AS RACHEL Griffiths gritted her teeth and had a "moment" with her naughty three-year-old son Banjo, she was in no mood to play celebrity.
Standing on the sands of Palm Beach on Sydney's northern beaches, the Golden Globe winner was exhausted, on holidays, and her son's mischievous behaviour wasn't helping the head cold lurking in her system.
But just as she reached the climax of her motherly rant, she was interrupted by a fan.
The mother of two was not happy.
I have got a really great audience, who mostly come up at appropriate times, but whenever I have a moment where I feel like I am being invaded, like recently . .
. she says before bursting into laughter.
The Melbourne-born and raised star of hit US drama Brothers Sisters admits her celebrity ego bubble burst when the so-called fan spoke to her.
On the brink of hypothermia and oblivious to the glittering star in his midst, all the man wanted was a warm towel.
This guy was looking for his family who were picking him up because he'd just paddled 30 miles or something from Manly to Palm Beach, Griffith recalls.
I had that one moment of being ungrateful and it turns out this guy was about to go into toxic shock because of hypothermia, but it's like, 'Oh no, just wait a minute, Rachel Griffiths is way too busy'.
He had no idea who I was. I just thought, 'You bitch'.
Apart from the daily duties of playing families with her artist husband, Andrew Taylor, and parenting Banjo and daughter Adelaide, 2, Griffiths says she's glad to have left the Los Angeles rat race for a few weeks back home.
Dressed casually in jeans, a cotton top and with her shoes kicked off, Griffiths, 38, says she's relaxing after churning out 12 months worth of Brothers Sisters.
Portraying massage therapist Brenda Chenowith in award-winning series Six Feet Under required Griffiths's attention only about six months a year, so her latest project took some adjustment.
It's intense and I really am reeling, she says at Seven's Sydney office.
I am a little bit in shock; I think next year I have to find a way to stay a bit healthier. It's a hard slog and, as any working mother knows, you are just getting drained by all directions.
It's hard doing those 60- to 70-hour weeks, plus I do no exercise.
I have no personal trainer because I feel too guilty. I have an hour with my kids, so it's like am I going to stay with the kids and play the dragon game in the garden, or am I going to go off with Charlie and work on my abs? she says breaking into a sarcastic American accent.
I am afraid the dragons win.
Despite the hard grind, the actress, who rose to fame as Toni Collette's hilarious sidekick Rhonda in the 1994 romantic comedy Muriel's Wedding, says putting on the dysfunctional family cap again for Brothers Sisters has been rewarding.
Griffiths plays Sarah, the eldest of five children and a corporate executive struggling to balance motherhood with career.
She is married to Joe Whedon (John Pyper-Ferguson) and co-stars include Ally McBeal-favourite Calista Flockhart and two-time Oscar-winner Sally Field.
The drama revolves around the California-based Walker family, a collection of intertwined and somewhat damaged adult siblings.
Griffiths says that off set the 10 core characters are just as close as they appear on screen.
They definitely are becoming my brothers and sisters, she smiles.
We get on like a house on fire.
Griffiths says she and Flockhart share a special bond.
People kept asking why the brothers always do scenes together and why Calista and I hadn't, so coming up there is one where we go to an artichoke farm.
It's just really fun and Calista and I are sillier with each other than we were in the pilot, because we've had all this time to get close. She really is the best.
I don't understand where this media picture of her (being cold) has come from. She's just the sweetest, kindest, most genuinely funny person.
In Six Feet Under Griffiths's pregnancy with Adelaide was written into the script and while she says there are no immediate plans to add to her brood, she does want more children.
Griffiths also says she will relocate to Australia when her seven-year contract with Brothers Sisters expires. We will definitely come back. The kids are young now, but once they start school I want them to be settled and grow up with their cousins.
Brothers Sisters, Seven, Monday 9.30pm
We welcome your comments on this story. Comments are submitted for possible publication on the condition that they may be edited.
Please provide your full name. We also require a working email address - not for publication, but for verification. The location field is optional.
News RSS