Rebecca Breeds on how her role in Kangaroo Island reflects life as a new mum

Rebecca tells Chattr it was “heaven” to leave Hollywood and come home to film, because it almost doesn’t feel like work. “You have such a rapport with everyone in Australia. You just kind of get each other. You come from the same culture, you have that same kind of vibe about you,” she gushes.

“Every time I come home and work, it’s like soul food. You just feel your tank filling back up and to be in my natural accent as well, you just get to be so grounded in yourself.”

Rebecca describes Kangaroo Island as a “love letter to Australia” and is visibly proud of what the filmmakers have achieved. The film follows Lou, a woman whose decision to move to the USA to chase an acting dream didn’t pan out, and she ends up coming home with her tail between her legs. She has a complicated relationship with her father, sister and her ex — who happens to be married to her sister — and it raises questions around grief, whether family can do more harm than good, and how you can move on with life when it gets really messy.

It’s not always easy for actors to find the perfect roles, but Rebecca was drawn to Kangaroo Island’s script. “Lou is a complex character. Often, you know, there are some two-dimensional characters you tend to go for, [but] she was very, very full-bodied. And not only that, she was kind of gritty,” the actor says. “When we find her at the beginning of the film, she’s a mess, and I loved that. It was so refreshing to me to not have to be like, preened and you know, pretty and well behaved… there’s just like no makeup. Or what makeup I had is rolling off my face.”

Rebecca recently welcomed her first child with husband — and fellow former Home and Away star — Luke Mitchell, so themes of sacrificing parts of yourself for family from the film are also present in her life.

“You have your dreams, but then you meet the baby of your dreams, and you’re like, well, of course you need to come first,” she says. “I do understand it’s a long game. And yes, this period of time is obviously going to be more intense, but there’s going to be a period of time in my life where he’s like, ‘Mum, get a life’… if he’s all that I exist for, then that’s not very healthy.”

The pair currently live in Chicago for Luke’s job playing Dr Mitch Ripley in Chicago Med, and naturally, Rebecca has been thinking about work-life balance and family.

“A lot of our conversations at the moment are about finding that balance of how much to work and what’s good for all of us long term,” she tells us. “I’m really committed to showing [our child] a full-bodied person, showing him how to take care of yourself, and how that makes me a better mum…. I love what I do. It nourishes me, and it inspires me, and I love the challenge of it. It gives me so much drive, and I think it’s healthy for him to see me doing that as well.”

Rebecca Breeds on Kangaroo Island’s strong message

There’s many complex emotions and storylines throughout Kangaroo Island, but the one core theme tying it all together is the idea of family. How important is family, can you turn your back on blood, and is there a way to forgive moments which had devastating consequences?

Rebecca tells us that the heart of the film is the idea that family is “so important,” and this can also include the family you choose.

“We all need connection. We all need each other. We are not an island… despite the title of the film Kangaroo Island, it’s kind of saying no man is an island,” she explains. “We can’t survive stranded by ourselves, and nor should we, no matter what we’ve been through. Family is a soft place to land, even if you don’t think it will be.”

Kangaroo Island tackles different topics, from terminal illness to death and grief, but Rebecca wanted to take on this role to “help people”.

“That’s why we do what we do, right?” she says. “It is cathartic. You do feel seen, and I think that’s really powerful stuff.”