If you try to look back on TV from your childhood and the shows you were tuning into after school on ABC, nothing hits quite so hard at home like Mortified. Don’t believe us? Revisit the theme song below.
Created by Angela Webber, Mortified was Australia’s answer to Lizzie McGuire.
Taylor is a young pre-teen high schooler coming to terms with hormones, boys, school rivalries and more, and a girl who responds to the changes in her life with a bright and colourful imagination.
With the series first released in 2006, let’s do some digging to find out the answer to the question: where are the cast of Mortified now?
P.S. Make sure to also check out our then and now roundups with the cast of Blue Water High and Round the Twist.
Marny Kennedy – Taylor
When it comes to Aussie child stars from the 2000s, Marny Kennedy is the blueprint. The now-27-year-old actress played the lovably sassy teen, Taylor Joy, in Mortified, after her first role at seven in the TV show The Saddle Club.
Nominated for an AACTA award for Best Young Actor for her work on Mortified, Marny continued acting, and now at 27 has landed a spot on Home and Away.
Her acting credits include A Gurls World (2010-2011), Janet King (2017), Wentworth (2018), Bite Club (2018) and the tragically cancelled Between Two Worlds (2020).
WATCH: Marny Kennedy in Between Two Worlds
Nicholas Dunn – Hector
In Mortified, Nicholas Dunn played Taylor’s best friend Hector.
Since then, the now-29-year-old has kinda vanished off the face of the online Earth.
But, in 2016, he wrote, directed and starred in his own short film called Alone that won him Best Narrative Short at the Sydney World Film Festival.
WATCH: Nicholas Dunn in his short film Alone
Maia Mitchell – Brittany
Maia Mitchell played Brittany, Taylor’s high school frenemy in Mortified.
But, since the show, she’s fled the down under nest and flocked towards Hollywood stardom.
From 2013 to 2018, she played Callie Adams Foster on The Fosters, and is currently reprising her role in the spin-off Good Trouble, and has also shared her voice in Disney’s The Lion Guard.
WATCH: Maia Mitchell as Callie Adams Foster in The Fosters
Dajana Cahill – Layla
Dajana Cahill, who now goes by Dajana Hazle after being married to husband Jason, played Layla’s Taylor’s older sister.
She also appeared in H20: Just Add Water as Cindy in the episode, Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble, and Carly Walsman in Sea Patrol before a near decade long acting pause. Then, she guest starred on Neighbours as Miranda Kelly in three episodes in 2017 to 2019.
But, in recent years, the 31-year-old seems to have hung up her costumes and don a motherhood ensemble, sharing a child with her partner – Hendrix, 1.
Luke Erceg – Leon
Luke Erceg played Mortified’s teen hottie and ours and Taylor’s childhood crush, Leon. After the show, he also appeared in Aussie drama All Saints for two episodes in 2007 and 2009, as well as Home and Away as Jackson Dunn in 2010 and as Dan in A Gurls Wurld (alongside Marny).
Now, it seems like the former heartthrob has put his acting days behind him, with a baby and man and woman holding hands emojis – 👶🏻👫 – in the bio for his private Instagram, implying he might have settled down with a wife and kid.
Rachel Blakely – Glenda (Mum)
Folks who grew up in the 2000s may remember Rachel Blakely as Taylor’s adorably daggy mum Glenda Joy, but the legendary Australian actress has had a beast of an acting portfolio before Mortified.
Her credits include a six year run on Neighbours as Gaby Willis, as well as Blue Heelers (1995-1997), City Life (1996-1997), Tales of the South Seas (1998-2000) and The Lost World (1992-2002).
After Mortified, however, it seems the now 52-year-old has stopped acting with only an appearance on Sea Patrol in 2010 and Reef Doctors in 2013. She is currently married to stuntman Sean Rigby, who she met on the set of Tales of the South Seas, and the two share two children together – Cooper Lee Rigby, 18, and Nash, 12.
Andrew Blackman – Don (Dad)
In Mortified, Andrew Blackman played Taylor and Layla’s dad, Don Joy. And, much like his on-screen wife, Rachel Blakely, he was a veteran on the Aussie screen. But, unlike her, he’s continued his acting career.
Andrew’s best known role was as Dr. Harry Morrison in A Country Practice (1991-1994) and as Judge and Crown Prosecutor Woinarski in Underbelly (2013). His credits also include Winners & Losers (2012), House Husbands (2014), Barracuda (2016) and Bloom (2020).
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