FILMOGRAPHY
2006] Caterpillar Wish
2005] Little Fish
2005] RAN: Remote Area Nurse
2002] Sway
2002] Teesh and Trude
2002] Star Wars: Episode II
2001] Mullet
2000] Bootmen
2000] The Monkey's Mask
2000] Better Than Sex
1999] Feeling
Sexy
1999] Two Hands
1998] Aftershocks (TV)
1998] Amy
1997] Welcome to Woop Woop
1997] Paradise Road
1996] Mr. Reliable
1996] Idiot Box
LINKS
Born in Newcastle, NSW, Australia. She resides in Sydney.
NIDA Graduate (1995)
Whilst still at NIDA, Susie Porter was cast by Nadia Tass in "Mr Reliable" in the supporting role of Fay.
Nominated for an AFI in 1999 for Best Performance by an an Actress in a Supporting Role for: Two Hands & again in 2000 for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for: Better Than Sex.
Susie has performed in numerous theatre productions including: the Sydney Theatre Company's production of "Somewhere in the Darkness" as Sally & a Griffin Theatre Company production called ' Sweet Phoebe'
Susie on dealing with criticism:
"I don't think I have a thick skin. Sometimes I put on this front of being like a lion but inside is like a little mouse. I don't deal with any of those things well at all. Being a woman in this industry you're very aware of your look, your age, that sort of stuff."
Susie on positive female role models:
"I think we are moving into a time when we need positive female role models such as Cin, enforcing, we can live alone, have sex when we want and we can enjoy it. We are equal to men. That's why I liked doing the film 'Feeling Sexy' as well, because it was about a mother who was ambitious. She lost her imagination, and sometimes her children really upset her ~ and we rarely see that in film. Also if a woman goes out and has an affair, she will usually get punished at the end of the film. It's really important for me to choose roles that portray equality as far as sex is concerned. I don't know where these double standards came from, but I think men can certainly get away with a lot more than women do."
Susie on her sexy roles:
"People don't see all the plays you've done at NIDA where you're doing your Shakespeares and your Chekovs and your Ibsens. A lot of times they'd put me in a fat suit, give me a limp and I'd play older women. I never thought I'd be doing so-called sexy movies. Welcome To Woop Woop was the one that started that but there's Better Than Sex, Feeling Sexy - I suppose having the word sex in both the titles doesn't help. I am over it because, look, I'll play a nun, I'll play a serial killer, give me something else to do. The only time it really worries me is when I think, will I be typecast in those sexy roles?"
Susie on preparing for sex scenes:
"Take my clothes off... I think there's no real way to prepare for a sex scene - for me I try to be as unselfconscious as I can. A lot has to do with the relationship you have with the other actor. I also make sure I know how it's going to be shot - that can relax you."
Susie on her character in Better Than Sex:
“I liked the fact that ‘Cin’ was a free-thinking, open-minded woman, as so often roles for females are written with a moralistic tinge that results in some form of punishment should they ‘cross the sexual line.’”
Susie on her Better Than Sex co-star David Wenham:
"David is just so easy to work with, and I love him as an actor and as a person. Sometimes I wished that the scenes would never end, cos he was just gorgeous." She speaks with great fondness, "We had a great rapport between us, and that chemistry was really important, because the film was basically us in a room talking".
Susie on her role in The Monkey's Mask:
"It was different for me because I'd never done a lesbian sex scene before so there's always that thing of kissing another woman and her breasts and all that sort of stuff. But the scenes had a nice look to them, they were really well composed and the shots were really quite beautiful."
Porter on The Monkey's Mask:
"I don't think the genre of film noir or erotic thriller or whatever you call it has been done much in Australia. Not only is it new and different but you've got a female in a typically male protagonist's role and not only is she a woman but she's a gay woman. Plus it was based on a novel written in verse [by Dorothy Porter]."
David Caesar on casting Susie in Mullet:
“Susie embodies a lot of the things I like about real Australian woman...a tough no nonsense about her that I wanted for the character of Tully."
Susie on Feeling Sexy director Davida Allen:
"Very unlike any other director I've worked with - she's a first time director, not in the film industry and a mother of 4. The relationship was more like a mother/daughter one rather than the director having all of the power. It was a great relationship - Davida would bring me flowers - and she was always aware of how I felt. She had a lot of respect for the artists - the actors - in the film. It was more like talking to a friend than a director."
Porter on what Felling Sexy says to her:
"I think one word to describe it would be hope - and the fact that the use of the imagination can solve lots of problems. Especially today, where new technology is there all the time i.e. TV. The time we have left to use our imagination is limited. I think a lot of things can be solved by the use of the imagination - optimism - is a big message also."
Susie on shooting Star Wars II:
"I had a really great day on that. I got on really well with George Lucas. Because he's such a technical wizard, I thought, is he going to be a bit socially inept as far as dealing with actors? But I really liked it. We did impro together. I'd sing out from the other side of the room, 'Hey George, maybe I can do this?'. 'Yeah, that's fine'. He was a really nice bloke."
Susie on wanting to venture overseas with her career:
"Australia will always be my home and I love this country so much. Even after watching the Olympics opening ceremony I was like crying "Oh my god I love Sydney so much! But I have to give overseas a shot. You only have one life. I don't want to get old and go I wish I had done this or that".