An Interview with Rebecca Gibney from ‘Under the Vines’

Rebecca Gibney as Daisy Munroe in ‘Under the Vines’.

Rebecca Gibney is a highly accomplished and award-winning actress who is well known for her roles in Wanted and Packed to the Rafters, has a new dramedy coming out on Monday on Acorn TV entitles, Under the Vines, and we here at Nerds That Geek were lucky enough to sit down with Rebecca to talk about this brilliant new show and what went into its creation.
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John Betancourt: What was it that attracted you to Under the Vines?
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Rebecca Gibney: Look, you know, I haven't played a role like this before. The the last few things that I've been doing… like Lola in Wanted is kind of this badass Kind of chick who kind of kicks butt and drives fast cars. And, you know, Julie Rafter in Packed to the Rafters is kind of the all-Australian mother and so Daisy is someone that I've never played before. She's kind of this vacuous, flaky, Sydney socialite who loves labels. I mean, I wouldn't know label if I fell over it. -laughs- So, to be able to wear Chanel's and Gucci's and all that stuff, it was obvious, and it was a lighthearted, joyous romp. You know, I think the world is kind of sad at the moment. So, to be able to be a part of a show that is that is joyous and full of light and heart and funny was… yeah, it was kind of an obvious thing for me.

John Betancourt: Speaking of Daisy, you mentioned a few of the reasons she caught your eye, what was the top reason as an actor, that attracted you to playing her?

Rebecca Gibney: Well, you know what the great thing was, I came on board as an executive producer, very early on, I was able to help shape Daisy. Erin White, who created the show had this character and the project in her bottom drawer for a long time and when I came on board the show I said, “Can we shoot it in New Zealand?” So, she came to New Zealand, and she went through the vineyards. And she found everything and worked with some New Zealand writers, and I was able to give input into the character. And I love the fact that she was kind of an older woman, trying to, you know, maintain her youth and all the things that as an older woman, myself, you sometimes think about. You’re like, “Oh, God, do I need to keep doing this stuff to remain relevant?” And what I love about Daisy's journey over the course of the series is that she learns that it's not about that. Life is not about being on a surface, it's about what's underneath and finding family and commitment and working hard at something. And it's not about the surface stuff. That's not what matters. So, I love the journey as a character.

John Betancourt: Now you bring up a very good point, in that, there’s a lot of depth to this show. How much influence did you have in assembling a lot of the themes present in this season?

Rebecca Gibney: As an executive producer, I was across all the early drafts. Anyone who knows a writers table, you start off with beat sheets. So, you get beat sheets of what's going to happen. Character development as well. And I was right there at the casting with the producer. I was in on all casting. So, I think, once you've got really beautifully drawn characters, getting the right cast is important. And we were lucky that we assembled some of New Zealand's finest actors, Charles Edwards, I think has a major part to play in that, in the sense that he and I, from the minute we met each other, just clicked. And, you know, Erin wanted the show to be kind of like a harking back to the screwball comedies in the 40s and 50s. Hepburn and Spencer Tracy and Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn, those kinds of things, and to be able to be involved in those creative discussions is just fantastic. So, I think I had a little bit to put in there. But obviously, I'm not a writer. So, kudos to the writers because they have to take notes from a lot of people. But yeah, certainly, I had input into the creation of Daisy and where she ends up.

John Betancourt: Now, of the many themes present in the show, which out of all of them are you most eager for people to experience, because there really are a lot of lessons present in this show.

Rebecca Gibney: Totally, I think it's about being your authentic self, I think that’s really important. And I love the idea of… I mean, everyone loves a fish out of water story, you know, fish out of water characters that come to a place, and they learn to adapt to the environment, and they fall in love with the environment and the people. And I think, for me, just to see this woman evolve -- and also, you know, life doesn't have to end after 50! What I love is that we've got, you know, two lead characters that are both in their 50s that are just as vital and exciting and interesting as they were in their 20s. So, I love that this is a show about how you can start again at any age, you know, even if the characters are in their 60s or their 70s. It's about, it doesn't matter what's on the outside. We all feel the same on the inside, you know, like my mother is 86. And she said when she looks in the mirror, she doesn't recognize that person because inside she still feels like a 35-year-old. So, I just love the fact that it's about it's about being who you want to be and there is hope in there as well. Because at the moment, let's face it, the world is a little bit of a sad place, but you can come to Peak View and have hope.

John Betancourt: And good wine, too, no doubt!

Rebecca Gibney: Great wine! You know what, when we talked about it in the early days the other thing, the other show that kept coming back was Northern Exposure. I don't know if you remember Northern Exposure, but everyone loved Northern Exposure, and I love Northern Exposure, and so did the creator, Erin. And so, when we when we sat around a room talking about it, we talked about, well, this is like, “we want it to be like Northern Exposure… with wine.” I mean, what’s not to love? You know, if it's like Northern Exposure with wine, hopefully everyone will want to watch it.

John Betancourt: Now I also noticed that Daisy is a very complex character, and it seems like at where she’s at in her life, she’s searching for something. What is it you think she is searching for?

