Philippa Northeast (born 23 September 1994) is an Australian actress, known for her role as Evelyn MacGuire in the soap opera Home and Away from 2013 until 2017. After leaving Home and Away, Northeast starred in the 2019 romantic comedy film Standing Up for Sunny with RJ Mitte. She also starred in the Hallmark television film A Royal Runaway Romance (2022). In 2023, Northeast played the recurring role of Lily in the Australian comedy series In Limbo. She was also cast as Kay Walters in the second season of The Newsreader, and joined the supporting cast of Network 10 drama Paper Dolls. She plays Susie Lawson in the 2024 neo-Western series Territory.
Philippa Northeast | |
|---|---|
 Northeast at the I, Tonya premiere in 2018. | |
| Born | 23 September 1994 |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2003–present |
Early life and education
editPhilippa Northeast was born on 23 September 1994 and raised in South-East Melbourne along with her four siblings.[1]
She attended Melbourne Rudolf Steiner School, where she completed her VCE. She then began studying a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in criminology, at The University of Melbourne.[1]
Northeast trained at the 16th Street Actors Studio,[1] the St Martin's Youth Theatre, and the Australian Shakespeare Company.[2] She graduated from the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS) with an Advanced Diploma in Producing: Story, Audience, Finance in 2015.[3]
Career
editNortheast joined the main cast of soap opera Home and Away in 2013 as Evelyn MacGuire, alongside Jake Speer as her character's twin Oscar MacGuire.[4] Northeast found a dollar coin on the steps of her casting agent before attending the audition, which she felt was a sign of good luck.[5] During a callback audition, Northeast was paired with a number of actors as producers tried to find Evelyn's twin. Speer was the first actor to act with her and the producers kept coming back to them, as they noted that they had the right chemistry.[4] Northeast admitted she was surprised to learn that she had won the role. She relocated from her home town of Melbourne to Sydney for filming,[5] and made her first appearance in the show on 3 September 2013.[6] Northeast's character became known for having a fictional curse on her, following the deaths of her on-screen father, siblings and aunt.[7]
After four years of playing Evelyn, Northeast decided to leave Home and Away and her character's exit aired in March 2017.[8] She later made a guest appearance in May 2017 to facilitate the exit of Evelyn's uncle Zac MacGuire (Charlie Clausen).[9] She planned to fly out to Los Angeles to find acting work, but she was also hoping to find roles in Australia.[10]
Northeast stars as barmaid and aspiring comedian Serena in Steven Vidler's 2019 romantic comedy film Standing Up for Sunny, opposite RJ Mitte and Sam Reid.[11] The film was shot in Newtown in 2018.[12] Northeast said she knew the script was "special" the moment she read it, and found that shooting the film was "a different experience" compared to Home and Away.[12] She also guested in an episode of comedy series Bondi Slayer.[13] Northeast flew out to Los Angeles in 2020 to take part in the pilot season and documented her trip for Mamamia.[14] In 2022, Northeast starred in the Hallmark Channel television film A Royal Runaway Romance with Brant Daugherty.[2] She also played the recurring role of Lily in Lucas Taylor's Australian comedy series In Limbo.[15]
Northeast joined the cast of The Newsreader for its second season, which began production in Melbourne in mid-2022.[16] Northeast plays Kay Walters, the daughter of Geoff (Robert Taylor) and Evelyn Walters (Marg Downey).[17] In March 2023, she joined the supporting cast of drama Paper Dolls, along with Lyndon Watts, Carlos Sanson Jr, Ben Turland, and Elizabeth Cullen. The drama was filmed in Sydney for Network 10.[18] The following year, Northeast began starring as Susie Lawson in the Netflix neo-Western series Territory.[19]
She will also appear in procedural dramedy Good Cop/Bad Cop, alongside Leighton Meester and Luke Cook. Northeast plays Cook's on-screen love interest Dr Marci Laine.[20] On 21 November 2024, Northeast was announced as part of the cast for the upcoming ABC six-part drama The Family Next Door, alongside Teresa Palmer and Bella Heathcote. The series is adapted from Sally Hepworth's novel of the same name and has begun filming in Victoria.[21]
