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Chilled in Pearl Bay…

Karina Milosevic's role as Seachange's local cop couldn't be any more different to Wentworth's Boomer.

Foxtel viewers are used to seeing Katrina Milosevic steal scenes as Wentworth‘s boisterous Sue “Boomer” Jenkins, but now they are watching her far more relaxed in Nine’s revived SeaChange.

Milosevic plays Sergeant Anna Kazan, a role she won thanks to a little help from her Wentworth co-star, Sigrid Thornton.

“Siggy said she was vocal, bless her, but I’ve been in orbit with Deb (Cox creator) and Fiona (Eagger producer) about other things. We’ve chatted a bit about stuff. They asked me to put an audition so I sent in a tape,” she tells TV Tonight.

“Stuff happened and she found herself 10 years ago in Pearl Bay”

“Anna’s pretty chilled and laid back as opposed to Lil, her sidekick, who is pretty uptight. She seeks comfort and she has a backstory that we don’t really go into, having come from the city and garnered awards for bravery. But stuff happened and she found herself 10 years ago in Pearl Bay where she started a new life.

“I feel like Anna knows what’s going on before other people do. She reads the landscape instinctively. She also has a softer voice. Like Boomer she’s very maternal, but she doesn’t wear her heart on her sleeve. She’s emotional but not in a way of letting it all hang out. She has more filters!”

Milosevic, whose credits include Stingers, Neighbours, Glitch and Seven Types of Ambiguity, fondly remembers watching the original series on ABC.

“I loved the codas at the end with Kevin Harrington and his boy. They always had something you could learn from at the end. Some comment, at large. I’d wait for it every time.

“It was always father and son on the beach.”

“It’s hard because you want to go gangbusters”

But striking the right tone of drama and humour is crucial to the show’s revival, and Sgt. Anna is no exception.

“I often wondered about where she fits, tonally, and I try traverse both. In the first 4 episode she carries a lot of emotion. I chucked in a few moments too,” she continues.

“It’s hard because you want to go gangbusters, but I can’t with her. She has to be more grounded, particularly in scenes with Lil. Lil’s a go-getter who think she’s ready to take on the big guns.

“Whereas Anna’s style is to talk people down off the ledge, rather than physical. Much to Lil’s disappointment.

“Deb does such an amazing job. I love the way she thinks, her sense of atmosphere and tone.”

“They have what I describe as quite a ‘masculine’ friendship”

Many of Milosevic’s scenes are with Brooke Satchwell, playing Laura Gibson’s (Thornton) rebellious daughter Miranda.

“We play best friends, but the interesting thing about their relationship is they don’t really talk to each other. They have what I describe as quite a ‘masculine’ friendship. When times get tough they say, ‘Do you want to talk about it? Nup? Nup.’” she continues.

“They are there for each other but they just don’t talk about it. They just get on with it.”

With the Nine drama having completed filming, Milosevic will next return to Wentworth in October, after rumours the show may be axed. She also recently returned from a fan event in New York.

Screening on Netflix in the US, the show has attracted a big following.

“It blew my tiny mind. I had no idea. It wasn’t just the actual event. It was on the street. I was only there for 2 seconds but it was nuts,” she said.

“It was a hairy old time, not knowing what was going on (with Wentworth). But now we’ve had time to recover before the next lot.”

Seachange airs 8:40pm Tuesdays on Nine.

3 Responses

  1. Thanks David Knox…another great piece….I like this lady….I don’t watch Wentworth….but love her in Seachange….It is nice to get an insight into the actor and their craft.

  2. Really enjoying Katrina as Sergeant Anna in Sea Change. She’s definitely one of the best characters in this new version.
    Love her in Wentworth as well – yes, the impulsive, brutally honest Boomer is definitely different to Anna in many ways. But underneath the swagger, Boomer is kind hearted and vulnerable, just like Anna.

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