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Home and Away's Ada Nicodemou reveals hilarious Logies confusion
Home and Away star Ada Nicodemou is no stranger to the spotlight, after starring on the popular Australian drama as kind-hearted Leah Patterson for 22 years.
The actress has been nominated for a TV WEEK Logie award six times, including her Most Popular Actress nod this year. Ada spoke to Yahoo Lifestyle about the hilarious mix-up that happened when she was nominated, why she wants to finally win and what the most ‘daunting’ part of The Logies is.
'Congratulations for my birthday'
Ada laughs when she recalls the way she found out she was nominated for a Logie award, saying she was having a ‘lovely weekend away’ for her birthday.
“I woke up in the morning and I got a text message saying congratulations. I’m like, ‘oh yeah, congratulations for my birthday, thank you very much!’,” she laughs.
“Then [there was] someone else going, congratulations, and I was like yeah, ‘I know, I’ve turned 45, this is amazing!’ I had no idea,” Ada says.
The actress continued to think all her messages were about her birthday, until somebody let her know that she had actually been nominated for a Logie Award.
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The actress picked up her past five Logie nominations between 2001 to 2006, so it’s definitely long overdue for Ada to secure a win.
“I’d love to win one. How cool would that be?” she says. “I’ve never won before. It’s an honour to be nominated, but we all do say that…I’d love to win,” she says matter-of-factly.
She's planning to write an acceptance speech, just in case she wins the award — simply because she doesn’t want to burst into tears while on stage.
“I’ve been known to get up on stage and just get really emotional and just start crying. I don’t want to do that!” the star admits.
‘The red carpet is daunting’
Although the 45-year-old has been working in the entertainment industry since she was 16, the star still gets a bit ‘overwhelmed’ when stepping onto the red carpet.
“Walking down the red carpet [is] pretty daunting. Even though I’ve been doing this, I don’t know how many Logies I’ve gone to, I’m gonna say 20 to 30, you never get comfortable with the red carpet. There’s so many cameras, and people calling out your name, and you want to go and talk to the fans,” she explains.
After a hard two years due to the pandemic, the entire cast is looking forward to getting dressed up to celebrate the entertainment industry. Ada’s favourite part of The Logies is surprising, saying that she actually enjoys the preparation beforehand the most.
“I started thinking about my dress probably a month before the nominations even came out,” she laughs. “I love thinking about the dress, the shoes, makeup and the hair, I love getting glammed up.”
The star doesn’t give away many secrets about her red carpet look, but she says fans can expect something ‘sexy’ with a ‘beautiful colour’, and adds she feels ‘really good’ while wearing it.
'Campaign manager'
Ada has been in the spotlight her entire adult life, and she’s the first one to say that things are completely different now with social media and smartphones.
She doesn’t let fame go to her head, saying that ‘balance’ is key, with her partner and young son Johnas keeping her grounded.
The star does admit that 9-year-old Johnas is her biggest fan, and even jokes that he’s her ‘campaign manager’ for The Logies.
“He’s the most excited that I’m nominated. He’s been telling everyone to vote, like it’s very embarrassing,” laughs Ada. While her son isn’t usually allowed to watch Home and Away because it’s past his bedtime, Ada is making a special exception for The Logies.
“He just really wants to see mummy win, and he’ll be watching it on the night,” she shares.
Ada’s mothering instincts also translate to the Home and Away set, where she and the other long-term cast members help guide newer actors.
“We have such a supportive cast and crew. We’re all very, very experienced. We have a lot of young actors that come onto this show and we take them all under our wing and make them part of the family,” she says.
“We have to lead by example as well. So you’ve got to know your lines, you’ve got to make sure you’re hitting your marks. So then the younger actors are seeing how you’re behaving, and then they behave the same way.”
Voting for the 2022 TV WEEK Logie Awards is now open, and fans can vote until the red carpet ends on Sunday, June 19.
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