Advertisement
Home ENTERTAINMENT TV

Rachel Griffiths gets real about the struggle to juggle it all ahead of gripping new show Madam

'It breaks my heart a bit'
Rachel Griffiths in character as Mack ahead of Madam
Rachel Griffiths found she related to her new role playing brothel owner Mack in ways she didn't expect.
Kirsty Griffin

Rachel Griffiths is about to grace Aussie screens in Madam.

Advertisement

And while it’s been just over 30 years since she burst onto the screen to international acclaim playing Rhonda in quirky Aussie comedy Muriel’s Wedding, the actess is still working as much as ever, having starred alongside everyone from Hollywood legend Sally Field to Aussie great Deborah Mailman.

But looking back, the Melbourne-born star still sometimes can’t quite believe it’s all real.

Rachel Griffiths poses with the cast of Muriel's Wedding
Muriel’s Wedding made Griffiths and Toni Colette major international stars upon its release in 1994 (Credit: Alamay)

“The first big interview I ever did was with WHO,” she tells us.

Advertisement

“It was before My Best Friend’s Wedding came out [in 1997] and we were talking about how I was making a movie with Julia Roberts, which was just crazy and not something I’d have ever imagined.”

Why did Rachel Griffiths leave Hollywood?

After a decade in the US, starring in hit TV dramas like Six Feet Under and Brothers & Sisters, Griffiths and her artist husband, Andrew Taylor, packed up their Hollywood Hills home to head back to Australia with their three kids, Banjo, Adelaide and Clementine, in 2012, and she has never looked back.

The move has given Griffiths greater autonomy over work, with her increasingly spending time behind the scenes directing and producing.

Rachel Griffiths with her family
Griffith moved her family back to Australia after spending a decade living in Hollywood. (Instagram)
Advertisement

“There were times in my life when I was on a big show but didn’t have the privilege of being an executive producer, which means your thoughts on higher-level issues aren’t welcome,” she says.

“And some of the storylines I saw were really f–ked up, but there was no recourse to go back and have the writers collaborate with the actor.”

While she’s had some very surreal experiences, as a busy working mother, Griffiths knows the struggle to juggle it all is real.

This is what attracted her to executive produce and take on the lead role in new series Madam.

Advertisement

Is Madam based on a true story?

Griffiths plays Mack, a woman caring for her kids, including a severely disabled son.

When faced with a philandering and fairly useless husband and a mountain of debt piling up, she decides to start an ethical brothel in the small New Zealand town where they live to provide for her family.

The production is based on the real-life story of Antonia Murphy from her memoir of the same name.

And while Murphy – and Mack – might have made an unusual choice, Griffiths believes the events that led to it will be highly relatable to women.

Advertisement
Rachel Griffiths makes a scene in Madam
Griffiths plays Mack, who starts an ethical brother to provide for her family in Madam.

“The truth is that all women just want to do their best to give the best to their families,” she explains.

“I found I had a lot more in common with Mack than I thought because in every job I do, I have to look at how far away it is from my home, how long I will be away for and how good it is – and it has to be an incredible opportunity, so when I have to turn things down, it breaks my heart a bit because I’ve weighed it up and it would cost more to have to have people replace me and all I do when I’m at home.”

Despite the serious themes relating to providing for a family and sex work, the show has its laugh-out-loud moments.

Advertisement

“It’s not done through a male gaze at all,” she says. “You’ll see women sitting down, talking about sex, laughing, just like we all do with our girlfriends.”

(Madam premieres Tue., Feb. 4 at 9pm on the Nine Network)

Related stories


Advertisement
Advertisement