Rachael Blake

Rachael Morelle Blake (born 1971) is an Australian actress.

"Rachel Blake" redirects here. For the Lost character, see Lost Experience. For the character in Fringe, see List of Fringe characters § Rachel Dunham Blake.

Rachael Blake
Born
Rachael Morelle Blake

1971 (age 49–50)
Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Other namesRachel Blake
OccupationActress
Spouse(s)Tony Martin (2003–present)
AwardsFantasporto Award for Best Actress
2004 Perfect Strangers
IF Award for Best Actress
2001 Lantana
Logie Award for Most Outstanding Actress in a Series
1999 Wildside

Early life

Blake was born in Perth, Western Australia. At the age of 18 months, she moved to England with her English parents, only to return to Perth at age 11.[1]

Blake was born deaf in one ear, a condition that was rectified by a series of operations undertaken before she was six. To overcome shyness[1] and her hearing problem,[2] her mother enrolled her in elocution lessons, which she continued until age 17.[1]

After attending the John Curtin College of the Arts high school in Perth, she applied to Sydney's National Institute of Dramatic Art ("NIDA") at age 17. but was rejected due to her age. She was accepted to NIDA when she was 19.[1]

Acting career

At 13, Blake was cast in a short film. Blake's first film role was in the Australian children's movie Paws. After studying at NIDA, she worked on Australian television shows Home and Away (as Mandy Thomas), Pacific Drive, and Heartbreak High. In 1997, she took the role of Dr Maxine Summers in the ABC crime drama Wildside.

She has also starred in several films, including 2001's Lantana with Anthony LaPaglia, as well as 2003's Perfect Strangers for which she won the Fantasporto Award for Best Actress. Between 2006–2007, she played Hilary Davenport in the British satirical black comedy Suburban Shootout. She played "Belinda" in a British TV movie, Clapham Junction, in 2007. In 2009, she starred in the UKTV mini-series False Witness. She also played a main role in The Prisoner. In 2010, she portrayed Hazel Hawke in the telemovie Hawke.

Blake played the character of Clara in the erotic drama Sleeping Beauty.[3]

In 2012, Blake portrayed Kris Perry in the theatre production of 8 in Sydney and Melbourne. In 2013, she portrayed Lady Tuckworth in the HBO Asia series Serangoon Road. She played a main role in the 2014 drama film Melody, for which she has received recognition (see below). She appeared in the 2016 film Gods of Egypt.

Awards and honours

Blake won the Silver Logie Award for 'Most Outstanding Actress' at the Logie Awards (1999).[4] She was nominated four times at the Australian film Institute (since 2011 called the AACTA Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards) and won the award for 'Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Television Drama' for Wildside in 1998[5] and 'Best Actress for a Supporting role' for Lantana in 2001.[6] She received the Montréal World Film Festival Award for Best Actress for her portrayal, in the title role, in the 2014 drama film Melody (2014).[7] In 2004, she won the Best Actress (Melhor Actriz) - Directors' Week Award at Fantasporto film festival (2004) and the Best Actress Award at Pacific Meridian film festival, Vladivostok for Perfect Strangers (2003).[8] In 2018, she was part of the ensemble cast that won the 'Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble Series in a Drama Series' by Equity Ensemble Awards 2018 for Cleverman (2016)[9]

Personal life

In 2003, she married Wildside co-star Tony Martin.[10] They later starred together in Serangoon Road.[11]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
1997 Paws Amy
2000 Blindman's Bluff Sophie Short
2001 Lantana Jane O'May
2001 The Letter Narrator (voice)
2002 Whispering in the Dark Woman Short
2003 Perfect Strangers Melanie
2004 Tom White Helen White
2005 Derailed Susan Davis
2006 Riot or Revolution: Eureka Stockade 1854 Narrator
2008 Summer Katy
2009 Pinprick Miriam
2010 Cherry Tree Lane Christine
2011 Sleeping Beauty Clara
2014 My Mistress Kate Boyd
2014 Melody Emily
2015 Truth Betsy West
2016 Gods of Egypt Isis
2017 Breath Mrs. Pike
2018 The Second The Writer Completed
2018 Slam Joanne Hendricks released 2018

Television
Year Title Role Notes
1995–1997 Home and Away Mandy Thomas Recurring role
1996 Fire Beatrice "Vendetta I"
1996 Heartbreak High Lara "4.20"
1997 Water Rats Carly Bridges "Stolen Time"
1997–1999 Wildside Maxine Summers Main role
2000 Nowhere to Land Anne Prescott TV film
2000 The Three Stooges Helen Howard TV film
2003 Grass Roots Faith Twohill "Art", "Prostitution", "Investigation"
2003 Dying to Leave Narrator TV film
2004 Auf Wiedersehen, Pet Naomi Hedges "Au Revoir: Parts 1 & 2"
2006 Bon Voyage Elizabeth Aldred TV miniseries
2006–07 Suburban Shootout Hilary Davenport Main role
2007 Clapham Junction Belinda Hopkirk TV film
2008 Lewis Ann Kriel "Music to Die For"
2009 False Witness Det. Chief Insp. Julie Hales TV film
2009 The Prisoner M2 TV miniseries
2010 Hawke Hazel Hawke TV film
2012 The Straits Natasha Main role
2013 Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries Ailsa Wilton "Blood at the Wheel"
2013 Serangoon Road Lady Tuckworth Main role
2016 Rake Ruth Rogers "4.1", "4.2", "4.3"
2017 Cleverman Marion Frith Main role (series 2)

References
  1. "Partly deaf, tearful and shy". Sunday Mail. Advertiser Newspapers Limited. 12 October 2003. p. 105.
  2. Curtis, Maree (12 October 2003). "Unknown Rachael comes of age". Sunday Mail. Advertiser Newspapers Limited. p. 105.
  3. Stratton, David (25 June 2011). "Sleeping Beauty's naked provocation is no fairytale" (film review). The Australian. Retrieved 10 June 2016. When Lucy apparently decides she needs to augment her income, she answers an ad and finds herself in a large, isolated house being interviewed by elegant Clara (Rachael Blake). Clara, it seems, runs an establishment that, though not exactly a brothel in the accepted sense, does bring together attractive young women and older men.
  4. "Logie Awards (1999)". IMDb.
  5. "Wildside - Awards". IMDb.
  6. "Lantana - Awards". IMDb.
  7. "Awards of the world film festival - Montréal 2014". Montreal World Film Festival.
  8. "Perfect Strangers - Awards". IMDb.
  9. "Cleverman - Awards". IMDb.
  10. "Rachael Blake". Screenwise. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  11. "Serangoon Road: cast". Australian Television Information Archive. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
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