Mavournee Hazel

Last updated

Mavournee Hazel
Born (1996-03-20) 20 March 1996 (age 28) [1] [2]
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
OccupationActress
Years active2012–present

Mavournee Hazel (born 20 March 1996) is an Australian actress. She began her acting career with recurring and guest roles in various television shows, including Sam Fox: Extreme Adventures and Catching Milat . She joined the cast of Australian soap opera Neighbours as Piper Willis in 2015. She starred in four online spin-offs as Piper and received a nomination for Best Daytime Star at the 2018 Inside Soap Awards.

Contents

Hazel would later star as Zoe Sailer in Halifax: Retribution , Gemma in the Apple TV+ series Shantaram and as Bluebird "Blue" Gleeson in NCIS: Sydney .

In addition to acting, Hazel has also modelled for jewellery company Mimco and been a brand ambassador for Grey Goose.

Early and personal life

Hazel grew up in Adelaide with her parents and three siblings. She attended Loreto College and later St Peter's Girls' School from which she graduated. [3] During her time in school, Hazel made the South Australian State Lacrosse Team twice. [4] Hazel always wanted to be an actor and she began a three-year course at SA Casting, a theatrical agency, when she was around eight years old. [3] Hazel also took acting lessons with actress Doris Younane, whom she first met when Younane was a guest speaker at another course Hazel was taking. [3] Younane later became Hazel's mentor and friend. [5] Hazel acquired an acting agent, who advised her to relocate to Sydney or Melbourne after she finished school. She enrolled in an Advanced Media and Communications course at Sydney University, which allowed her to be in the city for auditions. [3]

In 2019, Hazel came out as demisexual. [6]

Career

Hazel's career began with several recurring and guest roles in Totally Wild , Sam Fox: Extreme Adventures , Catching Milat , and Changed Forever: The Making of Australia. [4] [7] She also had a supporting role in short film Servo, which played at the St Kilda Film Festival. [4]

In August 2015, it was announced that Hazel had joined the regular cast of Australian soap opera Neighbours as Piper Willis. [7] She had completed a semester of her university course when she first auditioned for the role. [3] Hazel flew to Melbourne for the audition and a meeting with the show's casting director. She then went through two more rounds of auditions, before she was told she had won the role a few months later. [8] Hazel said she fell in love with her character after the first audition, [4] and felt that there were many parallels between Piper and herself. [8] She relocated to Melbourne within three days to be available for fittings and filming, [8] and she made her first appearance as Piper on 16 September 2015. [4] Hazel starred in four webisode series as Piper. The first, Hey Piper was released shortly before her debut appearance in the main show and features her character making video calls to members of her family. [9] She then starred in the weekly series Pipe Up from 2016 until 2018. [10] Hazel also appeared in Summer Stories and Neighbours vs Time Travel . [11] [12] For her portrayal of Piper, Hazel received a nomination for Best Daytime Star at the 2018 Inside Soap Awards. [13]

Hazel decided to leave Neighbours in 2019. She explained to Maddison Hockey of TV Week that she had learned a lot from her time with the serial, but she wanted different challenges that came with new roles. [14] She also found that she and Piper had almost become the same person and she needed to separate herself from her character. [14] After leaving Neighbours, Hazel opted to stay and look for acting work in Australia. [15] She made an appearance in the first season of crime drama My Life Is Murder in August 2019. [16] That same year, she was cast as Zoe Sailer in Halifax: Retribution . [17] Hazel underwent "a radical hair transformation" which helped her get into the character. She commented, "I was so grateful for it. I could look in the mirror and see Zoe and really have shed Piper." [15] She also had to learn and sing the Billie Eilish song "Bad Guy" along with Craig Hall, who plays her character's father. The actors, who both lived in Sydney, rehearsed together and they bonded over the fact neither of them are singers. [15]

