As 2023 draws to a close, Claudia Karvan won’t be spending the final days of the year writing a wishlist of things she wants to do and achieve in 2024. Instead, the talented Aussie actress and storyteller will be counting her blessings.
“I used to make New Year’s resolutions but now it’s just to keep doing exactly what I am already because I’m feeling really happy,” Karvan tells WHO.
WATCH: Bump Season Four Trailer. Article continues after video.
Karvan says it is the simple things in life that bring her the most joy like “yoga, bike riding and a cup of chai”. Now 51, she also admits the wisdom that comes with ageing has helped shift her priorities.
“My twenties were fine,” explains Karvan. “But I think I was quite distracted and sort of worried about what the future might hold. This decade, it’s more about enjoying the hard work that came before and enjoying a degree of security and long-term friendships.”
Also putting a smile on her face could be a reported new romance with Dave Galafassi.
The musician, 45, is the ex of actress Toni Collette.
Karvan and Galafassi were linked in November when they were spotted kissing in the water while enjoying a surf together at Bondi Beach.
Karvan split from her ex, Jeremy Sparks, in 2017 after 22 years together. The former couple share daughter Audrey, 22, and son Albee, 17.
Love is definitely something that has been on Karvan’s mind the past year if the fourth season of her hit show, Bump, is anything to go by.
The series she co-created and stars in, which made its debut on New Year’s Day in 2021, centres on Oly (Nathalie Morris), an overachieving high school student who unexpectedly goes into labour after failing to realise she was pregnant.
Karvan plays Oly’s mother Angie, who helps her transition to her new life with a baby. Following years of trials for Oly and her boyfriend Santi (Carlos Sanson Jr.), this season will end with a wedding. It’s a storyline that co-creator and writer Kelsey Munro says Karvan insisted on.
“We’ve really earned it,” Karvan explains. “There will always be some jeopardy in their relationship and we’ll continue to explore the complexities with her being the main breadwinner and Santi struggling with his masculinity as he becomes the primary carer. It’s an honour to their journey and everything they’ve been through.”
The show deals with the complexities of everyday modern life and relationships with warmth, humour and realism. So it is unsurprising to find out that part of what makes it so realistic is that Karvan’s experiences in real life sometimes spill out onto the screen.
“My daughter always says to me, ‘I can’t tell you anything because it’s going to end up on Bump,’” Karvan reveals with a giggle.
“My initial attraction to the project came about because it was happening at my daughter’s school, there was a girl in her year who was pregnant and who had decided to go through with her pregnancy.”
“Bump gets called a wholesome show,” Karvan says. “But we don’t shy away from the hard topics like overflowing moon cups, lactating boobs, feminism and environmental issues. I’m so proud to work on a show that gets people talking.”
Climate change issues, which Karvan is passionate about, will also feature this season.
“It’s a challenge because there is potential to come across as preachy, but I think we’ve worked really hard to make it entertaining, dramatic and funny, but true,” Karvan explains.
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