Demi Harman – Coogee’s Rising Star

By Dan Hutton on August 1, 2014 in People

Where are you originally from?

I’m from Brisbane, Australia, on the south side to be specific.

I believe that you spent part of your childhood in the US; is that right?

No, but I’ve had a lot of holidays there. I wouldn’t say that I lived there for longer than a couple of months. My dad is from Orange County, California and my mum is from Brisbane.

You’re living in Coogee these days; how long have you been there for?

A year and a half to be exact.

What do you love about living in the Eastern Suburbs?

I just really like how quiet and uncommercial Coogee is. It has a bit of a village feel, as opposed to Bondi.

Have you lived in Bondi as well?

No I haven’t, so I can’t really compare the two, but I do like Bondi. Bondi’s really fun but my preference is Coogee. I think it’s a lot smaller and everything is right there. You don’t really have to walk very far.

That’s what everyone says and then they end up leaving Coogee and moving to Bondi…

The thing is with Bondi, I couldn’t move there. I’d just shop too much; there are too many good shops. I’ve got to control myself.

Is there anything you don’t like about the Eastern Suburbs?

Parking. I hate parking in the Eastern Suburbs; it’s an absolute nightmare. The amount of parking tickets I’ve got is just unbearable.

Do you have any favourite local haunts in Coogee?

La Petite Café on Dudley Street. It’s wonderful; the coffee there is sensational. It’s the best coffee I’ve ever had. That has to be my number one. I’ve heard that Square Peg is good too. I did get an ice coffee there once; it was quite good but La Petite is the best.

How did you originally get into acting?

My older sister is an actress, so I grew up with her being on this television show called ‘Pirate Islands’. I moved to Melbourne with my sisters and my mum and lived there for around six months while she did the show. It was then that I developed a curiosity for what it was all about, and pretty much from then on I felt like it was something that I wanted to do.

Is your sister still acting?

Yes, she’s just had a baby a year ago though. She’s in Manchester at the moment doing a series called ‘Banished’ and her husband is a director. They’re over there with my younger sister, who is actually nannying my nephew. They’re having a lot of fun and my sister’s only just started working again.

Are you missing your little nephew?

Incredibly; it’s painful. He’s my favourite person in the world.

Where did you hone your acting talents before you got the gig on Home and Away? Did you go to acting school or anything?

No, I actually didn’t go to acting school. I went to a few of Tom McSweeney’s master classes on the Gold Coast, because I was living in Brisbane. Through high school I probably went to about three or four of them, and they were beneficial. I also did drama at school. Television and film was what I wanted to do secretly, but it’s one of those things in high school that you never really go ‘oh yeah, I’m going to be an actor’. Some people do, but I never was like that. In grade 11 I came really close to getting a part on Home and Away and I told a few people at school, and then it just spread like wildfire. Everyone was like ‘oh, did you get the role?’ The same thing happened in grade 12. I don’t really know where I get my talent from but I give credit to my older sister.

Is it true that your mum was a Channel Seven weather girl?

Yeah, my mum was a weather girl when she was like 18 or 19.

Did that help you get a foot in the door?

She’s always been super supportive of the industry, so I suppose that was something that was encouraging me to go on the path that I’m on.

Would you ever convert from acting and go into weather presenting, or presenting in general? Does that interest you at all?

I really don’t think I’m a very good presenter. I probably could if I tried, but acting is definitely something that I enjoy a lot more. I like being someone else.

How did the gig on Home and Away come about?

I came really close to getting a role twice when I was in grade 11 and 12, and then the third audition came and my agent called me. She said, “They’ve pretty much told me they wrote this character for you, and you’ve really got to fly to Sydney for this one.” I was working for Virgin at the time, so I got really cheap flights there. I put this audition down and when I walked into the casting agency, the casting director said, “This is your role.” No casting director says that! I got really, really excited. I was in Sydney for the week and I think I put the audition down on a Monday. I then found out the following Thursday night, so it was really exciting. I was staying with my older sister and my brother in law. They’ve been a big part of my television journey as well.

