focus would shift firmly to her personal life. Byrne was finishing a five-season run on the hit legal drama Damages when she was introduced to fellow actor Bobby Cannavale through mutual friends.
“The chemistry between them, it’s just so remarkable,” Byrne’s Damages co-star Glenn Close told Vanity Fair magazine at the time. “They’re both kind of universally loved.”
Despite their high-profile day jobs, the couple have remained relatively guarded about their love story.
“We couldn’t be from more different parts of the world, you know?” Byrne revealed in a 2017 interview with InStyle magazine. “When something is special, it’s hard to articulate it, but I feel really lucky.”
The relationship led to Byrne laying more permanent roots in the US, setting up home in New York City. The couple welcomed their first son, Rocco, in February 2016 and their second son, Rafael, in November 2017. Cannavale is also dad to an adult son Jake, 28, from a previous relationship.
“I still feel very much like an Aussie,” Byrne tells WHO. “Australia will always be home.”
Keeping two careers cooking while raising kids isn’t easy for the couple, who have worked together on films such as Adult Beginners, Spy, Annie and Seriously Red.
“Like any working parent, you’re always juggling and finding a way to work it out,” says Byrne. “Finding that balance between work and family is hard, but you just have to take it day-to-day. I just try to be as organised as I can amongst the chaos, but it’s always a challenge.”
Rising to that task has informed what projects Byrne takes on, too. “This business is so bonkers so it’s really just what comes your way and where you’re at in your life at that time,” she tells WHO. “When you have children, what you want to do and what you don’t want to do becomes much clearer.”
Aside from the miniseries Mrs. America in 2020, Byrne’s first television series since Damages was Physical, a comedy set against the backdrop of the aerobics craze of the ’80s.
“It’s a really fun season and really exciting. We have Zooey Deschanel joining the cast as my rival aerobics coach,” Byrne tells. “There is a real rivalry there, which is a lot of fun.”
Also fun, she adds, is the crazy and colourful wardrobe that perfectly encapsulates the era. “We have gone bigger and bigger and more and more to get just the right authentic retro look,” says Byrne.
“Every leotard has to fit me within a millimetre of its life. It has become like a suit of armour with the tights and the hair. Every season is like being transported back in time.”
Byrne’s other Apple TV+ comedy, Platonic, is also a throwback of sorts to the 2014 movie Bad Neighbours, re-teaming Byrne and co-star Seth Rogen with writer and director Nicholas Stoller.
As for a much-discussed Bridesmaids sequel, Byrne isn’t ruling it out. “Never say never,” she tells us. “It would be fun to find out what all of them are doing now. It’s just a case of everyone being available and finding the right story to tell.”
Next up, Byrne is re-teaming with Cannavale again on the upcoming comedy film Inappropriate Behaviour, co-starring Robert De Niro.
“There’s no planning,” admits Byrne of her winding career path. “I just take it on a case-by-case basis … As long as I can keep being creative, I’m thrilled.”
Stream Platonic now onApple TV+with a 7-day free trial. Subscribe here.
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