In 2022, Hazel was cast as Gemma, the girlfriend of lead character Lin Ford (Charlie Hunnam), in Shantaram , a television adaption of Gregory David Roberts' novel of the same name. [18] To prepare for the role, Hazel decided to read the novel, fearing she would be asked about it, and soon learned her character does not actually appear. [18] Shantaram was filmed in Melbourne and Thailand. Hazel admitted that she was nervous about working one-on-one with Hunnam, having not acted since Halifax: Retribution. Their first scene was an intimate moment between their characters, which required them to attend intimacy training. [18] Hazel described working on the series as "a pivotal moment" for her. [18]

After filming Shantaram, Hazel was planning on going to Los Angeles and auditioning for the pilot season, before she was offered a role in the 2023 New Zealand thriller film Home Kills. [18] Director Haydn Butler praised Hazel's audition and described her as "a powerhouse of an actor". [19] The film was shot on-location in New Zealand and Hazel stars alongside Josh McKenzie, Cameron Jones and her former Neighbours co-star Stefan Dennis. The film had its world premiere at the New Zealand International Film Festival. [19] That same year, Hazel joined the cast of the upcoming Network 10/Paramount+ series NCIS: Sydney as AFP Forensic Scientist Bluebird "Blue" Gleeson. The series, being filmed on-location in Sydney, is the first international edition of the NCIS franchise. [20]

Other work

Outside of acting, Hazel has modelled for Australian jewellery brand Mimco. She also took part in a fashion photo shoot with her Neighbours co-star Olympia Valance for social media. [21] In August 2018, Hazel became an ambassador for Grey Goose vodka and her first event with the brand was the Melbourne Film Festival Opening Gala. [22] She later appeared in clothing brand Sportsgirl's "Be That Girl" campaign. [14]

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
2010 Totally Wild Guest role
2014 Sam Fox: Extreme Adventures Emma Fernley GrangerRecurring role
2014ServoJessShort film
2015 Catching Milat Caroline ClarkeEpisodes: "1.1" and "1.2"
2015 Hey Piper Piper Willis Webseries
2015–2019 Neighbours Piper WillisMain role
2016Changed Forever: The Making of AustraliaKathleen McGuinessDocudrama
2016–2018 Pipe Up Piper WillisWebseries
2016 Summer Stories Piper WillisWebseries
2017 Neighbours vs Time Travel Piper WillisWebseries
2019 My Life Is Murder Zoe SwannEpisode: "Feet of Clay"
2020 Halifax: Retribution Zoe SailerMain role
2022 Shantaram GemmaEpisodes: "Down and Out in Bombay" and "Like in the Time of Cholera"
2023Home KillsAnnaFeature film
2023- present NCIS: Sydney Bluebird "Blue" GleesonMain Role

Related Research Articles

Michala Elizabeth Laurinda Banas is a New Zealand television actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as Marissa Taylor in Always Greener and as Kate Manfredi in McLeod's Daughters.

Jane Hall is an Australian actress, comedian, writer and presenter. She is best known for playing Rebecca Napier on the soap opera Neighbours.

The Willis family are a fictional family from the Australian soap opera Neighbours. They were introduced by Don Battye in 1989, but left screens in 1996, before being reintroduced in 2013. The first family member to be seen on-screen was Brad Willis, who appeared in a guest capacity from October 1989, and then his sister Cody from November. The family became a more permanent fixture with the arrival of patriarch Doug Willis and his wife Pam, who moved onto Ramsay Street the following year. Cody was the last family member to regularly appear in the show until her on-screen death in 1996, which brought Pam back briefly to bury her daughter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Kirk</span> Fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours

