Actress Rachel Griffiths reveals the REAL reason so many Australian actors are fleeing America and returning home – and it’s not just the pandemic
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Australia has seen many ex-pats return home after years living in America.
And actress Rachel Griffiths, 52, believes she knows why that is – and it’s not just down to Covid.
In a column for Stellar Magazine, the Muriel’s Wedding star, who lived in USA for a decade before coming home, writes ‘American freedom’ is in ‘tatters’.
Exodus: Since the beginning of the pandemic, Australia has seen many ex-pats return home after years living in America. And actress Rachel Griffiths, 52, (pictured) believes she knows why that is – and it’s not just down to Covid
‘Over the past year, as I checked in with Australian friends in the US, I kept hearing the same thing: ‘I just want to come home… I’ve never felt more Australian.’
‘It wasn’t just the pandemic – it was the exhaustion of trying to make sense of that country, of living between truths and lies,’ she writes.
‘Then the murder of George Floyd crystallised for many – who have a home country to compare with – that ‘American freedom’ lay (like its flag) in tatters on the streets, and that it was a poor substitute for collective responsibility.’
Political? ‘Over the past year, as I checked in with Australian friends in the US, I kept hearing the same thing: ‘I just want to come home.’ It wasn’t just the pandemic – it was the exhaustion of trying to make sense of that country, of living between truths and lies,’ she writes
Rachel, who has been back in Australia since 2012, added: ‘I was hungry to come home and tell our own Australian stories with humanity and vigour.
‘So I did, and the years since have been the most satisfying of my career. But the sense that a nation can so deeply lie to itself about what it actually is… came back with me’.
A slew of Aussie have returned home over the past year, including actress Isla Fisher, 45, who brought her English husband Sacha Baron Cohen, 49, and their children, with her.
She went on: ‘Then the murder of George Floyd crystallised for many – who have a home country to compare with – that ‘American freedom’ lay (like its flag) in tatters on the streets, and that it was a poor substitute for collective responsibility’
The pair, who are now based in Sydney, were fleeing America’s tumultuous political climate, reports claim.
‘They didn’t want to raise their kids in Trump’s America,’ an insider told Sydney Morning Herald.
The couple relocated to Australia in December, and have since enrolled their three children at a school in Sydney.
Back: A slew of Aussie have returned home over the past year, including actress Isla Fisher (right) who brought her English husband Sacha Baron Cohen (left) and their children, with her. ‘They didn’t want to raise their kids in Trump’s America,’ an insider said
In town: Aussie actress Rose Byrne (left) and her American partner Bobby Cannavale (right) arrived in Australia in recent months with their children
Australian actor Chris Hemsworth, 37, and his Spanish wife Elsa Pataky, 44, moved from Los Angeles to Australia’s Byron Bay in 2014.
The actress has said that living in Australia has been the right decision for the previously LA-based family.
‘Byron has been beautiful. We made the right decision in 2014 to leave LA and come to Australia – it’s been great for the kids to be in nature, enjoy animals and go horse riding,’ she said.
Returned: Nicole Kidman (right), her husband Keith Urban (left) and their daughters have also been back in town since last year
Moves: Australian actor Chris Hemsworth, 37, and his Spanish wife Elsa Pataky, 44, moved from Los Angeles to Australia’s Byron Bay in 2014. ‘ We made the right decision to leave LA and come to Australia – it’s been great for the kids to be in nature,’ Elsa said. Both pictured
Aussie actress Rose Byrne and her American partner Bobby Cannavale arrived in Australia in recent months with their children, and Nicole Kidman, her husband Keith Urban and their daughters have also been back in town since last year.
American stars have moved Down Under, too, many to work on the slew of film productions sprouting up locally.
The likes of Natalie Portman, Zac Efron, Matt Damon and Rita Ora are all currently busy working in Australia.
Read more: In this week’s Stellar Magazine
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