If there is one scene in the second series of ABC crime thriller Troppo that captures the essence of its leading lady Nicole Chamoun, it is this: her ex-prisoner turned tattooist and private eye Amanda Pharrell takes a sledgehammer to a rusting sedan.
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“I was so happy!” says Chamoun. “It was the end of the first week and everyone was nervous: Can I do it again? Do I still know who [Amanda] is? Then to finish off by smashing that car up – it was as liberating for me as it was for her. Just the physicality; to feel my strength. It feels good to hit things.”
Nicole Chamoun as Amanda Pharrell in season two of the ABC crime thriller Troppo.
As the Safe Harbour actor revealed in a 2022 interview with Sunday Life, she was diagnosed in 2020 with stage four lymphoma. The buzz cut that Amanda sported in the debut season of Troppo, an adaptation of Candice Fox’s novel Crimson Lake, was not a wardrobe directive. When we meet Amanda six months later, with her crime-fighting accomplice, disgraced ex-cop Ted Conkaffey (American actor Thomas Jane), her short black hair is slicked back.
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“There were many blessings that came out of my cancer journey,” says Chamoun. “To be seen as having strength was incredible. But just like myself, Amanda has grown. The buzz cut was a way to keep people away, and as she re-enters the world in this new identity, it was important that she looked different. I wondered, ‘Would I still feel like the character, with hair?’ And I very much did. As soon as I put on the boots and the tattoos, she came alive.”
The second series opens with another murder in the crocodile-infested town. Ted is trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter. Amanda is coming to terms with the car accident that put her in prison, and sensing romance with the local detective (Zindzi Okenyo). “Nothing comes effortlessly to Amanda, and so to watch her dip her toe into that was fun,” says Chamoun. “And Zindzi’s such a generous actor. It felt safe to explore that with her.”
Nicole Chamoun with her Troppo co-star Thomas Jane. Credit: Jasin Boland
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Troppo marks the first time Chamoun has revisited a character, something she still yearns for with Iraqi-Australian boxer Amira Al-Amir from SBS’s 2018 drama On The Ropes.
“Amanda and Amira are the characters I take into hard situations,” she says. “If I’m feeling nervous or unsure, I tap into their energy. There are parts of ourselves that we don’t get to fully explore in society – mostly because I don’t want to get arrested! Being able to explore them on camera is a huge gift.”
As for filming locations, standing in for Far North Queensland is the Gold Coast Hinterland.