Ben Ian Kirk is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, last played by Felix Mallard. The character was previously played by Noah Sutherland, Sean Berends and Blake O'Leary. He made his first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 14 December 2001. Ben is the son of Libby Kennedy and Drew Kirk. Ben and Libby departed Ramsay Street in 2003, returning briefly the next year before moving to Shepparton with Darren Stark. The family returned in 2007, with Libby and Ben remaining permanently. Ben departed Neighbours on 2 September 2010. In March 2014, it was announced that Ben and Libby would return, with Mallard cast as Ben. He made his screen return on 11 June 2014. The character returned again from 23 July 2015 until 16 November before making a permanent return on 31 March 2016, moving in with his grandparents. Mallard left the show in late 2017, with his on-screen departure airing on 10 April 2018. The character made two guest appearances on 31 December 2018 and 7 January 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imogen Willis</span> Fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours

Imogen Willis is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Ariel Kaplan. The actor was cast in the role after a quick process, in which she auditioned once and attended a screen test. She began filming her first scenes in early February 2013. Kaplan's character and her family were created and introduced to Neighbours, as part of an ongoing overhaul of the show's cast and renewed focus on family units within the show. She made her first screen appearance during "Episode 6646", which was broadcast on 20 May 2013. Kaplan returned in the first episode of the 2023 Neighbours revival.

Neighbours is a long-running Australian television soap opera created by television executive Reg Watson. It was first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985 and currently airs on digital channel 10 Peach. Since its inception, several spin-offs have been produced, including books, music, DVDs and internet webisodes. Several annuals and books by pulp fiction writer Carl Ruhen were released in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Barry Crocker's version of the theme tune was the first music release from the show, which also has included a Christmas album and the show's love theme. Two potential television spin-offs have reached the pilot stage, while five DVD box sets of Neighbours episodes from the beginning have been released. In 2013, Neighbours launched their first webisode series Steph in Prison. Several other webisode series have since been released. Other merchandise includes official video and board games, stationary and clothing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tyler Brennan</span> Fictional character

Tyler Brennan is a fictional character from the Australian television soap opera Neighbours, played by Travis Burns. The actor was asked to audition for the role in 2014, while he was working in the United States. After winning the role, Burns relocated to Australia. Neighbours marks Burns' first Australian television acting job. He made his first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 6 February 2015. Burns left the cast in late 2017, and Tyler made his on-screen departure on 27 February 2018. He made a brief return from 16 October 2018, and again on 3 April 2019.

Travis Robert Burns is an Australian actor and model. He first came to prominence with his role in the American action-drama television series, SAF3 (2013). He played Tyler Brennan in the long-running Australian television soap opera Neighbours from 2015 to 2019. After leaving Neighbours, Burns starred in the romance film Sunrise in Heaven (2019) and television films The Wrong Boy Next Door (2019), The Christmas Listing (2020), and Save the Wedding (2021).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aaron Brennan</span> Fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours

Aaron Brennan is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Matt Wilson. The actor originally auditioned for the role of Tyler Brennan and participated in a long casting process, during which he sent the producers a recording of himself performing a scene, before attending an audition. Producers ultimately selected Travis Burns to play Tyler, but created the additional role of Aaron for Wilson. Like Tyler, Aaron was introduced as the brother of established character Mark Brennan. Wilson relocated from Sydney to Melbourne for filming, and debuted four months after Tyler's arrival, on 16 June 2015. The character was initially intended to be a guest part, but due to Wilson's "endearing quality", he was promoted to the full-time cast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piper Willis</span> Fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours

Piper Willis is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Mavournee Hazel. The actress went through a long casting process, which involved her travelling to Melbourne to audition three times. Months later, she was offered the role. Hazel then relocated to the city from Sydney within three days, so she was available for fittings and filming the following week. Ahead of her first episode, Piper was introduced to viewers in a four-part webisode series called Hey Piper. She made her first appearance in the main show during the episode broadcast on 16 September 2015. Hazel chose to leave her role to pursue further acting opportunities, and her final scenes aired on 3 April 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elly Conway</span> Fictional character in the Australian soap opera Neighbours

