READY FOR HER CLOSE-UP

Mavournee Hazel steps up her game with a role in Apple TV+’s Shantaram, writes Lisa Woolford

WHEN Mavournee Hazel learnt she had been cast alongside Sons of Anarchy’s Charlie Hunnam in the TV adaptation of best-selling novel Shantaram, she immediately delved into the 936-page tome.

Terrified she’d be quizzed on it by production, or her uberfamous co-star, she continued to plough through the Gregory David Roberts masterpiece, even as shooting started.

And then she discovered her character – Gemma, the girlfriend of central figure and fugitive Lin Ford (Hunnam) – wasn’t actually in the book. “I’m like: ‘Oh. OK’,” Hazel says with a laugh. “I’m glad I was prepared, it was such a big production and my first role since before Covid.”

The 12-episode series, which follows Ford looking to get lost in 1980s Mumbai, was shot in Melbourne and Thailand. It also stars Antonia Desplat, Fayssal Bazzi, Luke Pasqualino, Sharon Johal and Vincent Perez.

Gemma and Lin’s relationship is largely told in flashbacks.

“We’re prior to the real nitty gritty of the story,” Hazel says.

“It’s focusing on how he got into jail in the first place in Melbourne. I’m part of the reason why he’s there, if not the reason.”

The 26-year-old hadn’t acted since 2019’s Halifax: Retribution with Rebecca Gibney, so she was nervous about working one-onone with Hunnam.

The first day – and the first scene – was quite literally one-on-one as the pair filmed intimate scenes for the show.

“So, it was like ‘Hi, I’m Mavournee’. ‘Hi, I’m Charlie’. And then straight to intimacy training,” she shares. “I’m not only on a huge set, in a huge international production and working with an incredible actor but I’m doing a very full-on scene. And also coming from Neighbours, which has a G rating, to be thrown into this – it was like baptism by fire. But I could not have been in better hands with the director (Bharat Nalluri) and Charlie. He’s such a gentleman. He’s so professional. He made me feel so safe and just so nurtured.”

Hazel gained attention as Piper Willis on Neighbours. She was touted as the next Margot Robbie before Covid hit and curtailed her plans. She’s been toying with the idea of heading to Los Angeles and auditioning for pilot season.

“I’ve had a few opportunities open up in LA so it’s something I’m really considering,” Hazel says. “But then on the way to this photo shoot, I got a phone call from my agent that I’d been offered a film in New Zealand at the end of the year. Maybe after I do that, I’ll be able to go to LA.

“(Shantaram) was such a pivotal moment for me. It was the first time that I actually felt like I deserved to be on the set. It helped remove all the smoke and mirrors around LA and how we build these people that we don’t know up on this pedestal. Then to meet (Charlie) and to see that he was human, it kind of soothed all my insecurities. It feels like the ball’s finally rolling again.”

SHANTARAM

STREAMING FROM FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, APPLE TV+