Portia de Rossi picks love over fear after living her life `closeted and terrified'

Portia De Rossi as Beth with Robyn Butler as Caroline on the set of Now Add Honey, now shooting in Melbourne. Picture: Roadshow Source: Supplied

Sally Bennett, The Daily Telegraph, reports

Actor Portia de Rossi hopes her relationship with Ellen DeGeneres is a good example for young gay Australians.

The Victorian-raised-LA-based actor said she went from being a young woman who was "closeted and terrified of being outed as gay" to being happily in love with an American talk-show queen.

"I just fell in love with somebody and I thought I'm going to take this over living in fear of my television career ending," de Rossi said of coming out.

"I choose her, I choose to be happy and it was the best decision that I have ever made. We are actually good role models in that we're a very ordinary happy couple."

The Arrested Development star was speaking in Melbourne this week where she is filming Now Add Honey, a New Australian film from the makers of The Librarians and Upper Middle Bogan.

The Roadshow comedy also stars Robyn Butler, Hamish Blake, Lucy Durack, Lucy Fry, Erik Thomson and Angus Sampson.

De Rossi, who married DeGeneres in California in 2008, said marriage equality was "so important" and that she hopes in happens in Australia soon.

"It really does make a huge difference and it really does validate you, not only as a gay person in your relationship, but as a human being," she said.

"It's hard to explain the impact that just one person coming out can have on your life as a gay person if you're a teenager," she said.

"If you're watching the news and you know that the news anchor is gay, all of a sudden you think, maybe I could be a journalist, or maybe I could be a model, or an actress or a school teacher or a football player. It makes a huge difference."

De Rossi is flying solo for this three-week work trip and said she and DeGeneres were overwhelmed by the love and support they were shown during their March visit.

"It was crazy, it was great, but it was just surreal though," she said of the huge crowds that greeted them in Melbourne.

"It was like, this is my hometown, what is happening? And of course, I'd been telling her all this time, come to Australia and everyone will leave you alone.

"It was announced on her show (The Ellen DeGeneres Show) so I knew it was going to be a different thing, but I do actually think that if we came, just the two of us, that people would be respectful."

The release date for Now Add Honey is yet to be announced.

Legally Blonde is a fairytale packed with fun

Stage presence: Lucy Durack as Elle in Legally Blonde. Picture: Jeff Busby Source: The Daily Telegraph

Jo Litson, The Sunday Telegraph, reports

Legally Blonde is a pretty-in-pink, feel-good musical that wraps its few core themes in candy floss but it doesn't pretend otherwise, sending itself up with such affection and charm that it is altogether too much fun.

Based on the 2001 film starring Reese Witherspoon, the story is pure fantasy; an "as if" fairytale about Malibu sorority queen Elle Woods, a perky, pink-loving blonde who follows her ex-boyfriend to Harvard Law School, where she triumphs against the odds while remaining true to herself, her friends and her girly logic.

The music by Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin isn't desperately memorable but it more than serves the purpose and their lyrics are clever with tongue-in-cheek wit. They also poke fun with a playful Greek chorus of Elle's sorority sisters. The show unfolds at breakneck speed, driven by the lively dance routines of Broadway choreographer Jerry Mitchell, who also directs the slick, seamless production. A jump rope routine, in particular, brings the house down.

Lucy Durack is perfect as Elle. She looks the part while bringing grit, humanity and excellent comic timing to the ditzy role. Singing and dancing with verve, she doesn't let her energy drop for a second. It's a huge, demanding role and she smashes it out of the park.

David Harris is gently endearing as Emmett, the only person at Harvard who gives Elle the time of day initially and eventually wins her heart, while Rob Mills does a good job as the caddish, narcissistic Warner.

Helen Dallimore belts out a generous performance as Paulette the trailer-trash beautician with a heart of gold, Erika Heynatz shows she has acting chops as the fitness guru charged with murder, Cameron Daddo finds the inner smarminess of Harvard's feared Professor Callahan, and Ali Calder lends a convincingly mean streak as the condescending Vivienne.

I Will Survive star Mike Snell, meanwhile, delivers a scene-stealing turn as a hunky delivery boy, portraying him like a genial Action Man figure complete with snappy, cartoonish walk and cheeky smile.

Backed by a strong ensemble, the production has the high energy and comic touch required, while the dogs upstage everyone whenever they appear.

Legally Blonde may have little subtext but it has heart. Its themes are simplistic but if you surrender to it, it's uplifting and, above all, fun.

No more Mr Nice Guy for Rob Mills in stage musical Legally Blonde

Rob Mills and Lucy Durack star in the stage musical Legally Blonde. Source: Supplied

Jo Litson, The Sunday Telegraph, reports

Rob Mills is one of the genuine nice guys of Australian showbiz. So of the two male leads in the upcoming stage musical Legally Blonde, you'd expect him to play the likeable Emmett who wins Elle Woods' heart.

But the producers instead cast him as the caddish Warner who dumps Elle when he is accepted into Harvard Law School.

"I went in there (to audition) for Emmett and they took one look at me and said 'can you come back on Friday for Warner?' I said: 'I've learned all the stuff, can I at least sing the song?' but they said: 'Come back'," Mills tells Insider.

"It changed everything I was doing. Emmett is nervous, Warner is the opposite: confident, cocksure. Later in the story he works out who he is and decides to be a model, which I found flattering from the casting directors, that they considered me good-looking enough to play the role."

Millsy's career is rocking along. He's just finished the Young Talent Time live tour, having hosted the revamped TV show for Network Ten.

"We had amazing feedback, getting stopped in the street all the time by parents and their kids (asking): 'Is the show coming back?' I really hope so. It's a good family show so fingers crossed," he says.

Legally Blonde rehearsals begin tomorrow and Mills can't wait.

He will also front the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs' The Beatles Unplugged on August 24 and 25. Though things could hardly be going better for him now, Mills admits that it took a while to gain industry acceptance after making his name in Australian Idol.

"It's only (happened) through (the musical) Wicked, I suppose, and Young Talent Time," he says. "It does take time. It's weird because I'm still the same guy, it's just the perception everyone has of you. "But it doesn't bother me.

I keep getting work so I must be doing something right."Mills has also been doing some songwriting and hopes to release an EP this year.

"I want to keep it pretty raw, pretty acoustic and see how it goes," he says.

"This year I just turned 30 and I've had so many adventures, so many things that have happened since I last did an album (in 2004)."

And Mills says he couldn't be happier. "I bought a place in Sydney earlier this year - well the bank bought it - so I have one in Melbourne and Sydney now. I really feel I've found a home here in Sydney with some really good friends."

--------------

Legally Blonde, Lyric Theatre, The Star from October 4. Bookings: Ticketmaster 1300 795 267