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EXCLUSIVE: Eden Stars BeBe Bettencourt & Sophie Wilde On Sex Positivity & Their Friendship

''It is about empowerment and characters claiming their pleasure.'' - by Faye Couros
  • 09 Jun 2021

The new Stan original series Eden is an intense mystery with an eerie and unsettling mood enhanced by its luscious but boundless setting on the northern rivers of New South Wales.

WATCH: Eden Stan Show Trailer.

The inherent darkness that entangles the show is skilfully navigated by its stars BeBe Bettencourt, 25, who plays the unpredictable Hedwig and Sophie Wilde, 23, who plays talented Scout.

Eden follows different characters as they attempt to uncover the truth behind the disappearance of a young woman.

But various chains of devastating events, deeds and decisions are exposed within the community of the idyllic coastal town that must deal with its consequences.

In the lead up to Eden's release, Girlfriend spoke to BebBe and Sophie about the show.

Despite the gruelling and unnerving subject matter, that feeling didn't translate to life on set, and BeBe and Sophie say they made some hilarious memories while filming.

It's like that old saying if you don't laugh, you'll cry, so it's unsurprising that the girls were able to find levity between scenes.

 

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Sophie (left) plays Scout and BeBe (right) plays Hedwig.

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"I think because the content is so intense and what we were shooting is so intense, we actually in between shooting had a lot of laughs because I think it was important to lighten the mood," BeBe tells us.

The chemistry between the talented stars on-screen is wondrously enigmatic, and that cannot be superficially created.

Instead, it's a vibe that must be fostered through a natural connection.

This was the case for Sophie and BeBe, who quickly found solace within their friendship, and they even got on so well that the crew wasn't always so game for their energetic antics.

In an eloquent tangent, the actors start to bounce off each other as they recount a lighthearted on-set story that got them into a bit of trouble.
"One time, there was a beach party scene and BeBe and I rock up to set with a UE Boom and pumped music," Sophie laughs.
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The girls got on famously on set.

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BeBe quips: "Like pumping."

"Tunes were playing, we were dancing, and everyone was like 'shut up,'" continues Sophie.

"And everyone was like, 'Cool, so do you guys want to work or…?' And we were like, 'yeah man, it's a party, whooo!' It was really fun," BeBe adds. 

Eden is a show that doesn't use diversity to virtue signal but rather, to reflect the world we occupy and experience.

The show explores diversity within sexuality throughout its episodes, but it refrains from posing those intimate moments through a salacious or vulgar light.

Essentially, this was done to evoke the notion that sex cannot be defined or controlled to fit a narrow perception of what it should look like.

"I know that talking to the writers, they really wanted to make the show sex-positive, and so I think that is a really important part of the narrative," Sophie explains. 

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"Tunes were playing, we were dancing, and everyone was like 'shut up'."

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"Being quite open about sex and having heterosexual or homosexual sex represented on screen, without judgement or anything," she adds. 

There is much debate about the validity of sex scenes that serve no purpose to the plot or the characters.

In Eden, sex is focused on the characters and their relationships with intimacy, which offers more depth to those scenes.

"It is about empowerment and characters claiming their pleasure rather than it being expositional, or just for the purpose of sex," says BeBe.

With her defining platinum blonde 70s style hair, BeBe plays her character, Hedwig, without hesitation.

The character is unpredictable, mysterious and intriguing, but her darkness lends itself to an uncomfortable viewing.

However, BeBe found that although there is something unexplained about her, she is still a multifaceted girl with an infectious lightness even though she has found herself in a tricky situation.

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"Being quite open about sex and having heterosexual or homosexual sex represented on screen, without judgement or anything."

Supplied

"It was intense. I think Hedwig is quite heavy, but she doesn't really show it, but she is also really fun. There is something about her that is fun, cheeky, despite everything she has been through and everything she has going on, she really tries to enjoy life and live it to the fullest," describes BeBe.

Playing a character isn't always a visceral experience for actors, because after all, it is a job, but this role was an exploration of self that moved BeBe.

"It's therapeutic because she allowed me to go places, that perhaps, in my real life I am afraid to go or wouldn't normally, she really allowed me to explore the darker parts of myself," the 25-year-old reveals. 

Watching Hedwig in Eden, it is easy to imagine that she may have been portrayed as a manic pixie dream girl if she was written a few years ago.

This is when a female character is reduced into an existence that serves a male character, which helps him learn essential life lessons, and she rarely has agency or depth.

BeBe explains that it was important that before filming began, she stepped as far away from that trope as possible.

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Sophie felt a kinship with her character.

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"I really was just hell-bent on making that not the case, and making sure she was human, and she was grounded, and you usually get to see the manic pixie daydream through the lens of a man or through the lenses of other people. So it is really great as well that we can see her perspective," says BeBe.

While BeBe was challenged to explore her inner self as Hedwig, Sophie felt a kinship with her character Scout.

Scout has come back to her hometown after leaving to peruse music, and there is a sense she feels unsure about where she fits in.

"There is this naivety to Scout at the start of this story, and I think she goes through this coming of age journey throughout and I definitely related to that," Sophie notes. 

"I feel like I have been quite passive and polite and trying to be sweet and a people pleaser, and I think Scout comes home, and that is who she is, so yeah, I feel like I connected to her in a lot of ways," the 23-year-old explains. 

The Stan Original Series Eden premieres June 11, only on Stan – sign up via this link.

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