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In an exclusive interview with Stellar, Griffiths recalled how she and Collette were “shot out of the same cannon” when Muriel’s Wedding released in 1994, laying the groundwork for their successful careers. “I’m older than Toni, and I’d love to say the fact I had some years of life experience on her made me better equipped to handle that moment,” Griffiths told Stellar. “But it’s probably not true. We really did only have each other to go, what the f***?” Griffiths confessed that she “learnt as much from Toni, if not more [than] almost any other actor I’ve worked with”. She said Collette’s performance as Muriel was a presentation of “ugly feelings” never seen before. “It’s the truthful, nasty, lying, insecure girl feelings. She just didn’t question them. Toni is like the ground zero of ‘ugly face crying’, which is now a badge of honour. And she wasn’t doing it thinking: I’m brave. She did it because it was true.” Griffiths, who will present two TV docuseries this spring – SBS’ The Idea Of Australia (debuting October 15) and the ABC’s When The War Was Over (airing in November) – also said Collette’s onscreen bravery was an influence on her Golden Globe-winning performance as Six Feet Under’s Brenda Chenowith. “I think I got the courage to be Brenda from Toni.” Griffiths pointed out that Brenda’s chaotic and divisive story arc on the series resonated with female viewers in particular. “I think women sensed that this was some kind of breakout,” she reflected. “I say this about Taylor Swift: she sings about the jealousy and the smallness. You know, ‘I’m the problem, it’s me.’ For generations, she’s made it OK to have those ugly feelings.” She said her Six Feet Under character exposed “nasty feelings”, and challenged the “good girl, nice girl” cliche. “So it was a big airing out of all that,” Griffiths said. Griffiths’ comments come a week after Collette spoke with Stellar about their longstanding friendship. “I haven’t, sadly, seen her in a little while. We were thick as thieves for a really long time, but then life happens,” Collette said. “But she will always be in my heart and I will care for her like I do all my female friendships.” The Idea of Australia premieres at 7.30pm on October 15 on SBS and SBS On Demand. See the full shoot and interview with Rachel Griffiths inside Stellar tomorrow, via The Sunday Telegraph (NSW), Sunday Herald Sun (Victoria), The Sunday Mail (Queensland) and Sunday Mail (SA). For more from Stellar, click here.
