TOUGH LOVE World Premiere

Speakers

• More details about Miranda Otto

  Miranda Otto

  Miranda Otto is a renowned Australian performer, with her career spanning decades across the stage and screen. Miranda’s feature film credits include The Thin Red Line, What Lies Beneath, War of The Worlds, Flight of The Phoenix, The Homesman, Love Serenade, Reaching for The Moon and her beloved portrayal of ‘Éowyn’ in Peter Jackson’s international blockbuster The Lord of The Rings film trilogy. Miranda’s performance in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King earned her a SAG Award for ‘Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture’. In 2016, Miranda was awarded the AACTA Award for ‘Best Supporting Actress’ for her performance in The Daughter, opposite Sam Neill and Geoffrey Rush. In 2020, she was seen opposite Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Will Ferrell in Fox Searchlight’s Downhill. Highlights of Miranda’s television credits include the roles of ‘Allison Carr’ in Showtime and Fox 21’s Emmy Award-winning series Homeland and ‘Aunt Zelda’ in Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. For Miranda’s performance as ‘Lindy Chamberlain’ in the drama series Through My Eyes, she was awarded the TV Week Silver Logie Award for ‘Most Outstanding Actress in aDrama Series’. Miranda has also worked extensively in theatre, including a memorable role in the Sydney Theatre Company’s Boy Gets Girl. Her performance as ‘Nora’ production of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, also with Sydney Theatre Company, won her the 2003 Mo Award for ‘Female Actor in Play of the Year’. She returned to the Sydney Theatre Company stage in 2026, starring in Jez Butterworth’s atmospheric romantic drama The River opposite Ewen Leslie. Miranda enjoyed a return home to star in critically acclaimed ABC drama series, Fires and Ladies in Black, and Australian comedy drama series The Unusual Suspects. Miranda starred alongside Celeste Barber in Netflix comedy series Wellmania and can be seen in Disney+ /HULU’s psychological thriller, The Clearing opposite Guy Pearce and Teresa Palmer. Miranda can most recently be seen in the television series Thou Shalt Not Steal as ‘Maxine’ and The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim where she reprised the role of ‘Eowyn’. Otto reunited with Sam Neill and stars alongside Christoph Waltz in in The Jim Henson Company fantasy adventure film, The Portable Door, as well as Danny and Michael Philippou’s Australian horror film, Talk to Me which premiered at Sundance Film Festival.

• More details about Rick Donald

  Rick Donald

  Rick Donald is an Australian writer and producer known for his unique ability to craft hilarious yet emotionally resonant stories. His passion for exploring relatable Australian life witha balance of humor and heartache shines through in Tough Love. With a background as an actor, Rick has a deep understanding of character dynamics, adding depth and comedy to everyday struggles. His talent for turning life’s messiness into comedic gold, with a touch of tragedy, makes him the perfect fit for a show about a family’s chaotic attempts to cope with the realities of illness, love, and growth.

• More details about Jay Ryan

  Jay Ryan

  Jay most recently appeared opposite Lauren Lyle in the BBC Scotland series THE RIDGE and ABC’s Emma Freeman directed DUSTFALL, alongside Anna Torv. Other recent credits include Netflix Canada’s comedy series NORTH OF NORTH whose second season recently premiered in Canada, Netflix Australia’s DESERT KING, SCRUBLANDS on Sundance Now and AMC+ and SBS/Hulu’s NZ series, CREAMERIE. Prior to this, Ryan starred in New Line’s IT CHAPTER TWO as the adult “Ben ‘Haystack’ Hanscom,” alongside an all-star cast that includes Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, and Bill Hader. Hailing from a pedigreed theatre background and an international television career spanning almost 17 years, the Auckland-born Ryan is a strong leading man who first came to the attention of audiences and critics alike with his one-man show THE PACKER, in which he seamlessly played eight characters. The piece played to raves at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where reviewers likened his performance to a “live stage version of Trainspotting re-situated in New Zealand, with a single actor pulling off the impossible trick of playing all the parts." Other TV highlights include playing the crafty son of a drug lord in the Golden Globe- and Emmy Award-winning BBC miniseries TOP OF THE LAKE for directors Jane Campion and Garth Davis. That same year, Ryan was cast as the titular lead in the CW’s award-winning sci-fi series BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. He was also seen starring as an undercover cop posing as a terminally ill cancer patient on Hulu’s provocative right-to-die drama MARY KILLS PEOPLE, as well as in FIGHTING SEASON, a complex, character-driven drama about Australian soldiers returning from Afghanistan.

