Her last on-screen movie credit was almost 15 years ago and now Deborra-Lee Furness is returning to the big screen in a big way.
The 68-year-old stars in the highly anticipated Force of Nature: The Dry 2, taking on a role that the movie’s makers knew she’d be perfect for right from the beginning.
“We’re just honoured and grateful she said yes,” explains producer Bruna Papandrea, a fan of Furness’ since seeing her in the 1988 Australian drama Shame in which she plays a motorcycle-riding, hardened prosecutor.
It was the film that launched Furness’ acting career, which in recent years has taken a back seat to raising her kids, Oscar, 23, and Ava, 18, with now estranged husband Hugh Jackman and her charity and advocacy work in improving international adoption laws.
In September, the couple made a shock announcement that, after 27 years of marriage, they were separating to “pursue our individual growth”.
Furness plays Jill in Force of Nature, one of five women who take part in a corporate hiking retreat in the Victorian mountain ranges during which one of the group disappears.
Federal Agents Aaron Falk (Eric Bana) and Carmen Cooper (Jacqueline McKenzie) head deep into the bush to find the missing woman, who happens to be a corporate whistleblower helping them with a case.
Furness says she was drawn to the project because of the strong female presence in the script.
“I love that it was an ensemble,” she tells. “I love that it was about a group of women out in the wild, challenged by the force of nature and challenged by their own nature.”
As for her character, Furness says Jill is “misunderstood” and someone who can come across as a bit harsh sometimes.
Furness’ return to acting involved anything but glamorous days on set.
“I want everyone to appreciate this is not green screen. We’re out there in it,” says Furness of the remote mid-winter shoot in the wilderness.
“There have been a lot of leeches. I think a lot of the crew and cast will remember the leeches, maybe not fondly though.”
The Dry was the second highest-grossing film of 2021 in Australia, taking over $20 million at the local box office.
Force of Nature: The Dry 2 will be released in cinemas on Feb. 8
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