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Grace Beside Me: cast

Fuzzy Mac

Fuzzy (Mac) McCardell is an extraordinary girl who just wants to be ordinary. She identifies strongly with her Aboriginal and Australian South Sea Islander heritage. Having been brought up by her Nan and Pop, Fuzzy has been isolated from normal teen culture such as mobile phones, microwaves and social media. But what she lacks in technology, she makes up for with her artistic perspective, curious mind and active imagination. And lately there's a whole lot of spooky stuff going on! Fuzzy initially rebels against her ability to see spirits but as she grows more con dent in who she is, she comes to accept her gift and find her place in two worlds — Nan's world of Country, spirits and Culture and the modern world of a teenager.

Tui

Fuzzy's best friend Tui is the go-to girl for anything to do with technology and social media. She likes big words and she and Pop enjoy doing challenging crosswords together. Tui's proud of her Maori heritage, and comes from a big, noisy, musical family. Tui is into mixing her own beats and is never lost for words. There is nothing she loves more than hanging out with Fuzzy.



Yar

Yar is not your average kid. A latchkey boy who lives next door, his parents are professionals who commute to the city to work. Witty and theatrical, Yar has a unique way of dressing that ensures he stands out in a crowd. An original thinker, Yar sees the world in a way Fuzzy doesn't always get, but that she accepts all the same. Like Tui, Yar has Fuzzy's back.




Nan McCardell

Fuzzy's grandmother Nan is generous, an awesome cook, and has a heart bigger than the whole outback. Her mum was one of the Aboriginal traditional owners and her granddad came straight off the boat from Ireland. A member of the Stolen Generation, Nan was brought up in a Christian Girl's Home and has unflinching moral values that she instills in Fuzzy, along with the importance of her Aboriginal Culture. Having her own special gift of sensing the dead, Nan is prone to premonitions, which annoyingly usually come true.

Pop McCardell

Fuzzy's grandfather Pop is the rock of the household. He is Australian South Sea Islander, whose ways are gently handed down to Fuzzy as he teaches her to 'sit-a-while' when worry and problems arise. Open and fair minded, Pop approaches most issues with a more rounded outlook than Nan, and enjoys quietly outwitting her every now and again. Pop can proudly play the bagpipes thanks to the Scotsman who kidnapped Pop's grandfather to work on his plantation.



Cat Ridgeway

Cat and her friend Emmy are united by their belief that they have status in the town. Cat's dad is the mayor and she would die if anybody found out her family don't have money anymore. Egocentric and melodramatic, all she wants is to be liked. Cat and Fuzzy used to be good friends but small town rivalries have got in the way. They have a lot more in common than they want to admit.




Emmy Chu

Emmy is Cat's best mate. While she is determined to rebel against all Chinese stereotypes and to prove she's more Australian than anybody, she is becoming increasingly interested in her ancestors and her cultural heritage. Emmy's not very comfortable in the bush and has a phobia of insects.





Lola

Lola is a spirit who chooses to appear to Fuzzy as an eleven-year-old girl. She lives in Lola's Forest, and is Nan and Fuzzy's ancestor. Raised in the old ways, she escaped the mission to live in the forest and died from natural causes. Her spirit is the custodian of the forest and secrets.





Jesse

Jesse is a demon skater and a gorgeous soul whose life experience makes him wiser than his years. He and Tui have a connection they can't explain and when Tui's around Jessie feels awkward, especially when his family makes him sing in the church choir!






Teddy

Teddy moves to Laurie to live with his grandparents because his parents are going through a difficult divorce. Teddy is smart and a dreamer, but hides this behind being the charming class clown.








Esther

Fuzzy's favourite cousin lives with Aunty Min. She inhabits her own sweet world and, not understanding secrets or lies, speaks what she thinks and tells what she sees. Sometimes it might take her time to process, but she quietly notices details others miss.







Grace

Grace died at nineteen when Fuzzy was only one-year-old. She met Sonny at school, and got pregnant when she was only eighteen, and when Fuzzy was born she moved in with Sonny, Nan and Pop. In the few photos Fuzzy has, Grace has beautiful eyes and looks like a free spirit in long flowing skirts and flowers in her hair. Grace's spirit is still with Fuzzy, guiding and protecting her. But Fuzzy doesn't realise this — yet.




Sonny McCardell

Good looking and still youthful, Sonny was a legend as a junior in footballer when he met Grace. He's a hardworking Fly In Fly Out worker who is always away working at the mine to support the whole family. Fuzzy knows he loves her but wishes he wasn't away so much. At heart, Sonny is still Nan's spoilt boy, and needs to grow up a bit.