The Heart of Goldie

From the Sydney Morning Herald, The Guide; page 3, 8 June 1997.

The character played by Catherine McClements in Water Rats is smart and tough. CERENTHA HARRIS finds that the actor, too, is down-to-earth - and not afraid to be frank.

CATHERINE McClements is fuming. Her partner has been accused of murder and she is defending his reputation. As Detective Senior Constable Goldstein, McClements confronts the chief inspector with the authority of a seasoned copper, all bravado and angry disbelief.

The tape marks and electrical cords scattered across the floor, the huge film camera and the crew crowded into the corners of the Water Rats headquarters all melt into the background as everyone is drawn into the scene.

Then Peter Bensley, who plays Chief Inspector Jeff Hawker, flubs his line and the spell is broken. You can feel the crew cringe; it is almost lunch and this is a long scene with complicated camera angles. They want it done.

McClements breaks into a fabulous dimpled smile. She gives a deep guffaw and jokes with Bensley that at least she got through her long speech. Any tension is broken and the actors return to their places. The next take is perfect. In that moment McClements has revealed much about herself. She's a team player, she's passionate about her work and she knows when to laugh.

Filming ends and McClements collects her lunch, a plate of vegetables and rice, and heads off to her trailer. It's a demountable perched on the edge of Goat Island - a tiny haven in the middle of Sydney Harbour that has been transformed by the production company, Southern Star, into the Water Police headquarters. From McClements' window there's a breathtaking view of the Harbour Bridge, only slightly marred by grey weather. "You really get a sense of Sydney as a harbour city," McClements says, gazing out at the rain. "I love that there's no traffic, no cars. It's a beautiful place to work."

There are layers of Sydney history on Goat Island which intrigue McClements. Strewn across her desk are photos of the island's yesteryear inhabitants: women swimming, men in old-fashioned suits in front of sandstone buildings. She tells the story of a convict tied to the pier by his neck for two years: "Late at night you can still hear his screams."

McClements, who is well into the second season of Water Rats, has spent enough time on the island to hear them. Today's schedule is typical; she's awake at 5am, picked up by a boat and dropped off at Goat Island by six. She's in every scene and will work until at least 9pm.

"I'm rooted! I feel like I'm going to be exhausted for the rest of my life, the schedule is so full-on," she says.

Growing up in suburban Melbourne, McClements wasn't one of those children holding plays in the attic and quoting Hamlet during dinner. She came to acting by accident. With both parents working, McClements and her two sisters and brother went to after-school activities. McClements' pottery class was cancelled and she had to attend drama with her older sister.

"There was lots of primal screaming," McClements says with a grin. "It was pretty freaky; I felt like I was surrounded by nutcases. It was a terrible introduction to acting."

That didn't stop her from auditioning for NIDA nine years later - on a bet. "My friend was really keen about the drama thing, but she chickened out at the last minute. I was there, so I went through with it." She widens her eyes. "I got in! I had braces and plaits and looked about 12. I think they chose me because they saw potential. It had to be potential, because there wasn't much talent there."

Three years at NIDA resulted in a string of movie roles, none of which McClements is particularly proud of. "Ultimately I think I was too young for NIDA. You get out of it what you bring to it and I was so earnest, so serious."

Her first film was The Right Hand Man, with Rupert Everett and Hugo Weaving. "I was so f--ing nervous the whole time I could barely speak." The film has been called "Mad Max on Hooves", McClements says with a laugh. "I call it crap."

Every now and then McClements comes out with an incredibly frank comment and you are reminded just how down-to-earth this woman is.

"Look, most of my films have been pretty dodgy. I got an AFI for Weekend with Kate because there really wasn't a lot of competition. I don't consider my acting in it exceptional. I've never been pleased with what I've done on film; I just don't seem to be able to crack it."

McClements certainly appears to have cracked the role of the hard-nosed Goldstein on Water Rats. The character is smart and tough and can joke around with the boys on duty; off duty she can be sexy and vulnerable.

McClements guffaws at Goldie's string of lovers. "How many people have asked to marry me on the show? God, if only. It's a bit of a joke on set - don't ask me to marry you because I'll have to kill you. It seems everyone I sleep with meets with some terrible accident."

One of her lovers turned out to be a corrupt cop and a murderer. "How could Goldie fall in love with a murderer? Didn't she ever guess, spot a bit of blood on the collar?" says McClements in mock horror. "She was really stupid in that episode, but I guess she was in love."

McClements is reticent about her private life, sheepishly admitting to a predilection for dance parties. She is more comfortable chatting about her character. "It's great that people are responding so well to her. I actually didn't set out to play a strong female character, I just wanted to be believable. I try really hard to not be nice; I hate that fake niceness you get on TV."

To research her role McClements followed three women detectives. "God, it can be a hideous place for women; there's a real boys' club feel to it. The key is a sense of humour. Without it they'd be lost."

She also learnt to handle a gun. "I thought I'd enjoy it, you know, guns and shooting and all that stuff. But the reality of it was pretty scary. We were shooting into a huge lump of jelly that's supposed to mimic a human body and it really struck me how bizarre this was, that you could actually kill someone."

Asked about her plans, McClements rolls her eyes. "People keep asking me that. I don't know; I'm a very bad planner. I'm totally focused on this right now and ... I have no idea that any other world exists."