Eleanor "Elly" Conway is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Jodi Gordon. She was originally played by Kendell Nunn from her first appearance on 13 December 2001, until her departure in May 2002. Neighbours marked Nunn's first television role. The character was introduced as Susan Kennedy's teenage niece, giving her instant connections within the show. Nunn said Elly had "a lot of attitude", while she was also billed as being rebellious and spirited. Elly did not like living in Ramsay Street, but she eventually befriends her neighbour Michelle Scully. A notable storyline for the character focused on her relationship with her estranged father Ian Conway. When she gets in contact with Ian, he leads her to believe that Susan's husband Karl Kennedy is actually her real father.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ned Willis</span> Soap opera character

Ned Willis is a fictional character from the Australian television soap opera Neighbours, played by Ben Hall. The character was created in the early 1990s, but he was not seen on-screen. Over twenty years later, the show's UK broadcaster Channel 5 confirmed that Hall had been cast in the role and would make a short guest appearance. He made his debut in the episode broadcast on 6 April 2016. Series producer Jason Herbison had plans to promote Hall to the regular cast, but he was unsure about making a long-term commitment to the show. Following his initial guest stint, Hall returned twice in August and November 2016. Ned is often portrayed as a complex, manipulative character, but he is a good person at heart. He tries to do things for the right reasons, but often goes about it in the wrong way. Hall thought Ned was close to becoming a bad boy at times, a trait he enjoyed playing. The character was introduced during the Hotel Death Trap storyline, in which the boiler room at Lassiters Hotel explodes, killing his half-brother and grandfather.

Halifax: Retribution is a continuation sequel to the original Halifax f.p. series (1994–2002) which premiered on 25 August 2020 on the Nine Network in Australia. Rebecca Gibney returns as Doctor Jane Halifax who, after years as a university professor, is brought back into the forensic psychiatrist field to help the police task force find a new serial killer. The series is again set in Melbourne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yashvi Rebecchi</span> Fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours

Yashvi Rebecchi is a fictional character from the Australian television soap opera Neighbours, played by Olivia Junkeer. She was created when producers struggled to find the right male actor to play the Rebecchis' son, which resulted in them changing the character's gender at the last moment. Yashvi was introduced along with her parents, sister and aunt as part of an expansion of the serial's Rebecchi family. Junkeer auditioned for the role shortly after finishing her last year of school. She doubted she would win the part, as the producers thought she was too old for the role. However, she learned she had been cast in December 2016 and she started on set the following month. Junkeer was pleased to be representing fellow women of colour on Australian television and said her on-screen family represented her own mixed-race family. She made her first appearance in the episode broadcast on 24 April 2017. Junkeer also played the role in the 2019 spin-off series Erinsborough High.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erinsborough High Fire</span> 2015 Neighbours storyline

The "Erinsborough High Fire" is a storyline from the Australian television soap opera Neighbours that ran on 20 and 21 October 2015, airing over episodes 7237 and 7238. These episodes were broadcast on 4 and 5 November 2015 in the United Kingdom. The storyline sees the fictional Erinsborough High School engulf in a deliberately-lit fire, which leads to a long arson mystery. Involving half the cast, the storyline was Neighbours' big stunt event of the year and came about when Paul Robinson sells the school to Eden Hills Grammar for it to be closed, causing the staff and the students to protest in a school sleep-out. Many characters' have their storylines climaxed whilst being trapped in the fire, including the love triangle between Brad Willis, Lauren Turner and Terese Willis when Brad chooses to save Lauren over Terese. Expecting mother Amber Turner and Susan Kennedy are trapped in a classroom during the fire when Amber goes into labour and the two are forced to decide whether to "fight or flight" in "genuinely frightening" scenes.