What were you doing at Virgin?

I was in the ground crew at Virgin. I loved it. I was working at the Brisbane International Airport. I loved putting on red lipstick every day and doing my hair really perfectly, and wearing the uniform. That was just the best part of the job.

Can you tell us about your character, Sasha, on Home and Away?

Sasha came on to the show quite rebellious and a little bit torn. Her mother had died in a car accident, so she was very rebellious. Over the years she’s kind of developed into a well rounded young woman, but she’s got a bit of feistiness that I always like to incorporate into her character.

Do you bear many similarities in real life to Sasha?

Yeah, kind of. I like to say no, but it is kind of true that we’re similar. I feel like Sasha’s journey on the show is parallel to mine, and I think Sasha has a lot of Demi in her, for sure.

Is Sasha younger than you?

Yeah, Sasha’s 18 now. I’m 21.

So you can use your experience?

Yeah. Originally Sasha was based on my younger sister, because I was 18 and my sister was 15 or 16, which was Sasha’s age. I loved hanging out with my little sister and I obviously still do.

Is there any truth to the rumours that you and co star Alec Snow are an item these days?

Oh my goodness… I’ve seen a lot of Daily Mail snippets, but if anything happens I’ll let you know.

So it’s all just rumours and speculation at this stage?

Yeah, just rumours and speculation.

Is there a leading man in your life?

Maybe… I’ve gone all red… instant red.

In general, how do you get along with your co stars?

Great. I get along with all my co stars really well.

Are there ever any catfights on the Home and Away set?

No, not really. We’re all really close, particularly with those who you’re working alongside. You kind of go through peaks of working with one person every single day, and then other people on and off. I’m super close to them because you always want your scenes to be good, so you work with what you have. I’ve never really had a horrible experience, which has been amazing. I’ve heard of actors who have done great films and they’ve hated each other, but it’s not like that on Home and Away.

Would you ever date a ‘River Boy’?

No, definitely not. They’re too dangerous for me. I like good boys.

I imagine working on Home and Away you would spend quite a bit of time at the beach. What’s it like working at the beach?

I love the beach. I live very close to the beach, so I’m a bit of a water baby. I like being in the water.

What’s your favourite beach to sun yourself at in the Eastern Suburbs?

Gordons Bay is my favourite in the summer to just go down for a dip. Coogee is quite flat too and I like that. I’m not really a surfer.

Given that you do shoot around the beach quite a bit, do you feel pressure to keep your rig in good shape?

Oh yeah, who doesn’t?

What do you do to keep fit?

To be honest I’m not always fit, but I go through my moments of being fit. I do pilates, a lot of yoga, running and skipping. They are the four things that I do.

Is it part of your contract with Home and Away that you have to be in good shape?

I think it’s an unspoken law that you have to look good. We all bloody have to be in bikinis, so we want to be looking good. The camera already makes you look bigger.

Do you ever watch your performances back and critique yourself?

I used to a lot. When I first started, I was terrified. Now you know what feels like a good scene and what doesn’t, so you trust in what happens. Sometimes I do, depending on what scene it is. If it’s something where I think it’s going to look great, I’ll watch it back. But if it’s a dud, I just forget about it and move on.

How often do you have to head off to Palm Beach for filming?

About two or three times a week.

Is it a massive pain in the arse?

No, not really. I used to drive myself all the time, but lately I’ve been getting driven. It’s nice because driving on Sydney roads can be a real pain in the butt. But when you get there, it’s incredible. It’s a really beautiful part of Sydney.

Were you a Home and Away watcher before you joined the show?

No.

Not at all?

Honestly, no. I did watch it when I found out I got the part. I watched it very solidly for a few months.

Are you quite settled at Home and Away at the moment or are you looking for other career opportunities?

