The actor tells FIRST about being cast for the iconic 90s variety show, the thing that brought her back down to earth after her first Emmy nomination and more.

First time on TV

“That would’ve been when I was part of the super troupe in McDonald’s Young Entertainers. It’s actually a really terrible story. My sister who’s younger than me really wanted to audition – there was a little ad in the newspaper, ‘Hey, if you’d like to sing and dance and be on TV, come to this place’ – so I went with her and we did a duet. Then there was a phone call and it was so awkward because they were like, ‘Oh, we really like Michelle, but… just Michelle’. I think she feels she dodged a bullet. She is a very, very competent and successful medical professional now, so some might say she made the better life choice.”

First time filming in the US

“It was for this high school lesbian drama called South of Nowhere for Nickelodeon and I just remember being amazed by how much food the craft service had. It was like, ‘Wait, is this lunchtime?’ No, they’re just rolling up a hot dog stand and bowls of jolly ranchers. I’d never experienced catering like that on a set before. And the acting was cool too.”

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First Emmy nomination

“It was quite weird because literally the same afternoon I found out, I got another call to say that my character wasn’t going to be coming back on the series. So it was literally like, ‘Oh my gosh, whoa! What a career high!’ to… I feel it was a really good encapsulation of what it’s like to be an actor. You can never get too ahead of yourself.”

First hairstyle

“I don’t remember having much autonomy when I was like a little kid, and then as an actor you don’t get any say in your hair. Like literally my hair was blue for a good chunk of my teenage life, which I actually was fine with. I’d say my first choice was probably cutting a mullet and a rat’s tail, which was really fashionable back then – that’s when I was living in Melbourne and working on Neighbours. But I think because of that very early introduction to being playful with hair I’ve always had a bit of a fascination with trying different things out. So much so that I’m now directing a series about it.