Tsunami, The Aftermath
Toni Collette plays Kathy
Toni Colette, the Australian film star, plays Kathy, an aid worker who comes into her own in the aftermath of the tsunami. She inspires all around her – especially the initially reluctant British official Tony Whittaker (played by Hugh Bonneville) - to greater heights of commitment.
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Toni, one of the most sought-after actresses in Hollywood, starts by describing Kathy. "She's a very strong, kind of ballsy, forthright, grounded, big-mouthed Australian woman who's been living in Thailand for eleven years. She runs an education programme working with a lot of local kids."
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The actress explains that Kathy is a naturally dedicated woman. "I think it's just innate within her. She's chosen to dedicate her life towards helping others and with this incident, she's, in a strange way, in her element.
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"She's able to give all that she possibly can. There are more needy people standing in front of her than ever before, and I think it's just something within her that makes her feel like she's living the greatest, most useful life that she can."
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Toni, who has starred in such memorable films as Muriel's Wedding, The Sixth Sense (Oscar nominated), Emma, Changing Lanes, About a Boy (BAFTA nominated), Velvet Goldmine, and The Hours, carries on that Kathy is "a loner.
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"When she talks about feeling more alive than ever before in the wake of the disaster, it's because she feels she is making a difference.
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"She's in the middle of it. She's not having to think about it, she's just doing it. She's a very practical person and being able to help people to the extent that she does, or at least try and break down some barriers and cut through some red tape, is making her feel like she's serving a purpose.
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"When you're surrounded by such chaos and shock, it can make you feel very alive. There's no room for reflection. It's like you're in the moment, and that's all you can be because things are so vital."
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One of Kathy's functions is to make sure that the Thai people are not forgotten when the Western media swarm into the country.
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"Because she's been living there for eleven years, I think part of her feels like she's Thai in a way," muses Toni, who is orignally from Sydney. "They're the closest people to her.
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"When something like this happens, you realise how small we are and how little control we have, and everyone very quickly becomes very equal. And in this particular circumstance, I guess a lot of the press were European and concerned with the European people.
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But the people of Thailand went through it as well and were being slightly overlooked. So Kathy helps create a voice for them and makes sure that they are attended to appropriately."
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The actress emphasises the importance of Kathy's relationship with Tony. She helps to galvanise him.
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"Tony's a very buttoned-up, proper British man, who's come here to do a job. He's never been in this situation before - nobody has. He's trying to do it by the book, and there really is no book any longer.
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"You just have to get amongst it, get your hands dirty, make quick decisions and go with your gut - but Tony doesn't really trust himself enough to do that. So Kathy makes sure that she slaps him around a bit and gets things moving!
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"The relationship between Tony and Kathy I think provides a bit of comic relief actually because they're at opposite ends of the spectrum."
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Toni, who recently received rave reviews for her performance in the movie Little Miss Sunshine, opines that Kathy's religious beliefs play an important part in her make-up, but they are challenged by what she witnesses after the tsunami.
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"Faith is a really interesting thing to contemplate, especially when something like this happens. When you consider the weight of this devastation and the amount of people that it affected, you really have to question what's going on out there."
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Like all the cast, Toni adored the experience of collaborating with the director Bharat Nalluri. "I loved working with Bharat," beams the actress.
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"I want to work with him again. I don't feel like I've had my fill. He creates the most fantastic atmosphere on set. He's so easy going, and he's so clear about what he wants."
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Toni continues that she was humbled by meeting some of the Thai survivors of the tsunami. She also felt a great responsibility to tell their stories absolutely accurately.
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"They were really inspiring people. After something so devastating, it takes a lot to get back on your feet. And these people seem to be getting on with their lives. I think that's really quite something."
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She also really fell in love with Thailand. "I've been there once before and accidentally stayed in some kind of resort that I'll never return to.
So this time it was really nice to be there as more than a tourist.
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"I feel like I had some insight into the way they live and who they are, and I have a great appreciation for just how naturally beautiful it is. But I feel like it's just a taste, and I'd like to go back."
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Toni concludes that the drama performs the vital dual function of both moving us and making us think. "I really loved this piece," she says with passion.
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"It's such a beautifully written, very real, very human drama. It could have become some sensationalized disaster film, but it's not about that at all. It's about the human heart and what it can cope with.
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"It's very easy for us to sit in our living rooms and watch news flashes and see things that happened to people you don't know on the other side of the world and not really engage with them.
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"I think that this story will make a lot of people understand what really happened on Boxing Day to a lot of people. I hope it makes people realise how it really could have happened anywhere to any of us. And how much we really need each other."
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