Exclusive: Aussie star Brooke Satchwell reveals on-screen tragedy made her rethink everything: 'What is my life?'

EXCLUSIVE: Brooke Satchwell is a veteran of Aussie television, but even legends get starstruck sometimes.

With two Logies under her belt and roles in shows such as Packed to the Rafters, Neighbours, Wonderland and Black Snow, Satchwell has worked with some of Australia's top talent.

But, it's her latest role as the lead of the upcoming Stan Original Series, Dear Life, that had the actress asking, "What is my life?"

The Stan Original Dear Life premieres New Year's Day, all episodes at once and only on Stan.

Dear Life centres around Satchwell's character Lillian after tragically losing the love of her life.

Struggling to come to terms with her new reality without her fiancé, Lillian finds herself in a tangled web of connections.

While Satchwell's character may be the star of the show, she's joined by an incredible cast of Aussie talent, including Ben Lawson, Deborah Mailman and Ryan Johnson.

But, it's co-stars Marg Downey and Linda Cropper that Satchwell says sent her into an "absolute fangirl moment".

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"We were at the rowing club in Ballarat where Lillian lives, and I was walking downstairs to the edge of Lake Wendouree to shoot a scene, and I had Marg Downey and Linda Cropper walking in front of me, giggling and having a fabulous time together, putting on their puffer jackets to go out into the elements," Satchwell recalls.

"And I have watched these two women for decades and admired them and respected them and looked up to them and been inspired by them, and to be going down as a gang of three, having a giggle, I was like, 'What's going on? What is my life? This is so cool'."

Cropper stars in the show as the mother of Lillian's late fiancé, and the two characters have a wildly complicated relationship.

Some of the scenes shared between Cropper and Satchwell are the most intense of the show, but when it came to building that dynamic, Satchwell says it wasn't too difficult.

"You know, you're talking about Linda Cropper. I mean, she just has to breathe. She knows what she's doing," she laughs.

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"It's about connecting. And to be able to connect with someone with that level of experience and that level of dynamism, and the ability to be so raw and so real, it becomes like oxygen. It actually feeds you."

When Satchwell first received the script ahead of her audition, she immediately knew she had to be involved.

The actress recalls reading the scripts for the first time and thinking that they were "some of the most extraordinary" scripts she'd ever read in her life.

She describes her character as being in "quite a state for pretty much the entire series", but says that tackling those darker and heavier scenes wasn't as intimidating as you might think.

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"With me coming in every day and doing absolute breakdown scenes from a standing start, there was an OH&S element of like, 'OK, guys, so we've just had breakfast, but are you ready? We're about to break down again. Is everyone OK? Do we need a hug? All right, let's go'," she laughs.

"I think that was more what we were all very conscious of. Dealing with these very raw and real human themes.

"It was about being really aware of each other and taking care of each other while we did that. And everybody did. It was really, really beautiful."

The Stan Original Dear Life premieres New Year's Day, all episodes at once and only on Stan.

Nine Entertainment Co (the publisher of this website) owns and operates the streaming service Stan.

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