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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Lifestyle
As told to Emma Joyce

The moment I knew: I was riffling through my sudoku book when I saw a message on puzzle 239

Michael and Adinia in front of Flinders Street station in Melbourne, 2019.
Michael and Adinia in front of Flinders Street station in Melbourne, 2019: ‘It felt really cool, exciting, to be wandering around my home town with her’ Photograph: Adinia Wirasti

It was 2018 and I’d just landed a role on HBO series Grisse. I was excited to meet the cast, who’d already started filming in Batam, Indonesia. After a flight from London to Singapore, then a ferry to Riau Islands, I arrived at my chalet. Even though it was late, I was invited to join the others at one of the villas.

About 20 people were gathered, eating, drinking and chatting loudly. I was given a drink and a bowl of noodles, then shortly afterwards the director and showrunner asked me to read a scene with one of the actors, Adinia. She was so graceful and precise in her reading, I remember sitting across from this woman and being in complete awe of her.

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