Jemma Donovan is a British-Australian actress. She made her on-screen debut in the BBC television film Mr Stink when she was 12 years old. In 2015, Donovan played Maddy Bastière in the French-American series Spotless. After relocating to Australia, Donovan joined the regular cast of Neighbours as Harlow Robinson. Three members of her family had previously starred in the soap opera, including her father Jason Donovan. She made her debut in July 2019 and also appeared in the spin-off series Neighbours: Erinsborough High. She left the serial in July 2022. Shortly after moving back to the United Kingdom, Donovan secured the role of "party girl" Rayne Royce who died from being pushed in her swimming pool by Romeo Nightingale in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks.

References

  1. ↑ Hazel, Mavournee [@mavournee] (20 March 2021). "this is 25" . Retrieved 19 July 2023– via Instagram.
  2. ↑ Rigden, Claire (10 April 2018). "Exclusive: Neighbours' co-stars Rebekah Elmaloglou and Mavournee Hazel gush over their working relationship". TV Week . Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Meegan, Genevieve (19 September 2020). "'I don't think we are meant to look at ourselves this much'". SA Life . Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Mavournee Hazel joins Neighbours". 10 Play. 24 August 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  5. ↑ Knox, David (16 January 2017). "Mavournee Hazel: The pressure of following Margot Robbie". TV Tonight . Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  6. ↑ Moore, Matt (16 July 2020). "Neighbours star Mavournee Hazel comes out as demisexual". Gay Times . Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  7. 1 2 Kilkelly, Daniel (18 August 2015). "Neighbours bringing in Piper Willis as actress Mavournee Hazel lands role". Digital Spy . Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 Graetz, Anthony (23 December 2015). "Local it-girl Mavournee Hazel". CLIQUE Mag. Archived from the original on 10 August 2016. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  9. ↑ Kilkelly, Daniel (16 September 2015). "Meet Piper Willis: Neighbours introduces its newest regular in special webisodes". Digital Spy . Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  10. ↑ Dainty, Sophie (26 August 2016). "Neighbours reveals a brand new web spinoff as Piper Willis looks back on a crazy week". Digital Spy . Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  11. ↑ "Network Ten announces new Neighbours webisodes". Mumbrella. 28 November 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  12. ↑ Kilkelly, Daniel (22 October 2017). "Neighbours brings back Paul Robinson's son Robert for Halloween time travel series". Digital Spy . Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  13. ↑ Davies, Megan (24 July 2018). "Inside Soap Awards 2018 full longlist revealed: Which Corrie, EastEnders, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks stars are up?". Digital Spy . Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  14. 1 2 3 Hockey, Maddison (9 April 2019). "Mavournee Hazel opens up about her decision to walk away from Neighbours". TV Week . Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  15. 1 2 3 Gavin, Rachael (2020). "Mavournee Hazel on playing Zoe in Halifax: Retribution — her first major role after leaving Neighbours". 9Entertainment . Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  16. ↑ Watkins, Mike (5 August 2021). "Lucy Lawless crime drama My Life is Murder comes to DVD". ATV Today . Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  17. ↑ "Star studded cast join Rebecca Gibney on Nine's Halifax: Retribution". VicScreen. 1 July 2019. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 Woolford, Lisa (15 September 2022). "Ready for her close up". The Toowoomba Chronicle . Retrieved 17 July 2023– via PressReader.
  19. 1 2 Newall, Steve (13 July 2023). "Home Kills answers the question 'what if butchers processed people to pay the bills?'". Flicks . Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  20. ↑ Otterson, Joe (12 June 2023). "'NCIS: Sydney' Sets Main Cast, With Olivia Swann and Todd Lasance in Lead Roles". Variety . Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  21. ↑ "Neighbours actress Mavournee Hazel wants to take more risks with her future". The Advertiser . 6 June 2018. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  22. ↑ Campbell, Amy (6 August 2018). "Mavournee Hazel: Neighbours' Cool Kid Is Going To Be The Next Big Thing". GQ Australia . Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  23. ↑ "Mavournee Hazel" (PDF). Sue Barnett & Associates. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.