I’m really enjoying it. I really enjoy my job; I love it. I will definitely head to the US at some point, but at the moment I’m just really enjoying what’s going on for Sasha.

So you think you will head over and do the LA thing?

I’m an American citizen, so it will be pretty easy just to move on over and pick up life as it is.

Do you have any family over there or anything like that?

I’ve got a lot of family over there, so that’s another reason I want to go.

Do you have any other skills besides acting?

I love craft. I make handbags.

Do you have an Etsy account?

Yes, I do. How did you know? I sell my record handbags. I make them out of vinyl records and sell them on Etsy.

Do you plug that through your Instagram account?

Yes, I try to. I don’t do it as frequently as I should because I’m hardly keeping up.

You’ve got around 184,000 followers on Instagram; do you make any coin out of that through endorsements?

No, not really. There have been a few one post things that a lot of people do, but not very much.

Are you a social media junky? How many times a day do you post on Instagram?

Sometimes I post all the time, and other times I just don’t post for like four days. I fluctuate a bit that way. I have so much love for social media, but then at the same time I just feel like it has completely destroyed an element of normal communication. But it’s an amazing thing, because ten years ago you wouldn’t have been able to see who your fans are unless it was via a letter.

When you put a post up, do you keep an eye on how many people are liking it?

Everyone talks about it. If I go to my friend’s place or if I go to a party, people always go ‘oh, first like’, smile at me and point at me. They always have to have something to say about my Instagram. But I love all of my followers; they’re so nice. I don’t really get much hate, which is good. You just don’t post controversial stuff; that’s the key.

Who are your role models?

Rose Byrne; I love her. Have you seen ‘Damages’? Her American accent is just flawless and she’s just got these massive speeches; it’s incredible. It’s a really good show.

Is there anyone else who inspires you?

I love Emma Stone. I think Emma Stone has a really quirky kind of magic to her that I admire.

She’s seems like a bit of a legend off screen as well, doesn’t she?

Yeah, the paparazzi thing that she did with her boyfriend is so cool. They had these palm cards that they held up in front of their faces when they knew photographers were there. They were saying ‘thank you for taking interest in us, but we think these causes are more interesting than us’ and listing the details of a bunch of charities.

You were on the reality sho ‘Celebrity Splash’ last year; was that good for your career?

It wasn’t good for my legs.

How long were you on the show for?

I was on the show for a few weeks.

How many dives did you do on the show?

Two. I trained for around six weeks. There was nothing more painful. Obviously I’m not a diver and I don’t have the physique of a diver, so it was just a nightmare. I was just like ‘I can’t believe I have to do this; I can’t believe I have to dive in front of all these people, and it’s a backward dive’. I hate heights, so it was extremely hard. But it was fun. The training was fun to a certain point, and I think it taught me to never to do reality television again. That was what I got from it.

Do you have any other significant skills besides acting?

I’m really not sporty or anything, to be honest. I like running and that’s about it. I’d love to be a yoga teacher one day too.

Are you good at yoga? Can you levitate?

No, sorry! But I love yoga, so I would love to eventually move to America and be a yoga teacher working for Lululemon, because I love Lululemon.

Do you support any charities?

I love going to the Children’s Hospital at Randwick, and we help the Starlight Foundation a lot through work, especially at Christmas time.

What’s coming up for Sasha on the show? Are there any big twists and turns in her life that we need to know about?

She’s kind of got her final year of school, and then it’s all about what I do at the end of school period. That’s all I can rally say at this stage.

No love triangles?

No.

Who does Sasha date on the show?

Matt.

Which is Alec Snow’s character, right?

Everyone thinks we’re together. Isn’t that silly?

In an ideal world what does the future hold for Demi Harman?

I would love to reach a point in my life where I am consistent in all things. I’d love to meditate more. I would like to be in films, do great work and help people. I want to be the best role model I can be for young girls, and for people out there who enjoy television and films.