Other activities
editAfter leaving Home and Away in 2017, Northeast became an ambassador for skincare range Wotnot Naturals, and shot her first campaign for them at the Bondi Icebergs Club.[10]
In 2018 Northeast was an ambassador for the Ration Challenge, in which participants eat the same food rations as a Syrian refugee for a week.[12]
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Skithouse | Various | Episode: "1.1" |
| 2013–2017 | Home and Away | Evelyn MacGuire | Main cast |
| 2019 | Standing Up for Sunny | Sunny | Feature film |
| Drop Dead Weird | Astrid | Episode: "Haunted Hotel" | |
| 2020 | Bondi Slayer | Pip | Episode: "Home and a Slay" |
| 2022 | A Royal Runaway Romance | Amelia Bell | Television film |
| 2023 | In Limbo | Lily | Recurring role |
| The Newsreader | Kay Walters | Recurring role | |
| 2023–2024 | Paper Dolls | Ally | 4 episodes |
| 2024 | Territory | Susie Lawson | 6 episodes |
| 2025 | Good Cop/Bad Cop | Marci Laine | Post-production |
| The Family Next Door | TBA | In production |
References
edit- ^ a b c "Philippa Northeast". Yahoo!7. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
- ^ a b "A Royal Runaway Romance". Hallmark Channel. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
- ^ "Our alumni". Australian Film, Television and Radio School. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
- ^ a b Casamento, Jo (25 August 2013). "Mum's the word for Jodi and Braith Anasta". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
- ^ a b "It's no joke". TV Soap. 21 May – 4 June 2015. pp. 44–45.
- ^ Grubb, Jessica; Miller, Erin (31 August – 6 September 2013). "Not so nice". TV Week. No. 35. pp. 6–7.
- ^ Harvey, Kerry (12 May 2016). "Home And Away star's death curse". Stuff. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
- ^ Cullen, Tamara; Downie, Stephen (18–24 March 2017). "Fairytale wedding". TV Week. No. 11. pp. 6–9.
- ^ Dainty, Sophie (15 May 2017). "Home and Away exit as Zac MacGuire leaves Summer Bay following another shock discovery". Digital Spy. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
- ^ a b Moran, Jonathon (4 June 2017). "Home and Away star Philippa Northeast opens up about confronting bikini shoot at Bondi". PerthNow. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
- ^ Groves, Don (13 November 2017). "'Breaking Bad' star RJ Mitte takes the lead in 'Standing up for Sunny'". IF Magazine. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
- ^ a b c Wagner, Kate (15 June 2018). "Philippa Northeast On Working With A 'Breaking Bad' Star And How She's Helping Refugees". Elle Australia. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
- ^ Rajput, Gunjan (9 April 2022). "Hallmark 'A Royal Runaway Romance': 5 things you didn't know about Philippa Northeast". Meaww. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
- ^ Northeast, Philippa (15 March 2020). "'It can be psychologically brutal.' An Aussie actor on what pilot season in LA is really like". Mamamia. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
- ^ "Bob Morley's new series 'In Limbo': The Aussie comedy with a very serious message at its heart". TV Week. 15 May 2023. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
- ^ Slatter, Sean (11 July 2022). "Daniel Gillies and Philippa Northeast join 'The Newsreader' for S2". IF Magazine. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
- ^ Morris, Anthony (11 September 2023). "The Newsreader Season 2 on ABC review: still a winner". ScreenHub. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
- ^ Knox, David (1 March 2023). "More cast join Paper Dolls". TV Tonight. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
- ^ Croke, Lucy (26 October – 1 November 2024). "Thirty and thriving". TV Week. No. 42. pp. 92–93.
- ^ Whittock, Jesse (5 August 2024). "The CW, Roku & Stan's 'Good Cop/Bad Cop' Adds Seven To Regular Cast". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
- ^ Knox, David (22 November 2024). "Production underway on The Family Next Door". TV Tonight. Retrieved 21 November 2024.