by FilmInk Staff
One of Australian screen’s most distinguished voices steps into a dual role, joining Lonely Hill Films’ Kennedy as both Casting Director and Producer.
Lonely Hill Films is proud to announce the attachment of Thea McLeod to Kennedy in a dual capacity as Casting Director and Producer. McLeod brings to the project a career spanning more than two decades at the highest levels of Australian and international screen production, a body of work distinguished equally by its range, its rigour, and its record.
Director and writer Darren K. Hawkins said of the appointment: “The addition of Thea McLeod to Kennedy is a truly significant moment for this film. Thea is the ideal person to bring Bridget Kennedy’s long overdue story to the screen. Her wealth of experience, instinct for performance, passion for discovering and nurturing new talent coupled with her deep commitment to meaningful stories further solidify her as the perfect choice. I am deeply honoured to have the opportunity for the team and I to collaborate with her.”
McLeod’s casting credits span the full breadth of Australian television and feature film. Her work on Neighbours for Fremantle, now spanning fourteen years, represents one of the most sustained contributions to Australian screen talent development of any casting professional working today. Her television credits include Better Man (SBS), Schapelle (Channel 9), Underbelly Files: The Man Who Got Away (Screentime), City Homicide, and Whatever Happened to That Guy? She also served as Australian Casting Director on The Forsytes, casting the lead role of Soames Forsyte alongside UK Casting Director Susie Parriss. Her feature credits include Summer Coda, Spin Out, Emo the Musical, What If It Works?, The Menko! Method, Blinder, Pawno, Measure for Measure, Love on Deck, Melbourne Match (Her Aussie Romance), and A Rimbaud.
McLeod has also been a key creative contributor to a series of UK/Australian coproductions that have achieved significant international reach, among them Lie with Me, Heat, Riptide, and The Imposter, demonstrating a proven ability to navigate the demands of cross territory production at the level Kennedy is targeting.
Her producing work is equally distinguished. McLeod produced and cast both Pawno and Measure for Measure alongside director Paul Ireland and the late
Damian Hill, collaborations that resulted in two of the most acclaimed independent Australian films of their era. Pawno was awarded the Grand Jury Prize for Best Picture at Cannes Cinéma des Antipodes and received multiple AACTA Award nominations. Measure for Measure, directed by Ireland and starring Hugo Weaving, drew multiple AACTA nominations and was subsequently recognised in the late David Stratton’s landmark 2024 survey of Australian cinema, in which Stratton praised the film as an extraordinary piece of cinema, describing Weaving’s performance as one of the most memorable of his career and the casting as impeccable.
“I truly couldn’t be more excited about what we are going to achieve together with this film. I feel very honoured to be joining the team.” THEA MCLEOD, CASTING DIRECTOR & PRODUCER, KENNEDY
Beyond her production credits, McLeod serves as President of the Casting Guild of Australia and has been an active champion of emerging Australian screen talent through initiatives including AACTA Young Stars. Her commitment to discovering and developing the next generation of Australian performers runs as a consistent thread across her entire career, from television series to internationally recognised feature work, and is a quality that aligns directly with the aspirations of the Kennedy project.
Kennedy is an original screenplay by Darren K. Hawkins and Lauren Hamilton Neill, based on documented historical events spanning 1868–1906. Set in colonial Victoria, the film follows Irish immigrant Bridget Tobin as she meets and falls deeply in love with principled Constable Michael Kennedy. They marry, raise five children, and build a life defined by devotion and quiet ambition, as Michael rises through the ranks of the Victorian Police.
That life is shattered in 1878 when Kennedy, alongside Constables Lonigan and Scanlan, is ambushed and murdered by Ned Kelly and his gang at Stringybark Creek. Left a widow, suffering a miscarriage, with no pension and five children to raise, Bridget wages a relentless campaign through letters and political pressure, ultimately compelling Commissioner Standish to read her words before Parliament and securing landmark legislation ensuring police widows and their families would be provided for in perpetuity.
The story is framed in 1906 on the opening day of The Story of the Kelly Gang, the world’s first feature film, as Bridget and her eldest daughter Mary sit down with journalist Liu Dihuan, determined that the truth of who Michael Kennedy was, and what his family sacrificed, will not be erased by the glorification of his killer.
ANZ distribution is secured through Screen Inc. Panavision is attached. Cast attachments are in active development. McLeod joins a core creative team comprising director and writer Darren K. Hawkins; actor and writer Lauren Hamilton Neill; cinematographer Casimir Dickson (ACS); and executive producers Les Morris and Kieren Devisser.
PRODUCTION DETAILS
PRODUCTION Lonely Hill Films
DIRECTOR / WRITER Darren K. Hawkins
WRITER / ACTOR Lauren Hamilton Neill
SCRIPT Kennedy
CASTING / PRODUCER Thea McLeod
CINEMATOGRAPHER Casimir Dickson ACS
EXEC. PRODUCERS Les Morris, Kieren Devisser
ASSOC. PRODUCER Mina Hunter
ANZ DISTRIBUTION Screen Inc., contracted
CAMERA Panavision, attached
