Toni's road to happiness
Her life takes her from the Oscars’ red carpet to the back of a grubby band tour bus, and Toni Collette could not be happier.
Toni Collette at the premiere of Japanese Story in Syney.
Collette, who married Sydney drummer Dave Galafassi of Gelbison in January this year, has taken a brief break from travelling with her husband on his band’s Australian tour to promote her latest film, Japanese Story.
“I’m a groupie,” she said.
“It’s great. I love it. I’ve been in Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Maroochydore, the past few days.”
When the tour finishes, Collette will take the rest of the year off to work on her own music.
“My husband and I have just finished building a r.ecording studio in an old shed at our property in New South Wales. I think that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to take the rest of the year off,” she said ahead of last night’s Sydney premiere.
Collette shot to fame with her portrayal of the overweight and downtrodden title character in Muriel’s Wedding.
Her career since has been a mix of edgy independent fare (Velvet Goldmine, The Boys) and bona fide blockbusters (About a Boy, Changing Lanes, Shaft, The Sixth Sense – for which she was nominated for an Oscar).
Collette is now in the happy position of only having to accept roles in films she believes in – something she admitted had not always been the case.
“Having worked on some films that I don’t totally believe in, I now know I can only work on films that I fully believe in because it involves too much and it’s too taxing and too exhausting,” she said.
“I’m not going to tell you which ones!”
Japanese Story is a case in point. Collette worked for less than her usual Hollywood pay packet to portray a geologist who has a love affair with a Japanese client in the Pilbara.
“I don’t really look at how much I’m being paid.
“It’s certainly wonderful to earn more, but it’s not something that would stop me doing something that I love.”
The film opens on September 25.