CD:UK Interview

It’s really funny, but I’m not as nervous this time around. Maybe I’m just getting old! Maybe I’m just really happy with the record and excited to be doing it again. Three years is a long time to not be singing…

Yeah I started off writing a much rockier, edgier album and I scrapped a lot of that material. I wasn’t a 100% happy with it, and I was just discovering what I do best really and where my strengths are weaknesses are. I guess I’ve just come back to doing a more straightforward pop record, and I think that’s what people want to hear from me.

You’ve collaborated with your husband, Daniel Johns (Silverchair frontman), on this album…

Yeah, Daniel wrote me a song, and then I said: ‘Well, you have to produce it now!’ But we never actually collaborated. We didn’t write songs together - which is much more intense and involved. I don’t know if we’ll ever do it again, but he’s just so talented and I felt really lucky to have one of his songs on the record.

Thank you for asking! Virgin Unite (www.virginunite.com) is the charity of Richard Branson’s company, and I’m involved with the campaign to end fistula in Africa - a childbearing injury women suffer after going through labour for around four days. In some parts of the world, they get no medical attention - so they end up incontinent.

Yeah, I’ve been out to Nigeria and Ethiopia and met a lot of the women suffering with it. Their husbands leave them, they get outcast by the community and the sad thing is that it is preventable. To have the surgery to correct the fistula is like £80, so I’m just trying to help them raise awareness and fundraise for them. I’m really passionate about it.

Well people don’t want to talk about something like that, you know? So it’s taking the shame out of it. I want to talk about it and get people talking about it, because these women suffer this thing in silence. As a celebrity, if you’re going to get involved with a charity, you’ve got to make sure that you can make a difference - and it’s nice to give a voice to something that people maybe don’t want to talk about.

No big Hollywood things. I have been looking forward to doing this independent film in Australia - and they have been waiting patiently for me - but I want to see the album through first. I’d love to tour around the world for as long as they’ll let me but, as soon as I finish that, I’d like to go home to Australia and shoot this movie. That’s my plan.

How long will they wait, though? They’ll just get bored and give the role to Delta Goodrem instead!

Exactly! How long are they going to wait? I don’t know. I keep calling them up and being very nice to them and saying: ‘Are you still waiting for me?’ But the director wants me to play the part, so I don’t think he’s going to give it to someone else. Well, I hope not…

No, I’ve never really been offered roles. I’ve always had to audition for roles, and there have been some big Hollywood movies that I’ve auditioned for that I didn’t get. But some of them have turned out horrible, so I’ve been really grateful that I didn’t get them, to be honest! I’m more interested in doing independent films or interesting characters - that’s what I’m going to try and do when I get the chance. If I ever get the chance!

I don’t miss TV, but TV is an incredible training ground for an actor because you don’t have the comforts and the time that’s taken with film. You have to work within a certain limit of time, you don’t get a lot of direction sometimes, you have to learn your craft yourself. And that’s good for your confidence.

Well, it launched my career, but it’s such a long time ago. I’m very, very grateful - it got me out of the central coast - but I don’t need to go back and revisit it necessarily.