Home and Away’s golden couple opens up about challenges of an on-screen romance
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Real-life couple Sophie Dillman and Patrick O’Connor, who play Ziggy Astoni and Dean Thompson in ‘Home and Away’, opened up about the challenges they have faced portraying an on-screen romance.
As fans of the show would know, after a painful split, Ziggy and Dean spent months apart from each other. But after Dean was involved in a car accident that left him with near-fatal injuries, the on-screen couple was back together as more challenges were thrown their way.
Sophie and Patrick have revealed that it can be tough to play their scenes together because they're also a couple in real life, and both of them are very different from their on-screen characters.
Whether Dean and Ziggy will be getting a smoother ride as a couple in 2022 remains unclear. Photo from Channel 5 via Digital Spy.
The couple, who also have a strong relationship when the cameras aren’t rolling, have already experienced dramatic car crashes and a near-fatal poisoning on the popular soap opera.
“It's actually really hard work,” said Sophie.
“Paddy and I are different to our characters, so making their instincts seem natural when they aren't our own is a good challenge.”
Thankfully, they both have their Sydney home as a ‘sanctuary’ where they can switch off their characters at the end of the day.
The most recent season of Home and Away did have some extreme storylines that played out; Patrick said that it had been a ‘huge year’ for both of them.
“I really enjoyed playing out the car crash scenes,” he said.
“It was an incredible shoot to be on, and watching the car get flipped from behind the scenes was pretty impressive. Not to mention the beautiful locations of Yass and Wee Jasper in New South Wales.”
Sophie and Patrick said they were fortunate that they were friends first before entering into a relationship. Photo from Instagram / @paddy.oco.
Sophie and Patrick’s romance blossomed on Home and Away back in 2018. But the two actually met way before and already had a strong connection before going on the show.
“We actually knew each other at uni - we went to acting school together years ago,” recalled Sophie.
“We were friends then, and then we were in different years, so we didn't really see each other - but then when found each other on the show. And conveniently, our characters got together on the show.”
The two are often referred to as the loves of each other's lives.
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