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Jane lays down the law

Jane Hall plays a feisty lawyer in Marshall Law and has a lively partnership with Vince Colosimo

Actress Jane Hall has nothing but admiration for the talents of her partner, film star Vince Colosimo. But just watch him try to help Jane learn her lines, and she'll see red.

"No, we do not ever learn lines together,: says Jane, who is now shooting a semi-regular role in the upcoming Seven Network series Marshall Law. "Because, before you know it, it turns into a critiquing of my work, which I don't need! He'll say, 'I think it would be better if you said it like this, darl.' And I'll be like, 'I beg your pardon?'

"I'm just as guilty, though," she admits. "It's made for a few tense moments. So we don't do it, but we do talk about our days at work on the set, especially if something interesting has happened.

"I got home last night, for example, and he's had a great time [on The Secret Life of Us] racing Claudia Karvan up and down a swimming pool all day. And I'd had a great day on the set of Marshall Law because I'd been doing stand-up court scenes, which I really enjoy, so we chatted about that.

"If my girlfriends come over, I'll say to them, 'Here, read this with me.' But not Vince, even if we're working on the same show."

Jane, 31, and Vince, 35, have been together nearly eight years having met on the set of A Country Practice. "We've been through some really tough times together," Jane says reflectively, "where one or both of us wasn't working.

"Sometimes we've looked at each other and said, 'A bit of security would be good.' But I wouldn't change a thing. He's just the best bloke. We'll never be rich but we're happy."

Vince has been filming the year's final episode of The Secret Life of Us, reprising his role as handsome heartbreaker Rex. It's an episode in which Jane also appears.

Vince was most recently seen in the telemovie Secret Bridesmaids' Business, and has three movies, The Nugget, Walking on Water and Takeaway, due out this year. Secret Bridesmaids' Business is a sore point for Jane who starred in the stage version for 10 months.

"They [the ABC] weren't interested in any of us from the stage show," she says. "I was disappointed but, when Vince got a role in it, I thought, 'That's OK, let Vince do that one.'"

Another recent disappointment was a pilot telemovie, Life, which they'd made together for Network Ten. Although it will be screened this year, the pilot will not be made into a series. "It was the first time we'd worked together since A Country Practice," says Jane. "It was a big shock to us that it didn't go to series. I'll never get over Ten not picking it up."

She's quite delighted, however, with her latest role in Marshall Law. Cast against type, Jane plays tough barrister Prue Staley, complete with power suits, stilettos and (her own) long red nails. "It's great for me, because I'm usually the nice girl next door-warm and friendly-or someone's girlfriend," she says. "This is quite a departure.

By Caron James
Women's Day
July 2002