How Ada Nicodemou juggles stardom with family life

Ada Nicodemou still gets enthused by the material the authors of the programme throw at her, despite the fact that she has portrayed Leah Patterson on Home and Away for more than 20 years. It’s amazing that this role is still challenging, she says.

Don’t get me wrong, there are days when all I want Leah to do is go pour coffee in the café, but right now I’m still feeling so inspired.

It’s been fantastic working with filmmakers that have challenged me and rekindled my passion for acting.

Ada is nominated for Most Popular Actress at this Sunday’s TV Week Logie Awards for her efforts this year. She has been nominated for the award in this category seven times. Throughout her career, she’s been nominated three times for the Gold.

Ada, 46, acknowledges that the honour means more to her now that she is older. “In 2002, I received Silver and Gold nominations.” I had imposter syndrome and was fairly young at the time, she reflects.

“I had only been on HAA for a year, but the more time passes, the more I feel like I’ve been doing this for a really long time and I should be proud of this honour,” said the member.

When New Idea asked Ada to celebrate her most-recent Logies nod with
a photoshoot, it only felt right that her supportive ‘baby’ Johnas joined in on the fun.

Arriving at our studio, the soccer-obsessed 10-year-old jumps on his iPad as Ada sits down to get her hair and makeup done. However, after 20 minutes, she switches into mum mode. ”That’s enough screen time for today,” she declares.

While the actress stresses it’s not easy convincing her son to limit technology, Johnas surprises everyone when he not only obliges, but gets out a book. Forget Harry Potter, Johnas has come prepared with a rather heavy looking Screenwriting For Dummies.

Ada asserts that the technological limitations are what prompted Johnas to pick up screenwriting, claiming that children need to be bored in order to discover things to do.

He simply began to write various things. Just before he revealed to me that he was penning a film! She comments, “I was really impressed. It’s really creative,” but Johnas is secretly working on getting Ada to pay for his major show.

Ada explains that Adam Rigby, the man she has loved for seven years, got Johnas the book to hone his craft before he eventually sets his sights on Hollywood.

He still aspires to play for their country in football, but he also really wants to make a movie. She laughs, “He even told me he’ll need $2000 to accomplish it. Ada acknowledges that for a brief moment she believed Johnas believed she could simply snap her fingers and he would be on location filming his mega-hit.

I advised him to find employment. He recently began cleaning vehicles. He’s putting in a lot of effort, and I’m simply glad he’s being inventive,” she says.

Ada claims Johnas isn’t permitted to watch her popular Channel Seven soap opera, but he enjoys helping his mother memorise her lines.He’ll then interrogate me about my job, which, she quips, “I love because it cuts my times in half.”

Ada’s main concern is keeping her kid from pursuing “YouTube fame”. Kids seem to desire to be famous above all else, but as he gets older, she thinks, he will start to see the other side. “I want Johnas to remember that I worked really hard and made a lot of sacrifices, including time with him, to achieve my success.”

Ada admits that having a renowned mother as a classmate creates some odd playground situations for young students. “Johnas was just telling me that he wasn’t thrilled about some schoolchildren recently searching me up on Wikipedia. I warned him that it might keep happening since, regrettably, it’s just a fact of life.

Ada announces that she and Adam are taking their first family vacation in years by flying to Europe with Johnas as the young, ambitious screenwriter plans his next move.

She claims, “I feel at home there.” Adam will also have his first encounter with Ada’s extended relatives in Cyrpus during the eagerly anticipated trip. Although he is familiar with her immediate family, Ada warns us he is in for “one hell of a ride.”