Geraldine Hakewill from ABC’s Wakefield shares her life in Daylesford

Actor Geraldine Hakewill – a city girl who was born in Paris and grew up in Sydney – is the first to admit that moving to a bush retreat in rural Victoria two years ago took a little getting used to.

But, as Melbourne endured lengthy COVID lockdowns last year, her picturesque cottage nestled among farmland and forest north-west of the city suddenly became an oasis.

“My partner, Mark, and I bought a house outside Daylesford,” the 34-year-old says, “and, having been a city girl all of my life, it took a little getting used to the isolation, but now we are so happy we made the move. Suddenly, our little cottage, surrounded by fresh air and acres of bush, is paradise; that’s my happy place.”

While many of us spent the long months of lockdown squirrelling away toilet paper and baking sourdough bread, Hakewill indulged no such folly. In fact, she was busier than ever, starring in two major television series and a feature film, all of which will soon hit screens big and small.

“I’d have a moment where I’d be thinking, ‘I might go and bake some scones …’ and instead I’d get waylaid working on a script or something else,” she laughs. “We moved to the country to have an escape, but it’s a very inspiring setting, and we’ve actually been busier than ever.”

The former Sydneysider, regarded as one of the rising stars of Australian stage and screen, was barely out of drama school when she landed her first break, playing the lead role of Wendy in Ralph Myers’ Peter Pan, which the Belvoir Street Theatre took to New York.

While performing in the US, she came close to securing roles that gave her a taste of Hollywood and contemplated staying and trying her luck in LA, but was lured home with a starring role alongside Rebecca Gibney in the top-rating thriller Wanted.

Her gripping performance in the show was recognised with a TV Week Logie nomination for Most Outstanding Newcomer, and it wasn’t long before she was on top of every director’s wish list.

She was cast in the US series Camp for NBC Universal, followed by ABC TV’s Soul Mates, Nine’s Here Come the Habibs and the ABC medical drama Pulse. At the same time, she landed lead roles on stage with Belvoir St Theatre, the Sydney Theatre Company, Bell Shakespeare and the Melbourne Theatre Company.

All of which led to the coveted starring role of Peregrine Fisher in Seven’s Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries, the top-rating spin-off to the hit Miss Fisher series, and now her role in the ABC psychological drama Wakefield.

“I don’t remember a clear moment when I thought ‘I’m going to be an actor’, but I’ve never actually wanted to do anything else,” she says. “I’ve always loved stories, I’ve been a big reader, and I think it’s an extension of wanting to be inside a story; I chose a job where I got to do that all of the time.”

Wakefield, directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse, is set in a Sydney psychiatric ward, and Hakewill stars as psychologist Dr Kareena Wells, grappling with her patients’ complex lives and the fine line between sanity and madness. The bold and, at times, darkly humorous scripts tossed Hakewill straight out of her acting comfort zone; in one scene, she is confronted with a plague of cockroaches, while in another, she performs an explicit sex act.

“It’s a very intense role!” she laughs, “One of the great things about acting is that you are forced to overcome any insecurities you might have, but there’s always an element of, ‘Oh my, Grandma is going to see this!’”

The crew were halfway through filming the series in New South Wales when the pandemic hit and the set was shut down. Hakewill returned to Victoria wondering if they’d ever get to finish the show, but after a five-month break, the producers got the go-ahead to resume.

Amazingly, during that time, the cast lost none of the spark and camaraderie that makes the series binge-worthy viewing. Clever production ensured that the strict COVID protocols placed on the cast, such as strict numbers on set, social distancing and repeated sterilisation of props, didn’t dampen the momentum of an intense and layered storyline.

“There was definitely a fear when we stopped filming that we might never get it finished because nobody knew what the world would look like in a few months,” Hakewill says. “We were so excited to get back on set in July. Things felt a bit foreign at first, but we got back into the rhythm again pretty quickly, and I think that’s a credit to the material and how much work went into writing the characters; plus, as a cast, we all got along really well. Everyone just wanted to do their best.”

Hot off the set of Wakefield, Hakewill returned home to film the second series of Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries. And, not one to let the grass grow under her feet, she’s also producing a feature film which her partner, actor Mark Leonard Winter, wrote during lockdown. While there’s little doubt she is one day destined for Hollywood, she’s not sitting back waiting.

“I love stories; I love telling stories and collaborating with others; it brings me a lot of joy and energy, so sitting around waiting and hoping that someone will ask me to do something isn’t really my style. I’ve got too many thoughts and projects and ideas in my head I want to create.”

Wakefield  is available on ABC iView from Friday, April 2, two weeks ahead of its on-air date.