Nearly two months on from Sam Neill’s shock death, his nearest and dearest are still coming to terms with their loss, Heather Mitchell included.
Close friends with Sam for decades, Heather, 68, accepted his posthumous Best Actor gong at the recent TV WEEK Logie Awards, and also paid tribute to him during the In Memoriam segment.
Now, as she continues to grieve and celebrate Sam, Heather reveals she has made a quiet pledge to herself to prioritise time with loved ones.
In particular, she is tending to old friendships that have gone neglected in recent times due to her “very busy” work schedule.
“I’m enjoying reconnecting with old friends,” the actress tells New Idea.
“I do think that is one of the beautiful things about getting older. You have long friendships. [But] you need to really invest in those friendships. It’s important to take time to be there for friends.”
“So that is what I’m enjoying at the moment. I’m making the time, saying, ‘Today I’m going to contact three people who I haven’t been in touch with to find out how they are, ask what they are doing, and check in.’”
Friendship is also at the core of Heather’s latest TV project, the acclaimed Paramount+ series Dalliance.
She plays Dani, a newcomer to a decades-long social circle.
As well as being a cast member alongside Georgie Parker, Hugo Weaving, David Wenham, Catherine McClements and Carolyn Bock, Heather is an executive producer.
She says she really wanted to create something about people in their sixties, and “make sure the characters weren’t stereotypical”.
“We wanted to create as real people as we could, with real problems,” Heather explains.
“I was quite interested in what it’s like when an outsider comes in to a group of friends who have known each other a long time, and exploring the idea of having an instantaneous rapport with someone, and what that’s like as you get a bit older. What does that do to the group dynamic?”
Given Heather was working with people she has known fordecades, it’s no surprise to learn that muchfun was had on and off set.
“Georgie, Hugo and Catherine … we all have some history together, some more than others, but there was immediate enjoyment with everyone,” she says.
“We were working pretty fast and furious, there wasn’t much sitting around.”
The cast even had a WhatsApp group chat – which is still going strong!
“We talk almost daily. There was a great respect and love for each other,” Heather shares.
Dalliance is a bold drama exploring the messy, complicated and deeply human lives of 60-somethings who refuse to be defined by their age, starring Heather Mitchell, Georgie Parker and Hugo Weaving. Now streaming only on Paramount+
