by FilmInk Staff
Nelle Lee is a Brisbane-based actor best known for her stage work with her theatre company, Shake & Stir. She recently finished filming the lead role in indie romcom All My Friends Are Back in Brisbane, directed by Louise Alston. We interviewed her about the experience.
Tell us about the movie.
“All My Friends are Back in Brisbane is the follow up to the movie All My Friends are Leaving Brisbane – not a sequel in the traditional sense, as in, you won’t see the same characters ten years later, battling new challenges in their lives, but more of a spiritual sequel. We meet new characters, who live in the same world, dealing with different messes.
“It’s a classic romcom, but with the added bonus of being set against the Brisbane we all know, love, and sometimes – especially if we grew up here – roll our eyes at. Cris, who I play, is back from London after an unexpected breakup with her British fiancé. Returning to her hometown single, broke, and emotionally jetlagged wasn’t exactly in her five-year plan – especially now that her ex from her 20s has a hot wife, cute kid, and a renovated Queenslander within 6km of the CBD. And let’s just say… things between them were left somewhat unresolved. Now with all her friends married, with kids and mortgaging their house to pay their private school fees – she has to work out if she stays and tries to squeeze back into Brissy life, or once again – look elsewhere for happiness.”
Tell us about Cris?
“Cris is your classic high achiever – she has cruised through life thinking – or rather, hoping – that if she followed the well-trodden path of those who came before her, she would eventually land the ultimate happy-life package. The only problem is, she has spent the first ten years of adulthood following her head instead of her heart. Now, back in Brisbane, she is facing moral dilemmas that are forcing her to really question what she actually wants.
“Cris is sharp and good at what she does, but her confidence is at an all-time low right now. She’s quick-witted with a dry sense of humour, but when she is alone, she falls into obsessive loops – re-reading old messages, overthinking decisions, wondering if she should’ve been nicer, sexier, quieter, louder. She second-guesses herself constantly, clinging to the belief that everything happens for a reason. She has spent most of her life emotionally guarded, but now, staring down 40, she is starting to realise that playing it safe may have cost her more than she thought.”
How did you get involved in the film?
“I met Stephen [Vagg, producer and writer] and Louise [Alston, director] when I auditioned for the original film back in 2005, during my first year out of university. That led to being cast in their next feature film, Jucy, in 2010. I have followed their work, as they moved to the USA and explored new areas across film and TV. In 2023, our paths crossed again during a show I was in for Brisbane Festival. We reconnected, and they mentioned they were thinking about making a follow-up film — and asked if I’d be available and interested. Obviously, I said: ‘hells yes’.”
What was filming like?
“Filming was exhilarating, exhausting and completely took me out of my comfort zone, which I loved. I have spent the past 20 years working on theatre productions, and my goodness – it is a different world. The entire team – cast, crew and creatives were an absolute dream – caring and professional, but also so much fun. All in all, a bunch of good humans – which is what you want in any team, right?”
Any particularly memorable scenes and/or moments?
“We were filming one of the final scenes of the shoot up at Wilsons Lookout in New Farm. The sun was peeking its glorious rays through the clouds, the bridge looked beautiful, and Howard Smith Wharves was just far enough away to look appealing – without triggering my anxiety. And I thought, ‘yeah, this is pretty good. I’m so lucky to live here’. It was a full-circle moment. When I first started out — back when I auditioned for the original film — I was introduced to this idea that people leave Brisbane. A lot of people. Especially in the arts industry. And I intended to be one of them. But I didn’t. I stayed. I ended up starting a company and building a life here.
“I’m incredibly grateful for the work I get to do, but there were definitely times I felt that sense of missing out. There is no direct and clear path to a career in the arts, and you sometimes just have to go with the flow. Comparisons are everywhere, and it’s easy to look at friends and colleagues doing amazing things overseas and think … ‘I wonder …’ Now for me, nearly 20 years later, I’m back – working with the same brilliant director, delivering dialogue. And for the first time in a long time, I’m feeling really confident that I made the right call.”
You do a lot of theatre. What are the main differences between acting in theatre and film?
“In theatre, as an actor, you’re working as part of a team to build a story as a whole. On stage, you’re part of a living, evolving performance that shifts night by night. Acting for camera asks you to create one small piece of gold at a time – moments that are captured individually and later stitched together by someone else to form the story. They do perhaps require a different set of skills, but in my opinion – regardless of whether your audience is behind the lens or spread across an 800 seat auditorium – if you strive for truth and honesty, it really is within the same wheelhouse.”
Any other projects coming up?
“We are just about to bring our production of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein back to Brisbane in May. This toured to Sydney and Melbourne last year, and now we are back on home turf performing at The Playhouse at QPAC.”
All My Friends Are Back in Brisbane will be released in 2026
photos by Chase Brockett
