Claude Scott-Mitchell is an actor attuned to the nuances of storytelling, drawn to characters whose internal landscapes are as rich and complex as the worlds they inhabit. With a discerning eye for scripts that unsettle, challenge, or ignite something intangible, she moves through roles with an intellect that makes her presence on screen all the more compelling. Now, she steps into The Last Anniversary, the highly anticipated adaptation of Liane Moriarty’s novel, bringing to life the role of Grace – a woman navigating the unspoken depths of postpartum depression within a family bound by generations of inherited secrets.

Ahead of the show’s release, we spoke to Scott-Mitchell about the emotional weight of the role, the singular energy of an Australian production, and the books that keep her mind alight between scripts.

Had you read the novel before filming? If so, was there anything about your character or the story that surprised you when bringing it to life on screen?

I had! Liane’s beautiful story of this charming, albeit slightly dysfunctional family was so compelling and I knew it was in safe hands with Made Up Stories, who had already made Big Little Lies and Nine Perfect Strangers together. I suppose because I was so drawn into Grace’s storyline, it was only when we sat down for the table read that I realised how funny the show was! Which then turned into weeks of me walking onto set feeling like I was bringing the vibes down! I jest. I think the writer Sam Strauss brought such a delightfully funny edge to these women. For anyone who has had equally colourful matriarchs in their life, the show certainly honours them.

What drew you to your role, and how did you approach portraying her?

Well, for a story that examines female matriarchs, inherited trauma and motherhood, I felt as though Grace is where we see this manifest in real time. She’s a new mum, she’s suffering from postpartum depression, which is a subject I don’t believe we as a society explore enough, so that was very enticing. Grace felt very separate from the rest of the family, separate from the other storylines. And I found that to be a really interesting place to go to. For what was a very joyous set, I did find myself having to steal away and find that space and that world where she went to. Usually silence really helps me, but with this one I found little tapes and recordings of writers reading their work which just took me somewhere, and allowed me to easily duck in and out of her headspace.

I read a lot on postnatal depression leading up to the shoot, I was put in touch with a number of women who were kind enough to share their experiences with me, and really gave me such a broad range of places to explore in the series. One extraordinarily brave women told me her experience with PPD found her breaking several of her teeth from clenching from the anger she experienced. And after that I really just wanted to tell the story with enough empathy and care that the experience was truthful and real.

How does working on an Australian drama like The Last Anniversary compare to your past filming experiences?

I think what sets The Last Anniversary apart from my other film experiences was how many women were at the helm of this project. All of the leads in our show are women, it’s a story about women, and men of course but really at the heart of it, these are female experiences that we explored. It was a really caring and supportive atmosphere on set. John Polson our director felt like one of the girls, he has two daughters and his best friends are women, some of whom made this show, so I think he really set the tone on set. There was one day where he brought one of his daughters on set to watch, it was a scene where I was having a cesarean, I was so nervous she would be really freaked out, but she was having a ball, watching the monitor getting into the spirit of it all, and I just remember thinking, this is why we do it, here we are exploring such an intimate part of the female experience and this girl has been brought by her father to share in that.

What do you look for in a role or story? Do you have a preference for a particular genre or type of character?

I’m quite discerning in what I look for in a script or in a character. In many ways it’s the same reasons that make me pick up a book. Am I engaged? Is this making me question what I’m looking at? Am I afraid, am I enraged? Sometimes I pick up a book and I hate it, but something about this strange little thread in there keeps me looking.

It’s such an interesting time to be an actor, it used to feel like there were so many guardrails on what type of performer you were, and therefore what scripts came your way. Now it just feels like you’re wading through so much quote on quote ‘content’, a symptom of the media world we now live in. So really when you come across a writer whose sensibilities ignite something in you, it’s gold!

If you could bring to life any other character from literature, who would it be and why?

The protagonist Esther Greenwood from the great Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar. Would be such a fascinating challenge. Her descent into madness, her witticisms and macabre fascination with cadavers would make for a wonderful adaptation.
I just read The Hearing Trumpet which is a surrealist novel by Mexican-British author Leonora Carrington, which Penguin describes as the "occult twin to Alice in Wonderland". It follows 92-year-old Marian Leatherby who’s committed into an institution by her family, where the houses are shaped like birthday cakes and igloos. It’s so wonderfully strange. That’s one I'm trying to manifest for my twilight years.

Are you an avid reader? What else are you reading at the moment?

Yes, I am! I’ve developed a nasty habit lately of reading three books at the same time, having to then remind myself that patience is a virtue I lack, and developing some wouldn’t hurt. So chaotically, I’m reading Pereira Maintains, A testimony by Antonio Tabucchi. It’s about a reporter in Lisbon living in the shadow of fascism Which feels rather apt.. The Empusium by Olga Tokarczuk, a health resort horror story. And I’ve just re-read the play Camp Siegfried by Bess Whol, which is a brilliant, brilliant text.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received as an actor, and how has it shaped you?

The best piece of practical advice someone has given me is learn to nap! It sounds silly but it’s the only way you can really conserve your energy on those long days. I don’t think it’s necessarily advice, but there was a big neon sign at the foyer of the Old Vic Theatre on the Cut in London, which screamed out in red, 'Dare, Always Dare'. This has become a mantra and certainly shaped me as an actor.

The Last Anniversary will premiere on 27 March, on BINGE, with a new episodes released weekly.