australian television information archive

Julie Haseler…

Since Julie graduated from NIDA in 1983, she has amassed a great body of work, not only as an actor, but also as a writer and singer. She wrote and sang for the Madrigirls, sang the lead in Pardon Me Boys and has sung in numerous other stage productions. Her acting portfolio includes roles in Don's Party, Beach Blanket Tempest and Once In a Lifetime.

She has also appeared in a number of TV shows, including Water Rats, Home and Away, Over the Hill, Hey Dad! and General Practice. Among the films have been Blackrock, Billy's Holiday and Princess Kate. Julie has also written and presented on radio, for Radio's National Livewire and ABC's Darlinghurst Nights.

After a break at home with her two children, however, Julie says Breakers came along at just the right time. "I was absolutely desperate to work again," she says. "I think that desperation energised my screen test for Breakers and I got it. It was exactly what I wanted. I know not many actors say that about soap opera, but it is perfect for me, it's the right time for this.

"I think I have the best role in the world. Eve's a bit of a bitch and I adore it. I match her so well in my level of confidence and assertiveness and independence, it's like putting on a comfortable pair of shoes. But I'm not quite as rude in real life as she is!

"Occasionally I flare up and I can see my husband thinking, 'Oh my God! She's bringing her work home!" But playing her is total indulgence. She's a combination of some of my favourite heroines — Hot Lips Houlihan, Audrey Hepburn and Murphy Brown—all sassy, independent women." Julie is married to Hey Dad! And Bullpit! writer-producer Gary Reilly.

…as Eve Simmons

Eve, at 37, is a driven woman. Whatever Eve decides to do, she does with whole-hearted commitment and a focus that borders on tunnel vision. When Eve first married, she was the perfect wife. When the kids came along, she became the perfect mother. And now that she has embarked on a career as publisher and editor of the community newspaper, she is the ultimate business woman.

Eve could easily be mistaken for a classic TV superbitch but she rarely, if ever, acts out of malice. She is motivated solely by what she sees as logic and good business sense. However, to the person she has just trampled underfoot, or cynically manipulated, the difference between a superbitch and a logical business-woman is purely academic.

Eve is fiercely protective of her children and recognises their need to spend time with their father, Paul. Eve would like to see more of Paul too, and he's still attracted to her, but if they spend more than 15 minutes in each other's company, an argument always ensues and they end up not even at square one.