If you saw Willow roll into Summer Bay last week, you’d be right to feel a little scared. The new Home And Away recruit is all leather and motorbikes while rocking a ‘don’t mess with me’ attitude, but in person, Sarah is a ray of sunshine.
Warm, gentle and full of positivity, Sarah is dressed in pale pink and is gearing up to pose with flowers for New Idea’s exclusive shoot. Despite their differences, Sarah’s quick to explain why she loves her character and that they’re actually quite similar after all.
‘I like that Willow is feisty. She goes after what she wants and doesn’t stop until she gets it. She’s really strong – I really love that about her,’ the Melbourne-born beauty shares. ‘She has a lot of walls up and she hasn’t had an easy life – that’s what made her put a guard up. I’m like that. I have so many walls up. I also hide behind my smile. I think it’s a nervous thing with me, but if you pretend you’re OK, it can be quite lonely.’
Joining the cast has been a seamless transition for the self-confessed ‘free-spirit’.
‘I knew Pia [Miller] and I’d met Jimmy because we’d had a chemistry test throughout my audition process,’ Sarah explains. ‘I hang out with Sam Frost, Kestie Morassi and Sophie Dillman. We’re having a girls dinner next week – it’s so important to have a solid group of girlfriends.’
Sarah likes to keep fit with a mix of running, dancing and yoga, and while she’s physically prepared for her bikini scenes, she still finds it funny acting with her beach gear on.
‘It’s weird acting in a bikini. You’ve already got enough stuff to worry about when you are acting. As an actress, you’re already trying not to be conscious of yourself and not to be self-conscious, you don’t want to be judging yourself. You want to be relaxed and breathe and let your belly hang out, but when you’re in a bikini and you’re worried if you have a wedgie, but I grew up dancing, so I’m used to wearing leotards and sequin bras.’
With her career soaring, there’s one thing Sarah admits she needs help with.
‘My love life is non-existent, help me out!’ she laughs. ‘I don’t know where you’d find time. I’m so focused on my work at the moment, but I’m open to it [love].’ Moving around so much has made it hard to hold someone down or for someone to hold me down, I should say. I’m a free spirit. I’m happy, I like my own company and I really love my friends.’
Prior to booking Home And Away, Sarah spent three years on-and-off in Los Angeles, busy auditioning for major blockbuster roles.
‘I was going up for big roles in Star Wars, Star Trek and the new Blade Runner, and I got really close, but of course there were times I just wanted to have a job.’
Now, you can catch Sarah on Home And Away Monday – Thursday, 7pm, on Channel 7.
Plus, for all the latest Home And Away news, see the official Home And Away magazine – New Idea.
