It’s a “tough old time” in the entertainment industry right now, sighs Jackie van Beek, but it seems that the Kiwi star is busier than ever as an actress, director and also as a producer.
“I feel incredibly grateful and privileged to be able to still jump between different jobs and pull together an income, so I can get the kids to uni and try to make the mortgage payment every month,” she smiles.
The multi-talented Aucklander is Zooming in from California, where she is working as a director on a couple of commercials. “I’m going to whip home for a few days, see the kids, then I’ll whip back for more LA life.”
Jackie van Beek is currently on our screens as the lead in Netflix movie Audrey, a hilarious Aussie black comedy.
“I play Ronnie Lipsick, a washed-up soap star,” Jackie grins. “She tries to resurrect her career by taking on her daughter’s identity after she falls into a coma. This is a very funny, very dark, twisted comedy.”
It’s a genre we’ve come to associate with Jackie van Bleek, who had us in stitches as Laura in the equally quirky Kiwi film Nude Tuesday. “I absolutely love drama and comedy, but my favourite balance are these slightly dark comedies. I like things that push boundaries.”
The creator, director and star of The Breaker Upperers has had to do the hard yards to get where she is today. She says, “I started in these small fringe theatres, doing some gloriously silly things.”
She made her way up through the ranks alongside her good friends Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement, her co-stars in What We Do In The Shadows, but laughs off any comparison to them at all.
“I would not put myself in the same category as Taika!” Jackie chuckles, although she admits that working with her contemporaries has paid off. “If you manage to stumble onto something that feels fun and you have a vision for it, that’s the path to success. There’s some real silliness we’ve always had and we’ve just stuck to our guns.”
Jackie van Bleek was always destined for stardom. “I never really thought about doing anything else!” she exclaims. “There was a thought about becoming an animal psychologist, but that lasted about a week. I also took my taxi licence when I bought my house on Waiheke Island.
“I was going to start a little company called Jax Cabs, but after I got it, I thought, ‘I think this was just a joke inside my own head!’. Sometimes I’ll do things and I can’t tell whether it’s a joke or whether I’m doing it for real.”
Despite her love of all things silly, the star is serious when it comes to her career and her family. “I care about both so much,” she says thoughtfully.
“I love my kids more than anything in the world, but I absolutely love being creative. When I met my husband Jesse [Griffin, a fellow Kiwi comedian] 18 years ago, maybe even on the first night, we sat down on the couch after a number of tequilas and we both said we really, really wanted kids. But we wanted to be working in the creative arts too. We said it would definitely always be 50:50.”
Along with Jonny Brugh, the couple co-created the improvised comedy show Educators. They’ve worked together many times over the years, recently writing and directing the Aussie version
of The Office.
“We had this great plan – keep our overheads low, so we can keep our creativity high! But somehow we’ve got an astronomical mortgage and I’m now spending time directing commercials. What is happening?! But it’s all fun. Jesse and I laugh a lot about everything, even the mortgage.”
Although Jackie van Bleek has made a concerted effort not to be a stage mum – unlike Ronnie, her character in Audrey – all three of her children, June, 17, Emmett, 16, and Cassie, 13, have shown a flair for creativity.
“I’ve always encouraged them in the arts because Jesse and I have a fantastic time doing what we do. We’re not always paid a lot for work, but we’re very lucky to be able to make a good income.
“I hope I’m quite different from Ronnie in that I have more work-life balance. My three wonderful children are immensely talented in many areas. I do struggle to not push them in a direction I think they should be going or have great potential for. I just try to always gently nudge and enthusiastically encourage.”
Now her kids are starting to leave the nest, Jackie has more time to focus on her booming career. Working with people she loves and having a laugh along the way.
She grins, “I want to be able to say, ‘Boy, did we have a good time trying to create something magical’. Life isn’t really about growing up and becoming serious!”
Audrey is now streaming on Netflix.
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