Brooke Satchwell plays Josh’s wife Beth who’s in the end stages of motor neurone disease and wants to be able die on her own terms. Kate (Frances O’Connor) is their doctor. As we saw in the first episode, Beth and Josh reveal they have bought a drug they’re hoping to use so that Beth can end her life in a way they hope will be peaceful and painless. Kate confiscates the drug but Beth ends up taking her own life in another way. It’s a powerful performance from Satchwell, and a pivotal part of the 10-episode series. You wonder if exploring such a deeply emotional landscape took its toll on the cast. “Emotions can be addictive,” Arnold explains. “It was a great thing at drama school where they took us through shaking it off at the end of the day, but you can get into modes and they can stick with you … you just have to consciously break out if you want to be a sane human being for the rest of your life.”It is truly a stunning production — dealing with a range of confronting subject matter from suicide, euthanasia, depression, gender dysmorphia — handled in a humane and humorous way. It’s also an impressive and “completely intimidating level of talent,” Arnold says, with a laugh about the ensemble cast including his fellow WAAPA graduate O’Connor, Noni Hazlehurst, Roy Billing, John Waters and the magnificent Dame Harriet Walter. “I’m so proud to have been part of it,” Arnold, currently also on our screens as Lewis Hayes in Home And Away, says.
“It came up from the script to begin with. Everyone who read the script was raving and wanting to be a part of it. It’s so funny and the drama is so great and the characters are so deep. There’s just a real vulnerability to everyone and a believability. It’s truly a real joy.”With demand at a high across the globe for TV, the 36-year-old believes the influx of international productions heading to Australia will only benefit the local industry.“I always feel like Australia does benefit the more stuff we are doing,” Arnold muses. “Truthfully, it’s hard to make anything good, even when you get great people and a great idea and everything comes together. It’s a little bit of a numbers game, which is why I’m hopeful at the moment with more overseas productions coming here that it gives boon to the industry overall. It means more people are working and have a chance to keep their skills sharp.”He explains: “when there isn’t enough stuff going on, we lose a lot of people from the industry – we’re all freelancers essentially. If there’s no chance to go to another job, people have to go and do other things if they want to support their families.”Arnold says he’s been lucky, he’s almost always been just one step ahead of COVID. And while it certainly wasn’t the year he, and let’s face it anyone of us, had planned he feels fortunate. He was supposed to be on a world book tour, for his debut novel, The Last Smile in Sunder City and its sequel Dead Man in a Ditch, which were both released in 2020.A third book in the fantasy Fetch Phillips Archives series is underway.He had grand plans to be an author until acting took the lead. It was only a few years ago, after Arnold ticked enough boxes in the acting world, that he felt comfortable to create his first manuscript and local publisher Hachette Australia snapped it up.While some can write in tandem with other projects, Arnold has to take a break from everything else and pour all his energy and focus into his book.“It’s funny, some people can finish a full day and then go and put their hour [of writing] in – I’m really bad at that,” he laughs. “That’s why it’s worked with me and acting because you find yourself in a period where you’re probably not going to do any acting for two months and I can sink into (writing).”He adds: “I’m getting to know other fantasy authors and plenty work as doctors and in other careers and manage to pull out a big epic fantasy every year.“It’s very admirable – for me, I can’t even respond to emails or texts. I just have to take a break from everything.”
* The End, 8.30pm, Tuesday, Fox Showcase
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