Mercia Deane-Johns

Mercia Deane-Johns is an Australian actress of film, stage and television. She is also a writer, singer, and stand-up comedian. She has played a wide array of characters since she was 12 years old and has appeared in many film roles and TV series on Australian screens.

Education Born in Melbourne on 21 February 1958, Mercia Deane-Johns trained at a television and film course with Crawford Productions, in 1974. She has studied ballet at the Gertrud Bodenwieser Dance Centre, in Sydney. Deane-Johns obtained a diploma in classical singing and theory of music from the London College of Music, Ealing, London in 1975. She is also an Associate of the London College of Music (A.L.C.M).

She was on a twelve-month contract at the Melbourne Theatre Company in 1978.

She has studied Tai chi and had private lessons with the late Tennyson Yui for one year, in 1980.

Deane-Johns attended Southern Cross University from 2006 to 2010 and obtained a Bachelor of Arts in writing and communication. In 1982, she was also in Winner Take All – Downside Risk, a TV series about the fast-paced world of big business. In 1985, she was in Winners – The Other Facts of Life.

In 1991, Deane-Johns appeared in What's Cooking? an Australian cooking television series. That same year, she played the part of Sharon Taylor on the risqué series Chances. The series was discontinued in 1992, after a run of 127 hour-long episodes.

Deane-Johns was in the television film McLeod's Daughters in 1996 with Jack Thompson, Tammy MacIntosh and Kris McQuade. She was in the long-running Home and Away from 1997 to 2001, playing Melanie Rainbow. In 2002, she was in the Canadian-Australian co-production of Guinevere Jones, a teenage fantasy series where she played the part of evil witch Morgana. In 2007, she appeared in Unfinished Sky a story about a farmer who takes in an Afghan woman who has fled from a brothel.

In 2014 she had a supporting role in the film Last Cab to Darwin. a film taking its name from the 1984 Australian compilation music album Throbbin' '84.

Deane-Johns appeared in two seasons of The Other Guy in 2018 and 2019. She performed in season two of the comedy drama series Mr Inbetween in 2019. She was also in Location Scout a documentary series about the making of the Australian comedy film Top End Wedding, which was filmed around Darwin in 2018.

She has worked with some of Australia's best-known actors including John Hargreaves, Judy Davis, Nicole Kidman, Charles Bud Tingwell, John Meillon and Alwyn Kurts.

Voiceovers In addition to acting, Deane-Johns has performed voiceover work, including four episodes of Persons of Interest in 2014.

Writing Deane-Johns is also a writer and has kept an anecdotal record of her thespian experiences in an online blog called "Mercia's Missives". She describes the difficulties in working with misogynistic directors, unsympathetic make-up artists, bitchy co-stars and young actors who think they are God's gift to women.

Deane-Johns also wrote for the (now defunct) Australian Playboy magazine from 1988 to 1990. As she relates in her cogitations "Mercia's Missives": "I spent a lot of time in my room, writing a column for Playboy magazine, simply entitled "Women". Peter Olszewski, also known as JJ Mc Roach, the founder of the Marijuana Party was the editor at the time. I enjoyed writing for Playboy. I had a lot of material around me at the time for inspiration. Things were fine". She also wrote for Fame magazine from 1986 to 1987, and Simply Living. performing a one-hour stand-up comedy routine at The El Rocco Room, in Sydney's Kings Cross.

Posing for Australian Playboy When pregnant with her daughter Natasha, Deane-Johns was the first pregnant woman in the world to be photographed for Playboy.

Music Having a diploma in music, Deane-Johns worked extensively with the late Damien Lovelock. She toured with the Celibate Rifles in 1990 on their world tour and performed in Lovelock's band Wigworld singing Patti Smith songs amongst others. In 1990 she performed in Damien Lovelock's promo-video for the single "Disco Inferno" (April, 1990), taken from the 1988 album "It's A Wig Wig World".

She has sung in many jazz trios and duos and also cover bands for Woodstock, Led Zeppelin, Joni Mitchell and Fleetwood Mac.

Filmography

Films Year Title Role Type 1973Alvin Purple (aka The Sex Therapist) Small role (uncredited) Feature film 1975 The Box Typist Feature film 1980 Breaking Point Performer Short Film documentary 1981 Winter of Our Dreams Angela Feature film 1982 The Applicant Role unknown Short film 1982 Heatwave Secretary Feature film 1982 Going Down Ned Feature film 1983 Molly Talent Agent Feature film 1987 Pandemonium Morticia Feature film 1999 Erskineville Kings Barmaid Feature film 2007 Unfinished Sky Barbara Feature film 2012 The One Who Broke Your Heart Sean's Mum Short film 2014 Last Cab to Darwin Fay Feature film 2015 The Immortality of the Bounty Hunters The Book Critic Short film 2017 Throbbin' 84 Bulldozer Film (Won award at Melbourne Underground Film Festival) 2018 Edge of the Earth Mother Short film

