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FIONA TODD AS CORPORATE LAWYER RUTH SHARP |
Ruth is in her early 30’s, tall, elegant and glamorous with long legs, and hair that can be seen from the moon.
As CHAT-AM’s corporate lawyer she’s a powerful, no-nonsense woman with ice in her veins. She’s a young Maggie Thatcher on speed.
When Ruth turns up, careers come to an end. She is the will of her employer, and his will be done. Barry, of course, falls instantly in love with her. Tracy has a sneaking admiration for her. Jack is terrified of her.
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"Ruth Sharp is a divine construction. She’s taken on the whole 80s thing and believes it. She’ll believe one thing one day and another the next. She’s hard as steel and quite the chameleon and adopts the colours of whoever is paying her. She’s a corporate lawyer so she has to seriously march in every week and say we’ve got a new owner and instruct the station on what the owner’s wishes are. She takes great pleasure in the power.
"Because she is so powerful she doesn’t have to really be nice to anyone but she takes pleasure in being really sweet and lovely at times because everybody’s handed over his or her whole life to her. It’s a delight to do of course."
"She’s someone with no sense of irony about herself. You don’t need to do anything when you’re wearing outfits like Ruth’s. I get into wardrobe and forget that I’m made up like this. The reaction from everyone in the production is priceless and I’m suddenly taken more seriously. I’ve got these fantastic high heels, these tiny, tiny little skirts and these huge jackets, with monstrous shoulder pads, that just get bigger every week. I have this fabulous big hair, very big eye make up, nails, jewellery, lots of gold and tiny, little leather briefcases."
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FIONA TALKS ABOUT THE 80s |
"I had the best flicks of all the girls at my school. I had all the gestures down pat, including that toss the head back with hands on hips manoeuvre. I had a little face with enormous Farrah Fawcett-style hair. I fancied myself to be a bit alternative, which I wasn’t really. Molly on A Country Practice was a bit of an icon for me. I used to wear these pants with braces and those asymmetrical side button pants, and I painted my own clothes, that sort of stuff - all with big flicks!
"People took the 80s all so seriously and when you look back there seems to have been a whole lot of dumb ideas and dumb clothes. Everyone was investing and it was like ‘we’ve arrived, this is where it’s at and all that other stuff is merely leading to here. This outfit, this attitude is the end point of everything we’ve been doing.’ "
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FIONA TODD - MINI BIOGRAPHY |
Victorian College of the Arts graduate Fiona Todd’s television credits include guest lead roles in Blue Heelers and Janus. Radio credits are Crazy Brave and ABC Radio serial The Gate Keepers.
Fiona’s theatrical credits include Pride and Prejudice (with Matthew Dyktynski), The Grapes of Wrath and Scenes from a Separation for the Melbourne Theatre Company; Inside 2000 Season, Burning Time and Crazy Brave for Melbourne’s Playbox Theatre. Other works include Sharon Lily Screwdriver/Spumante Romantica, My Body, My Body, Panacea, Bab X, Mass, Violet Inc and So Wet.
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