• More details about Hugo Johnstone-Burt

  Hugo Johnstone-Burt

  Hugo Johnstone-Burt graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in 2009. Upon graduation, Hugo was cast in Network Nine’s successful series UNDERBELLY 3: THE GOLDEN MILE. This was followed with playing the much-loved character of Fish Lamb in the critically acclaimed television adaptation of Tim Winton’s classic Australian novel CLOUDSTREET. The six-part mini-series drew much attention to Hugo’s rising recognition as a young actor to watch. In 2012 he received ASTRA nominations for Most Outstanding Performance by an Actor and Best New Talent. Hugo’s television credits throughout his career include Network Ten’s drama series THE WRONG GIRL opposite Jessica Marais, Network Seven’s two-part biopic OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN: HOPELESSLY DEVOTED TO YOU, the Network Ten comedy series MR. BLACK, the ABC children’s drama series HARDBALL, Network Ten’s MR & MRS MURDER, the ABC’s DANCE ACADEMY and RAKE , Seven Network’s HOME & AWAY, and Network Nine’s TRICKY BUSINESS and LOVE CHILD. Hugo also played Constable Hugh Collins opposite Essie Davis in three seasons of the popular ABC series MISS FISHER’S MURDER MYSTERIES and appeared in Catherine Tate’s British sitcom QUEEN OF OZ, the Stan/BBC One series TEN POUND POMS, and the ABC series BARONS. Hugo’s debut feature film role was in the musical comedy GODDESS, starring alongside singer Ronan Keating and Australian comedienne Magda Szubanski. In 2012 he also appeared in the independent feature film CARELESS LOVE directed by John Duigan, and the feature film MISS FISHER AND THE CRYPT OF TEARS. In 2015 Hugo appeared in his first U.S. feature film playing opposite Dwayne Johnson in the Warner Bros. blockbuster event film SAN ANDREAS. More recent credits for Hugo include the Warner Bros Australian crime drama mini-series RUN, NCIS: SYDNEY, the award-winning Binge courtroom drama series THE TWELVE, and the ABC series comedy drama series RETURN TO PARADISE.

• More details about Roxie Mohebbi

  Roxie Mohebbi

  Roxie Mohebbi, an actor of Middle Eastern heritage, is a rare and exciting talent. Roxie initially trained and then worked as an emergency neonatal nurse before rediscovering her passion for performance and since then has achieved great success in her acting career. Roxie’s screen highlights include; Homebodies (SBS), Run (Binge), He Had It Coming (STAN), Critical Incident (STAN); Return To Paradise (BBC / ABC), Ladies in Black (ABC), The Brokenwood Mysteries; The New Legends of Monkey Season II (Netflix), New Zealand’s leading Soap Shortland Street (South Pacific Pictures), drama series One Lane Bridge S3 (Sundance Now), Miles from Nowhere (Gibson Group) for which she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 2024 NZ Television Awards. Roxie recently commenced shooting the Warner Bros / Binge series Tough Love. Her feature films include; Best Comedy winner at the TVNZ Awards, Give Me Babies (Eyes and Ears Productions). New Zealand Film Commissions (NZFC) The Moon is Upside Down written & directed by Loren Taylor (Eagle vs Shark) and Rotterdam 2024 opening night film Head South alongside acclaimed New Zealand actor Marton Csokas (LOTR, Spiderman, Star Wars) & popstar Benee. Roxie most recently wrapped the Aidee Walker directed Daisy Chain. In 2025, Roxie was awarded the Casting Guild of Australia’s prestigious Rising Star Award.