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Deadly Sounds: Deborah Mailman on auditioning for The Secret Life of Us
Title:
Deadly Sounds: Deborah Mailman on auditioning for The Secret Life of Us
NFSA ID
591335
Year
2002
Warnings
WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are advised that the following program may contain images and/or audio of deceased persons
This audio clip is an excerpt from the Deadly Sounds radio program, hosted by Rhoda Roberts. In this clip Roberts interviews actor Deborah Mailman about her role as Kelly in The Secret Life of Us.
They discuss the auditioning process and playing the role of Kelly as a character that is not defined by her race in the show.
This interview is impactful for Mailman's candid responses to Roberts' direct but friendly questioning. Their familiarity is such that the exchange sounds more like a conversation between colleagues than a standard radio interview.
Mailman's answers speak to the added pressures that First Nations actors endure, and also put upon themselves, during the auditioning process and may be revelatory for non-Indigenous listeners.
Deadly Sounds was a weekly one-hour Indigenous radio program featuring interviews with special guests and music by Indigenous artists. Hosted by journalist, actor and author Rhoda Roberts, it ran for 21 years from 1993 to 2014.
Image: Publicity still from The Secret Life of Us. Courtesy: EndemolShine Australia. NFSA title: 589068
The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia acknowledges Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work and live and gives respect to their Elders both past and present.