Spy: Kiwi actor Sara Wiseman filming Aussie drama, High Country

Kiwi acting star Sara Wiseman is fresh from filming Hollywood blockbuster Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes in Sydney and is now on the set of her latest big Aussie TV series. Photo / Supplied

Kiwi acting super talent Sara Wiseman is fresh from filming Hollywood blockbuster Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes in Sydney and is now on the set of her latest big Aussie TV series.

Wiseman is filming Foxtel’s mystery-drama High Country alongside Wentworth’s Leah Purcell, Mystery Road’s Aaron Pedersen and Irish actor and Game of Thrones star Ian McElhinney.

When Spy caught up with Wiseman, she had been filming in the Victorian wilderness for three weeks and it was her first day of filming with McElhinney.

The anticipated series sees detective Andrea Whitford (Purcell) transferred to High Country Victoria, where she is thrust into a baffling mystery after five people vanish into the wilderness. Through an edge-of-the-seat, high-stakes investigation, the detective uncovers a complex web involving murder, deceit and revenge.

The other headlining actors’ roles are yet to be revealed, but Wiseman says she is over the moon with her character, and the incredible cast, crew, creatives and production team.

Wiseman says Purcell and Pederson are deeply respected and celebrated in Australia.

“I worked with Aaron on A Place To Call Home, he always lifts everyone’s game in the nicest way.

“The creators and writers, Wentworth’s Marcia Gardner and John Ridley, have manifested a quintessential Australian thriller crafted around Leah.”

Wiseman — who starred in NZ thrillers One Lane Bridge and The Sounds — says as with those shows, High Country could not be filmed in any country but the one in which it was written.

“I love that it honours the unique identity of a place. The integrity of Marcia’s and John’s writing and the mastery of the curve balls thrown as the story progresses was an absolute page-turner to read.”

Wiseman has enjoyed some truly spectacular locations with vast Outback vistas, big horizon skies and wild kangaroos in fields most days, and h the quintessential sounds of raucous birdlife.

She says under this Australian Government there has been a resurgence in, and deliberate financial attention given to honouring and supporting local content.

“We are nothing without our own culture and identity. It’s more than just a phrase, it’s the fabric of who we are. If we do not see ourselves represented on screens it’s like we have been abandoned by those who govern us.

“I cannot shout that from the rooftops enough. I wish that level of support so much for our NZ industry.”

Wiseman says the series is her biggest Australian project since A Place to Call Home, in which she famously co-starred with husband Craig Hall.

Filming a blockbuster movie like Apes, which will be released next year, was a fantastic experience, Wiseman says.

“Sometimes you get super lucky with the dynamics of a cast and director, producer connection,” she says.

“A film of that enormous scale, you might think the producers would avoid getting too close to the actors, but in this case, it was the opposite — Jason Reed, and Joe Hartwick jnr were just the best kind of people.”

Wiseman says the cast all became an immediate surrogate family for each other and she absolutely adores every single one of them.

“I wish I could share more news about my character and the content of the movie but it’s completely under wraps with Disney.

“Weta and our wonderful director, Wes Ball (The Maze Runner trilogy) are currently in edit suites making magic and I’m sure there will be a teaser trailer out soon.”