Television Title Year Role Type 1974; 1975 Division 4 Girl 2 / Maureen / Rita TV series, 3 episodes 1975Matlock Police Gail TV series, episode 177: "The Hill" 1975; 1976 Homicide Maureen Wilson TV series, 2 episodes 1976 Alvin Purple Daisy TV series, episode 5: "The Postman" 1976–1977 Bluey Debbie Morley / Sharon Holt TV series, 6 episodes 1976 Homicide Brenda Lukins TV series, 1 episode 1977 The Sullivans Timna TV series, 20 episodes 1977 Young Ramsay Eleanor TV series, episode 1: "Story of a Shaggy Dog" 1977–1979 Cop Shop Andrea Williams / Jan / Gina Valente TV series, 5 episodes 1978 Demolition (uncredited) TV movie 1979 Skyways Susan Masters TV series, episode 6: "Coming of Age" 1979 Twenty Good Years Ruth Cohen TV series, 5 episodes 1980 The Restless Years Pat TV series, 1 episode 1982 Winner Take All TV series, 10 episodes 1984 Conferenceville TV movie 1984 Crime of the Decade TV movie 1984 Special Squad Molly TV series, episode 35: "Suzie's War" 1985 Double Sculls Melanie Atkins TV movie 1985 Winners - The Other Facts of Life Policewoman TV movie series, 1 episode 1985 Winners - Room to Move Janet TV movie series, 1 episode 1986 Body Business Judy TV miniseries, 2 episodes 1987 Vietnam Linda Aarons TV miniseries, 2 episodes 1990 Harbour Beat Secretary TV movie pilot 1991–1992 Chances Sharon Taylor TV series, 127 episodes 1995; 1999; 2003 Blue Heelers Marcia Hyland / Raelene Stevens / Jan Bayliss TV series, 3 episodes 1996 McLeod's Daughters Rosa Wilcox TV movie pilot 1996 Twisted Tales Woman TV movie series, 1 episode 1997; 2001 Home and Away Melanie Rainbow / Kerry TV series, 2 episodes 1998 Water Rats Cheryl Voss TV series, 1 episode 1999 Airtight Ma Lucci TV movie 2000 Above The Law Joan Bartlett TV series, 3 episodes 2000 All Saints Mary Constantine TV series, 1 episode 2002 The Secret Life of Us Clairvoyant TV series, 1 episode 2002 Guinevere Jones Morgana Le Fay TV series, 1 episode 2003 The Saddle Club New Owner TV series, 1 episode 2003 White Collar Blue Connie Ciric TV series, 1 episode 2009–2011 Packed to the Rafters Grace Barton TV series, 10 episodes 2012 Tricky Business Vera Stanic TV series, 1 episode 2014 Persons of Interest Narrator TV series, 4 episodes 2016 The Secret Daughter Poppy TV series, 1 episode 2017; 2019 The Other Guy Bev / Cashier TV series, 2 episodes 2018 Harrow Sofia Calanna TV series, 1 episode 2018 Location Scout Herself TV series 2019 Mr Inbetween Steph TV series, 1 episode 2021 Back to the Rafters Mrs. Spade TV series, 1 episode 2023 While The Men Are Away Mrs. Whitmore TV series, 4 episodes

Theatre YearProductionRoleCompany/Venue 1975 Two and Two Make Sex Juvenile lead Australian tour with J. C. Williamson's 1976 Spats – Back in Business The Speakeasy 1976 The Happy Apples The Actors' Company Theatre, Sydney 1978 Once a Catholic Mary Murphy (School girl) Russell Street Theatre, Melbourne with The Actors' Company Theatre 1978 Electra Handmaiden Melbourne Athenaeum with MTC 1978 The Playboy of the Western World Nelly (Irish maid) Melbourne Athenaeum with MTC 1979 George and Mildred Understudy Australian tour with the Elizabethan Theatre Company 1984 A Pantomime Fairy The Actors' Company Theatre 1986 Bloody Poetry Mary Shelley Stables Theatre, Sydney with Precious Theatre Company 1989–1990 The Celibate Rifles Singer World tour (also tour manager) 1995 Meanwhile Back on Planet Earth Liza Minnelli Bondi Pavilion with Precious Theatre Company 2010 Fleetwood Mac Cover Band Stevie Nicks Caravansera 2011 Cabaret Caliente Singer / Stand Up MDJ Productions (also writer) 2011 Now Festival – Woodstock Music Janis Joplin / Grace Slick Caravansera (also producer / director) 2011 Transport Irish Mystic 2013 Don Quixote Housekeeper 2015 Monk's Wife Monk's Wife MDJ Productions Troppo Flamingo Musical Theatre Restaurant, Blue Mountains with Precious Theatre Company

Award She won an award at the 18th Melbourne Underground Film Festival in 2017 for Throbbin' 84.