Jodi Gordon on shame, sobriety and starting over
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Hello and welcome to Something to Talk About, the Stella podcast. I'm Sarah Lamarquand, your host, and every week I sit down with some of the biggest names in the country because when Australia's celebrities are ready to talk, they come to Something to Talk About. For almost 20 years, Jodie Gordon was one of the most recognisable women in Australia. First on Home and Away, then Neighbours, and across countless headlines that followed every chapter of her life.
What struggles did Jodi Gordon face behind the scenes of her acting career?
But behind the scenes, Jodie was quietly struggling. Recovery for me is this invisible thread that runs through all of us. In 2022, she publicly revealed her battles with depression and alcohol addiction. Since then, she's stepped away almost entirely from acting, working at SANE Australia while studying counselling and rebuilding her life away from the spotlight.
I don't want to do that anymore.
Now, at 41, she's launching her own recovery practice, the Modern Recovery Group, and stepping back into the public eye as the first Australian ambassador for Vichy Laboratoire.
How did Jodi's journey to recovery begin?
On today's episode of The Stella Podcast, Jodie opens up about sobriety, wellness, public scrutiny and the quieter life she's built beyond fame. Jodie Gordon, welcome to The Stella Podcast. Thank you. Does Jodie Gordon, the actor, feel like a lifetime ago?
I feel like there's always a little bit of an actress in me and I see it in my daughter too. But in terms of... You know, I think the thread that runs through all of it is my interest and obsession with human behavior. So whether that's playing a character as an actor or understanding how our brains are working and why we do the things we do. A really great mentor has helped me see that thread that's been through all of my different parts of my career and how it actually all links up. And it's like, of course, I've gone from being an actor to a counselor and working in mental health. It really makes sense to me when someone pointed that out. But yeah, always a little bit of an actress in me.
Yeah. Do you get asked about that a bit when people recognise you? Do people say, when will we see you back on screen?
I'm anonymous in my role. So there's this beautiful kind of barrier of anonymity between me and anyone that I work with. which is really refreshing. It's been refreshing for me to develop, like, my skills and my professional skills and things like that, but also to not have that point of distraction come into a session. And so I think that, you know, when people have said to me, you know, when are you coming back on Home and Away or Neighbours or, you know, it's such a joy. I loved playing those two characters. And nine years in Australian television... collectively playing those two girls it's like they've there's part of them in me that i get to carry still i've heard other people like kate talk about that with her character and it it is i think when you've played characters for a really long period of time there's a bit of transference i think between the two you and them and them and you so
I would imagine also for someone like you, with the work that you're doing now, you would have really built those characters from the inside out and maybe inhabited them in a way, which is presumably part of the reason that they stay with you. Not just the longevity, the fact that you did play those roles for so long.
I just got goosebumps. Yeah, you're very right, because I think... When I auditioned for Home and Away, I remember Chris Hemsworth was in the audition room and I was just like, oh my gosh, what am I getting myself into here? And this character was, as I was auditioning, I'd never auditioned for anything in my life. They were like, just be you. And that's all I had. And it was enough to play Martha.
Yeah.
Isn't that fascinating? Because just be you sounds like it could be such unhelpful advice. Yeah.
But that actually helped you. Well, to act well is to not act. It's like get your head around that kind of thing. But I found that if I can sit in the truth of the storyline of what I'm playing or find the heart and the soul in, you know, no matter what,
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:08–0:35
2
What struggles did Jodi Gordon face behind the scenes of her acting career?
0:35–1:15
3
How did Jodi's journey to recovery begin?
1:15–4:37
4
What changes has Jodi made in her life since stepping away from acting?
4:37–6:26
5
What is the Modern Recovery Group and what inspired its creation?
6:26–9:56
6
How does Jodi define recovery in a broader sense?
9:56–14:14
7
What role does empathy play in Jodi's current work with SANE Australia?
14:14–20:29
8
How does Jodi balance her personal life with her professional commitments?
20:29–57:04