They star in the Back to the Rafters revival, which is set to air on Amazon Prime in September, with the series picking up six years after audiences left family favourites Rebecca Gibney and Erik Thompson in Packed to the Rafters.The Rafter parents have created a new life in the country with youngest daughter Ruby, while the older children – including Haig, who replaces Jessica Marais as Rachel, and Le, who plays Ben Rafter’s wife, Cassie – face new challenges.Haig, who played Paula Yates in INXS: Never Tear Us Apart, bears a striking resemblance to Marais, and tells Insider replacing her was a big responsibility.“I’m aware of how much fans love her character and I was so honoured to have the opportunity to play her and do her justice, but when I read the script I felt calmer because it was all on the page,” the 36-year-old says.“When you’re given dialogue like that, and the relationships are all still there, I felt confident I could approach it like I do any role and do my best.“I have a lot in common with Rachel, so I felt I could bring so much of me to the role.“The performers bring so much of themselves to the role because it’s natural, too … it’s people we know and love but are flawed – and having all the generations as well mean that everyone can connect with someone in the show.”In the much-awaited reboot, Rachel has been in New York for six years and, on her return, feels disconnected from her family.Growing up on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, Haig and screenwriter husband Joshua Mapleston, and daughter Greta, have lived in Los Angeles for the past 10 years, so she relates to Rachel’s story.“The story is Rachel has got a secret but she’s about to see her family a lot more and let them in and she’s been not wanting to be vulnerable in that way,” Haig says.“She’s very independent and loves her life in New York but she’s had to confront her family.“I relate to that because I’ve lived overseas and there’s always that slight disconnect when you come back.“It was amazing to get to work with Rebecca and Eric – and I’d worked with Hugh Sheridan on INXS, so it was delightful to work with him again.“It felt like coming into a real family. They were so welcoming to me and I was incredibly grateful because they knew I was coming in not knowing the same history.”Filmed in mid February 2020, the production was shut down by Covid-19 in March with three weeks of filming to go. It was finally finished five months later.While Haig now calls Melbourne home, in a case of life imitating art, she and four-year-old daughter Greta moved in with her family in Sydney while shooting the show.“It was a joyous thing to get back to work,” she says. “My daughter and I went and moved in with my Mum for three months. It was like real-life Packed to the Rafters with three generations in our own house, but I found a lot of comfort in us all being together under one roof.“Greta always had someone different to play with. She played in Mum’s yard and we got back to basics cooking and walking – it was the most relaxed time. It was like the whole world had to stop and take a breath.”Le grew up a big Rafters fan, so being cast for the upcoming series was a dream for the Sydneysider, who was born in Vietnam but grew up in Melbourne and trained at the HB Studio in New York and the Beverly Hills Playhouse in LA.“I couldn’t believe I get to be a Rafter,” she laughs.“The family are as nice off screen as they are on screen – it can be so intimidating but they were so welcoming.“It’s such an iconic series – one of the most popular Australian series ever, and in terms of diversity I was so thrilled at being Asian-Australian, and having a Rafter represented in that way is such a big win for Australian television.”The 39-year-old mother of Scout, 4, and Sailor, 2, recently moved to the Blue Mountains and has been a series regular on the ABC’s Bed of Roses, Kick on SBS, and Neighbours on Channel 10, as well as guest roles on Mr Inbetween 2 and Sea Patrol.“My character, Cassie, is very devoted to her family and is always putting them before herself,” Le says.“Her journey is working out what her needs are versus what she wants.“She has a lot of trauma through the series but always puts on a happy face and puts other people ahead of her. However, she really has to work out what’s best for her and her relationship.“The message, ultimately, is that family love and connection gets you through no matter what you’re going through. “There are poignant, dramatic scenes but it’s quickly buoyant and light, and that’s life. It’s life but on speed and all the characters are down-to-earth and true to life.”Even as a teenager, Le always wanted to be an actor and followed her instincts, despite pushback from her parents who wanted her to have a “stable” life and career.“I got small independent theatre jobs that paid no money and eventually I got an agent and chipped away, but it took me 10 years to get a decent role,” she says.“Sometimes I feel it was almost like being in a toxic relationship because you’re at the whim and mercy of things out of your control but if you have a good relationship it can be healthy.“Acting is this thing that if you don’t do it then you’re not being your full self, and you just know no matter how hard, it calls you, and you have to follow through.“My parents told me not to do it. I had so much resistance from my family … there were no examples of Asian-Australians on screen, so they said there was no future there.“People used to laugh at me – Footscray in the ’90s was a rough place and people didn’t have lofty ambitions to be in the arts, so it was a lonely pursuit at times – but now they can see I’ve made a career out of it. When you have that insatiable itch, nothing will stop you.”Back To The Rafters streams on Amazon Prime Video from September 17NAT – Stay Informed – Social Media
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