Olivia Deeble reveals what it was like working with Eric Bana on their new Audible series The Orchard
Working on the supernatural murder-mystery podcast alongside Chopper star Eric, the 19-year-old said she was fame-struck.
‘I got to see him for a little while, he’s great, and I’ve always been a huge fan of his,’ she told the Daily Mail Australia.
‘He’s hilarious, and I think he’s amazing, so I was really looking forward to working with him.’
‘Unfortunately, due to Covid-19, we had to keep our distance – one person came in and one person left [in the recording studio], but we did share a few scenes.’ I had a lot of fun working with him, and I think he’s fantastic. He was given a lot of work to accomplish, and he did it effectively.’
Olivia also mentioned how much she enjoyed working with Magda Szubanski from Kath and Kim and Gary Sweet from House Husbands.
‘And another part of wanting to do it was the Australian cast, Magda, one of my favorite Australian actors and Gary has worked with my family a lot,’ she added
Olivia is the daughter of late actor and The Sullivans star Reg Gorman, and her mother is actress Kate Gorman.
Olivia explained that being from an acting family has taught her to respect the craft while also motivating her to work hard for it.
‘I have an expectation I put on myself that I can be as hardworking as them, and especially as my grandfather recently passed, I want to keep his name spoken about and highly regarded,’ she said.
Eric plays Adam Durwood, a detective in The Orchard, who is investigating a murder mystery at an all-girls high school. Olivia portrays Thalia, a high school student.
Making the series, according to the teen star, was both fun and challenging.
Olivia suffers from dyslexia, a learning disability that makes it difficult for her to read.
‘It was a lot more tiring endurance-wise than I was expecting because you’re trying so hard with your voice. You’re focusing all your energy on your voice and lines,’ she explained.
‘It’s just really different and really different to screen as well. I’m dyslexic, something I’ve struggled with for a while and because it’s an audiobook. And with acting, it’s okay if your line isn’t 100 percent as you have a visual component, but because you’re telling a story, you have to be really clear with what you’re saying,’ she added.
‘There was a lot of planning involved.’
Meanwhile, Olivia expressed her gratitude for her time on Home and Away, as well as the fans who have followed her since her debut.
She went on to star in Disney’s Secret Society of Second Born Royals and worked on the TV sitcom Little Lunch prior to her tenure on Home and Away.
‘It was just fantastic,’ she said of the soap. ‘I’m very glad I got to do it so young.’
‘I learned a lot more than I could have learned anywhere else.’ How to pick up lines quickly and be adaptable.
‘The Home and Away fans are so dedicated and beautiful, and I’m very grateful for my time on the show – Emily Symons and James Stewart were amazing teachers.’