Rachael Blake
Born
Rachael Morelle Blake

(1971-05-26) May 26, 1971
Other namesRachel Blake
OccupationActress
Years active1995–present
SpouseTony Martin (2003–present)
AwardsFantasporto Award for Best Actress
2004 Perfect Strangers
IF Award for Best Actress
2001 Lantana
Logie Award for Most Outstanding Actress in a Series
1999 Wildside

Rachael Morelle Blake (born May 26, 1971) is an Australian actress.

Early life

Blake was born in Perth, Western Australia. At the age of 18 months, she moved to England with her English parents, only to return to Perth at age 11.[1] Blake was born deaf in one ear, a condition that was rectified by a series of operations undertaken before she was six. To overcome shyness[1] and her hearing problem,[2] her mother enrolled her in elocution lessons, which she continued until age 17.[1] After attending the John Curtin College of the Arts high school in Perth, she applied to Sydney's National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) but was rejected due to her age of 17. She was accepted to NIDA when she was 19.[1]

Acting career

At 13, Blake was cast in a short film. After studying at NIDA, she worked on Australian television shows Home and Away as Mandy Thomas (1995–1997), Pacific Drive, and Heartbreak High (1996). Blake's first feature film role was as Amy in the Australian children's movie Paws (1997). In 1997, she took the role of Dr Maxine Summers in the ABC crime drama Wildside.

She has also starred in several films, including 2001's Lantana with Anthony LaPaglia, as well as 2003's Perfect Strangers for which she won the Fantasporto Award for Best Actress. Between 20062007, she played Hilary Davenport in the British satirical black comedy Suburban Shootout. She played "Belinda" in a British TV movie, Clapham Junction, in 2007. In 2009, she starred in the UKTV mini-series False Witness. She also played a main role in The Prisoner. In 2010, she portrayed Hazel Hawke in the telemovie Hawke.

Blake played the character of Clara in the erotic drama Sleeping Beauty.[3]

In 2012, Blake portrayed Kris Perry in the theatre production of 8 in Sydney and Melbourne. In 2013, she portrayed Lady Tuckworth in the HBO Asia series Serangoon Road. She played a main role in the 2014 drama film Melody, for which she has received recognition (see below). She appeared in the 2016 film Gods of Egypt.

Awards and honours

Blake won the Silver Logie Award for 'Most Outstanding Actress' at the Logie Awards (1999).[4] She was nominated four times at the Australian film Institute (since 2011 called the AACTA Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards) and won the award for 'Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Television Drama' for Wildside in 1998[5] and 'Best Actress for a Supporting role' for Lantana in 2001.[6] She received the Montréal World Film Festival Award for Best Actress for her portrayal, in the title role, in the 2014 drama film Melody (2014).[7] In 2004, she won the Best Actress (Melhor Actriz) - Directors' Week Award at Fantasporto film festival (2004) and the Best Actress Award at Pacific Meridian film festival, Vladivostok for Perfect Strangers (2003).[8] In 2018, she was part of the ensemble cast that won the 'Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble Series in a Drama Series' by Equity Ensemble Awards 2018 for Cleverman (2016)[9]

Personal life

In 2003, she married Wildside co-star Tony Martin.[10] They later starred together in Serangoon Road.[11]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1997 Paws Amy Feature film
2000 Blindman's Bluff Sophie Film Short
2001 Lantana Jane O'May Feature film
2001 The Letter Herself - Narrator (voice) Film Short
2002 Whispering in the Dark Woman Film Short
2003 Perfect Strangers Melanie Feature film, NZ
2004 Tom White Helen White Feature film
2005 Derailed Susan Davis Feature film, US/UK
2008 Summer Katy Feature film, UK/GERMANY
2009 Pinprick Miriam Feature film, Switzerland/Hungary
2010 Cherry Tree Lane Christine Feature film, UK
2011 Sleeping Beauty Clara Feature film
2014 My Mistress Kate Boyd Feature film
2014 Melody Emily Feature film, Belgium/Luxenbourg/FRANCE
2015 Truth Betsy West Feature film, US/AUSTRALIA
2016 Gods of Egypt Isis Feature film, AUSTRALIA/US/China/Hong Kong
2017 Breath Mrs. Pike Feature film
2018 The Second The Writer Feature film
2018 Slam Joanne Hendricks Feature film

