- READ MORE: Christmas Comes Early With The Stan Original Film Jones Family Christmas
Veteran Australian actress Heather Mitchell has spoken about her battle with cancer and how she wanted to highlight the disease in her new film.
The two-time cancer survivor revealed that it was her idea to have her character struggle with the disease in her new Stan holiday film Jones’ Family Christmas.
The film stars longtime fan favorite Heather, an eccentric matriarch battling cancer and desperate to bring her family together to celebrate the holidays.
“We wanted to provide an additional reason for this [the movie character’s] “It’s an urgent need for everyone to be happy,” she told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“It moved up in terms of performance.” But we didn’t want it to be a problem.
Veteran Australian actress Heather Mitchell has spoken about her battle with cancer and how she wanted to highlight the disease in her new film
The two-time cancer survivor revealed that it was her idea to have her character struggle with the disease in her new Stan holiday film Jones’ Family Christmas
Mitchell was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004. After treatment, the disease returned in 2022. Pictured: Mitchell at the Logie Awards in 2022
“It’s not about Heather’s personal health issues. It’s about how we respond in certain ways when faced with the health issue of someone we love, or our own.”
Mitchell was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004. After treatment, the disease returned in 2022.
The former “A Place to Call Home” star has been open about her cancer and discussed her battle in her memoir, “Everything and Nothing,” which was released earlier this year.
She also made a bold appearance to talk about her health on an episode of ABC’s An Australian Story in May.
The popular actress, who starred in the groundbreaking 1984 Kennedy Miller miniseries “Bodyline,” will soon be seen in the Paramount+ series “Fake” opposite Asher Keddie.
Meanwhile, “Jones Family Christmas” by Mitchell is a pre-Christmas hit for fans.
The Stan original film, about an Australian family affected by bushfires during the Christmas season, reunites Mitchell with Love Child actress Ella Scott Lynch, 40.
Inspired by true events and written by Australian comedian Tegan Higginbotham, the film’s plot revolves around Heather (Heather Mitchell) as she gathers her feuding clan for a family Christmas in the bush.
Things go from bad to worse as forced celebrations come to a halt due to raging bushfires.
And the trailer shows that fans can expect plenty of laughs and screams as the feuding family members are forced to make peace to deal with the disaster.
The film also stars Michael Logo from the streaming comedy Colin from Accounts, Tahlee Fereday from Fisk and Dushan Phliips from Stan’s hit The Gloaming.
Newcomer Max McKenna also stars alongside Neil Melville and Nicholas Denton.
Akhilesh Jain (Deendayal Ek Yug Purush), Fiona Choi (The Family Law), Bev Killick (Savage River) and Australian comedian Tanya Hennessy round out the cast.
The film by Tegan Higginbotham is based on her successful radio play and is directed by Stef Smith.