Genevieve Hegney may best be known as her quirky character Chiara on Colins from Accounts, but she actually fell into acting after initially pursuing a career as a teacher.
While becoming an actor was a pipe dream of Genevieve’s, her parents encouraged her to pursue a stable degree, as they wanted her to have a “safety blanket.”
So, she enrolled at the University of Western Australia and completed a Bachelor of Arts in politics and literature. But while she studied essays and political theory, her heart was never in it—it was in performing.
“Like it was really weird, really weird – I always wanted [to be an actor],” she told Chattr.
At 21, Genevieve began her first teaching practical at a local high school, eager to put her studies into practice. But one small, spontaneous gesture would change her career path forever.
While chatting with students, she patted a 16-year-old boy on the head. Moments later, the supervising teacher approached encouraged her not to touch students, with a serious expression.
The comment led to an unexpected heart-to-heart. “Is there anything else you want to do?” the teacher asked.
Without missing a beat, Genevieve confessed, “Well, I really want to be an actor.”
The teacher smiled knowingly. “I think you should be an actor.”
Genevieve thanks that teacher to this day, as she then auditioned for The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) and the rest is history.
Genevieve’s career has been anything but conventional. While audiences know her as a talented actor, behind the scenes, she’s also shaping the next generation as an acting coach on Home and Away – a role she says she “absolutely loves.”
How Genevieve landed the role of Chiara on Colins from Accounts
Genevieve landed a place at NIDA in 2000 and she went straight into Shakespeare, performing it for a decade.
“When it’s done well, it touches people in a way nothing else does,” she says.
Her career has taken her from co-writing plays like Fly Girl (opening in Sydney October 17 to November 22) to teaching Shakespeare at Juniperina, a juvenile detention centre for girls under 18, and to stealing scenes as Chiara in the hit comedy Colin from Accounts.
It’s a role she knew was hers the second she read the script while helping her husband, director Matt Moore, prepare for filming.
Producers had initially pictured her as “Yvette the vet,” but casting director Kirsty McGregor quickly declared, “Well, Gen’s Chiara.”
Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer later admitted they’d basically written the part for her.
But acting also brought its challenges — like testing for a big U.S. show and losing the role to Golden Globe winner Melissa George.
“There was just no way to compete,” Genevieve says. “So, I had to get pretty Buddhist about it.”
She began attending lectures at a Buddhist centre in Sydney, embracing the philosophy of loving things without clinging to them.
“When you’re constantly at the coalface as an actor, you can’t let your worth be tied to whether you land a role,” she explains.
“Otherwise, every time you don’t get a job, you’re nothing. And so many people, on their deathbed, just wish they’d worked less and spent more time with family. I don’t want to be one of them.”
Gen Hegney is co-hosting at a Taylor Swift-inspired charity event
Genevieve is set to bring the sparkle as co-host of Let’s Dance: Swifties Club by Trueheart at The Emerson in Melbourne.
The event supports Share The Dignity, a non-profit dedicated to empowering girls and women and takes place on Sunday, August 31 at The Emerson Rooftop Bar and Club in Melbourne, and again on Sunday, October 19 at Liberty Hall in Sydney.
For Genevieve, it’s a cause close to her heart. “Anything where you can use whatever popularity you have to push forward something you believe in – I’m in. In a world where women’s voices are often silenced, this is exactly my kind of night.”
You can find out more about the Let’s Dance: Swifties Club event, and buy tickets here.
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