Noni Hazlehurst has slammed claims she has become a “recluse”, insisting she’s never been busier with work.
The 65-year-old Australian actress revealed in a candid chat with The Daily Telegraph on Monday that her roles are coming in “thick and fast”.
“I’ve never been busier,” Noni told the news outlet. “Far from being the recluse that I’ve been described as I have actually never been busier. It is quite bizarre and I am very grateful. The roles are coming thick and fast so I am delighted.”
The A Place to Call Home actress told the publication she is, in fact, currently in her second week of shooting comedy film June Again. Noni will also star in the 10-part Foxtel series The End, and is taking her one woman play Mother to New York, London and Edinburgh after stops in Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Darwin over the coming months.
Speaking previously to Starts at 60, the mother-of-two said that for her, age is never an excuse to wind down.
“There’s lots happening,” she said at the time. “I don’t buy the word ‘old’ really. It’s up to individuals to work out what they want to do and whether they can do it. Can they take steps to achieve it? If you can, that applies to any age, whether you’re 12 or 92, if you feel you can do something and you want to do it, then it’s up to you to find a way to do it.”
She also added that being over 60 is an age people should feel most comfortable in themselves.
“Most people over 60 have worked out that it’s okay to be yourself,” she said. “You can’t compete in any other stakes, other than being the unique individual you are. You may as well just go for it.”
It comes after Woman’s Day sensationally claimed last month that Noni “rarely leaves her home”, following reports her ex-husband, fellow Aussie actor John Jarratt, will stand trial over rape accusations, according to The Daily Mail.
Allegations against the former Better Homes and Gardens presenter first came to light in August, with Jarratt forced to defend himself against claims that he raped a teenager in the 1970s. He has denied all the allegations against him and has since pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The 66-year-old film star — well known for his lead role in hit movie Wolf Creek — will appear in the NSW District Court this year in what his lawyer insisted would be a “short, sharp” trial, according to the ABC.