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1995–1997 Home and Away Recurring role: Mandy Thomas TV series, 28 episodes
1996 Fire Recurring guest role: Beatrice TV series, 1 episode "Vendetta I"
1996 Heartbreak High Guest role: Lara TV series, 1 episode: "4.20"
1996; 2000; 2003 Good Morning Australia Guest TV series, 1 episode
1997 Water Rats Guest role: Carly Bridges TV series, season 2, episode 15: "Stolen Time"
1997–1999 Wildside Regular lead role: Maxine Summers TV series, 60 episodes
1998 Good News Week Guest TV series, 1 episode
1999 The 1999 Annual TV Week Logie Awards Herself TV special
2000 Good Morning Australia Guest (with Tony Martin) TV series, 1 episode
2000 Nowhere to Land Anne Prescott TV film
2000 The Three Stooges Recurring role: Helen Howard TV film
2003 Grass Roots Recurring role: Faith Twohill TV series, 3 episodes: "Art", "Prostitution", "Investigation"
2003 The Movie Show Guest TV series, 1 episode
2003 Good Morning Australia Guest (with Sam Neill) TV series, 1 episode
2003 Mornings Guest (with Sam Neill) TV series, 1 episode
2003 Dying to Leave Narrator (voice) TV film documentary
2003 The 2003 Australian Film Institute Awards Presenter TV special
2004 Auf Wiedersehen, Pet Recurring guest role: Naomi Hedges TV series, 2 episodes: "Au Revoir: Parts 1 & 2"
2006 Bon Voyage Recurring role: Elizabeth Aldred TV miniseries, 2 episodes
2006 The Philosopher's Zone Reader TV series, 4 episodes
2006 Riot or Revolution: Eureka Stockade 1854 Narrator TV filmdocumentary
2006–2007 Suburban Shootout Regular role: Hilary Davenport TV series, 11 episodes
2007 Clapham Junction Belinda Hopkirk TV film
2008 Lewis Guest role: Ann Kriel TV series, 1 episode: "Music to Die For"
2009 False Witness Lead role: Det. Chief Insp. Julie Hales TV miniseries
2009 The Prisoner Regular role: M2 TV miniseries, 6 episodes
2010 A Six Hour Film Shot in 92 Days: The Diary of 'The Prisoner' Herself Short film documentary
2010 Beautiful Prison: The World of 'The Prisoner' Herself Short film documentary
2010 Hawke Hazel Hawke TV film
2010 Immortal Narrator Film documentary
2011 Cannes Film Festival Interviewee TV special
2012 The Straits Regular role: Natasha TV miniseries, 7 episodes
2013 Jabbed: Love, Fear And Vaccines Narrator TV film documentary
2013 Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries Guest role: Ailsa Wilton TV series, 1 episode: "Blood at the Wheel"
2013 Serangoon Road Regular role: Lady Tuckworth TV miniseries, 9 episodes
2016 Rake Recurring role: Ruth Rogers TV series, 3 episodes: "4.1", "4.2", "4.3"
2017 Cleverman Regular role: Marion Frith TV series, season 2, 6 episodes
2018 Today Guest (with Susie Porter) TV series, 1 episode
2018 Today Extra Guest (with Susie Porter) TV series, 1 episode
2021 Eden Recurring role: Katia Van Der Linden TV series, 5 episodes
2022 Significant Others Regular lead role: Ursula TV miniseries, 6 episodes

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Partly deaf, tearful and shy". Sunday Mail. Advertiser Newspapers Limited. 12 October 2003. p. 105.
  2. Curtis, Maree (12 October 2003). "Unknown Rachael comes of age". Sunday Mail. Advertiser Newspapers Limited. p. 105.
  3. Stratton, David (25 June 2011). "Sleeping Beauty's naked provocation is no fairytale" (film review). The Australian. Retrieved 10 June 2016. When Lucy apparently decides she needs to augment her income, she answers an ad and finds herself in a large, isolated house being interviewed by elegant Clara (Rachael Blake). Clara, it seems, runs an establishment that, though not exactly a brothel in the accepted sense, does bring together attractive young women and older men.
  4. "Logie Awards (1999)". IMDb.
  5. "Wildside - Awards". IMDb.
  6. "Lantana - Awards". IMDb.
  7. "Awards of the world film festival - Montréal 2014". Montreal World Film Festival.
  8. "Perfect Strangers - Awards". IMDb.
  9. "Cleverman - Awards". IMDb.
  10. "Rachael Blake". Screenwise. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  11. "Serangoon Road: cast". Australian Television Information Archive. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
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