Working on The Twelve has been a chance for Tasma Walton to observe some of Australia’s top acting elite, whether in principal roles in the courtroom scenes or in supporting and cameo roles.
With its voluminous speaking roles, the structure of the drama allowed for so many actors to work.
“It’s a really diverse and broad group of people,” she tells TV Tonight.
“Going into the make-up bus in the mornings, the whole side of the bus was full of headshots. So there’s all these beautiful actors being employed. I love it when you get that kind of world where you have all these interesting people bringing their talents to screen.”
Playing juror Thelma Connell, where courtroom scenes required her to observe legal proceedings, Walton was reminded of her past career work as a reader during casting sessions.
“You’d see all these amazing performers come through for the same role, and they were all energetically, different, and they all brought something unique to to the role. That’s when you realise just how difficult it is to cast people, because there is so much talent. People are all different, and make great choices,” she says.
“This was a little bit like that, in that I was able to sit and observe the work of so many wonderful actors, and just be able to completely appreciate it and marvel at it.”
But casting isn’t something Walton is ready to step into just yet.
“I’d probably be out of my comfort zone!” she laughed.
“But we have such a talent pool, and it would be great if we made 10 times the amount of work we do, because then everybody would get work. Everyone’s so deserving of it.”
As The Twelve reaches its conclusion Walton also recalls her 4 years on Blue Heelers as ‘Dash’ McKinley, and the training ground it provided for her three decade career.
“The amazing thing about that kind of television was the training ground it provided for every single component of the screen industry,” she said. “As an actor, obviously, you learnt your screen craft really quickly and it was a great training ground for crews coming through. It’s very difficult to get that that practical hands on, week after week experience, these days.”
The Twelve finale 8:30pm Thursday on Showcase.
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