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A busy year for Sacha Horler

There’s a lot going on for Sacha Horler right now.

Currently in Monte Carlo, the Aussie actress is waiting to find out if she will take home a Golden Nymph after being nominated for outstanding actress in the Festival de Télévision de Monte-Carlo for her work on The Moody’s.

“I’m only up against people like Julie Bowen from Modern Family,” she tells IF. “Patrick [Brammall] is up against Ian McKellan. It’s not very stiff competition.”

Both herself and Brammall have been tipped with an acting nomination while the show itself has also received a nod for best TV comedy series.

Fremantlemedia production Wentworth also received accolades in the drama TV series category, with Robbie Magasiva and Danielle Cormack also nominated.

“Our show is up against Episodes, Mrs Brown’s Boys, a Norwegian show [Lilyhammer] and a couple of other high rating international comedy shows,” Horler says. “I think it’s really great that there’s something out there other than the Emmy’s – which I don’t even think we are eligible for – and the Logies. It’s nice to know the French think we’re funny.”

Horler’s character enters the popular Jungleboys production in season two as Uncle Terry’s (Darren Gilshnen) new girlfriend Yvonne.

“Yvonne has the great honour working frontline in customs, and the way she sees it, protecting borders on a daily basis and stopping international terrorism around the clock,” Horler laughs. “She has to be at the ready for anything that could happen.”

But playing Yvonne isn’t the only thing Horler has been up to.

She’s also currently on our screens as the no-nonsense parole officer Rhonda in ABC1 series Old School, starring Sam Neill and Bryan Brown.

“It’s worth the ticket price just to watch those two on screen,” she says of the project. “They are really bloody good at what they do." 

“I play Brian’s parole officer and he is just hilarious. Everything you imagine about him is true. He is witty and charming and wonderful to work with.”

Horler continues to flex her comedy muscles in Black Comedy, an Indigenous sketch comedy show for ABC2 due for broadcast in the second half of 2014.

“It’s this full black cast of indigenous writers and actors doing the most hilarious sketch show,” Horler says. “In one of the episodes, which I was sadly not in, it was retelling Star Trek with a full black cast and some kind of white monster coming to invade their planet.

“I think because it’s for ABC2, we get to dance around that HBO area where you can say and do more. It’s a lot of fun. Like for instance in one of the skits I play someone who is this completely neurotic middle class white racist who is frightened when the magician she has hired for the kids’ birthday is black.

“She’s legitimately afraid the children might be abused or that he will do witchdoctory on them. It’s hilarious.”

Far away from the world of comedy, Horler has been exploring grittier terrain in the form of “a small but frightening role” for Seven’s two-part telemovie Catching Milat.

Horler plays Ivan Milat's first wife Karen Milat, who is now in witness protection.

“I can’t really say too much about it except it was a gruelling and confronting couple of days,” Horler says.

Directed by Peter Andrikidis and produced by Shine Australia, Horler says the project involves some “very difficult material” but also that she “made a decision to kind of silently perform [this role] as a tribute to all the women who are victims of domestic abuse daily in Australia.”

“I was just reminded when playing the role that some women are prisoners in their husband’s domain and I sort of was fairly impressed by the White Ribbon group who are working to keep that issue alive.”

The Golden Nymph Ceremony of the Festival de Télévision de Monte-Carlo takes place tonight.