Sigrid Thornton, one of Australia’s best loved actors, heads an all-star cast in the much anticipated mystery-drama Little Oberon. To perform the role of a grandmother battling cancer, Thornton shaved off her raven locks, a move that would challenge most actors. The film, shot around the picturesque township of Marysville, in Victoria, tells an inter-generational story in the fictitious mountain town of Little Oberon. Thornton (46) plays eccentric artist Lola Green, the mother of Georgie, who is played by former Blue Heeler Tasma Walton. Walton plays the mother of Natasha (Brittany Byrnes). Mother and daughter are estranged, with Thornton’s character having never met her granddaughter. Her illness brings the fractured family back together.
“She is a woman at the crossroads—trying to come to terms with her own mortality as well as reconcile relationships with her family. I was surprised by the interest shaving my head generated because it seemed to be such a natural and essential component of creating the character of Lola,” Thornton said. Well respected in the general public, Thornton’s film credits include such Australian classics as box-office hits, The Man From Snowy River (1982), The Lighthorsemen (1987) and The Man From Snowy River II (1988).
Not only renowned for her characterization in films, her outstanding performance as Laura Gibson the Magistrate in Pearl Bay, for the hugely successful ABC series Sea Change, continued to place Thornton among Australia’s favorite actors. The sweetheart of Australian screen’s contribution to society has not been limited to acting alone. Thornton is well known for her work with World Vision, the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind, the Royal Children’s Hospital, and the Reach Foundation. Thornton has lobbied the government to keep libraries open and to resource the Australian TV and film industry so it can tell more Australian stories. This work has seen her appointed to numerous boards of federal and state film bodies to help develop the Australian industry.
Little Oberon screens on Channel Nine on September 18 at 8:30 pm.
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