Sea Patrol: articles


Saskia

Plain sailing for Saskia

MOVING effortlessly from navy officer to Russian prostitute, there are few dangers of Aussie actor Saskia Burmeister being typecast.

Burmeister, 22, is racking up the acting credits at an impressive rate.

"What I'm always looking for is diversity," Burmeister says.

"But I want to be working with really great producers, directors and inspiring cast members."

Burmeister plays Lieutenant Nikki Caetano in the Channel 9 drama series Sea Patrol.

Brisbanites will also see her play a prostitute in gritty Aussie movie The Jammed when it screens next month at the Brisbane International Film Festival. Already under her belt are TV roles in Water Rats and Blue Heelers and movie credits for Ned Kelly, Hating Alison Ashley and Jewboy.

Burmeister says it was the diversity of the role and the quality of cast and crew that attracted her to Sea Patrol.

"With Lisa McCune being attached to it, I knew it was going to be a lot of fun and that I was going to be inspired," she says.

Much of the show was filmed on and off the decks of navy vessel HMAS Ipswich in the Coral Sea off Mission Beach, north Queensland.

Burmeister says she was fortunate to be able to work with real-life navy crew who gave her and the cast plenty of advice.

"It was just method acting the entire time. The navy really took us under their wings… or should that be hulls.

"We were addressing each other by our crew names and were living it 24/7. It was certainly a real adventure to shoot.

"There were three navy officers that taught me everything about their experiences and about being a navigator. I reckon I would be able to plot a course now!"

As well as looking for her next acting project and preparing for a second series of Sea Patrol, Burmeister is also planning her wedding to Aussie actor Jamie Croft, hopefully early next year.

The pair met in 2002 on the set of her first movie, The Pact.

"We played boyfriend and girlfriend," says Burmeister, who reveals her fella took a traditional approach to the proposal. "Jamie asked my parents first and then proposed on Christmas Day at my family's beach house."

Before the off-screen wedding, fans of Sea Patrol will see Burmeister's character in very choppy seas when it comes to liaising with crew members.

"My character, Nikki, is a bit rebellious and she is pushing the boundaries a bit, especially with her love affair with ET. But hopefully, the public will see her as someone that they can relate to."

By Graham Readfearn
July 25, 2007
The Courier-Mail