Rebecca Gibney: Um, family, she doesn't have family. She's not a part of a family. Her mother died when she was young. Stanley's been her only real family, and now he’s died. So, she has no family left. And I think for Daisy, it's also about commitment, family, and commitment. She's never committed to anything; she's never had to. She's just been going from place to place to place, buying stuff, trying to fill her life with stuff. And I think the journey for her over the course of this is actually committing to something, working for something, and finding that these people that are strangers, they become her family. And I love that. I love that about her. And I love the relationships that are formed over the course of the series.

John Betancourt: So, we’ve talked a lot about themes today, simply because the show has so many present and one that really caught my eye, was the underlying discussions of the nature of grief and recovering from that. What do you hope people take from that particular theme as season one rolls along?

Rebecca Gibney: Well, the interesting thing is as the as the season wears on, particularly for Daisy, there's an episode coming up, where she does have to deal with grief, in the sense that she's never really grieved properly, and never really spoken about it. And I think we're going to explore that more if we get to go season two, and three, and four, I think those are themes that we only really touch on season one, but it is about recognizing that grief and, and touching on it. Because I think the minute you see that with a character that seems to be fine on the surface, which you will see later on in the series, you realize, “oh my gosh, she hasn't really dealt with this stuff.” And we all have to deal with it. Because we're all going to go through grief, whether it gets delayed or not. I mean, personally, because I lost my dad at 17, I know what that kind of grief is. And I was able to access it myself. But I think it's about allowing those emotions to play out and allowing those feelings to be there. Because for a lot of people grieving is really tricky. You know, they go into denial, they don't want to deal with it. And they just push it away, and they get on with their life and they just push it away. It's going to come back at some point, you're going to have to deal with it at some point. So, I think that's the other thing that the show is trying to you know -- even though it's very joyous and lighthearted, it's got a great heart, because it is talking about the heart. We have to deal with that stuff. Yeah, I'm surprised you even picked up on that, because that's, something we definitely deal with. But it's, you know, it's just there. We've kind of dropped it in along the way.

John Betancourt: Which leads me to my next question, I really get the impression that you and the rest of the creative time want Under the Vines to serve as an inspiration to people. Is that a big reason why so many themes are present in this series?

Rebecca Gibney: Definitely. Oh, definitely. I think you know, we shot the series earlier this year, and so we'd had a year of the pandemic. And we actively decided not to put the pandemic in there. We didn't want any reference to COVID because we are hopeful that we are going to get through it, obviously. And we will come out the other side and COVID will end up being something that we went; “well wasn't that a terrible couple of years.” But we're going to move through it because we have to, because there is no alternative. And so yes, definitely when we were making this, we wanted people to be able to sit down with a glass of wine or a cup of tea or soda or whatever and watch the show, and escape into it for the 45 minutes that it's on. And just really go back to a time where there is joy and hope and light and love and remember the most important thing is friendship and family and heart and love. Because at the moment there's not a lot of that going on in the world. Certainly not seeing it on the screens either. And I'm like “we need more of that.” I mean I love a good murder mystery as much as anyone but I'm kind of over them. I want to see romantic comedies I want to watch, you know, Four Weddings and a Funeral or Love Actually, or Notting Hill. I want to watch stuff like that. And I that's why, you know, I love this because it's kind of a rom com. It's Under the Tuscan Sun feel. You can escape completely and feel good. Hopefully at the end, you can actually go: “Oh, that makes me feel good.”

John Betancourt:  So, out of everything we've talked about today so far, what would you say that you're most proud of when it comes to this series?

Rebecca Gibney: Um, I'm, look, I'm just most proud of all of it. I love our cast. I love our writing. I love that at the end of it, you know, there is even at the end of Episode Six, you're gonna go: “Ah, there's that cliffhanger!” But I want people to sing along to the when the song comes on, which there’s a great band, The East Pointers, and they very beautifully gave us the theme song, I want people to be able to sing along to that song when they hear it. I want it to get ingrained into their heads because again, it's joyous. It's something that you're skipping to in the kitchen afterwards. And I that's what I'm proud of. I'm proud of the fact that I've been a part of the genesis of it. I've watched it grow. I was in the edits, all of that, the music, everything, and I still cry when I watch it. And I still laugh, and I still feel good. So, I'm proud of that. I'm proud of the fact that even having seen it hundreds of times, I still feel old feelings when I see it.

John Betancourt: Before we go, the last question I have for you today, without spoiling of course, what are you most looking forward to audiences experiencing in this first season?

Rebecca Gibney: Apart from the beauty of New Zealand, because a lot of people haven't been to New Zealand, a lot of people don't know New Zealand. So, I think the landscape is -- because the landscape obviously plays a very important character in the in the piece. So, I think they're going to experience New Zealand in the characters. So, in that Northern Exposure kind of vein, you're going to meet these fabulous people who believe life is about simplicity and joy and kindness. And I think that's what people will go on, this journey of these two completely different humans. It's kind of a bit Moonlighting, you know, it's Bruce Willis, Sybil Shepherd, from way back. These are the people that kind of have nothing in common, but they kind of work together. And watching their journey through these extraordinary scenery with these other amazing people. I think that's what people are going to love.

‘Under the Vines’ premieres on Acorn TV on Monday, December 6, 2021. This interview was lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

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