An American actor has fallen in love with rugby league.
Zoe Greenfield (known for a variety of comedy movies from the 2000s and the long running sitcom Funny Girls) was invited to this year’s Las Vegas games by some Australian friends. It would change her life.
“I like the NFL, so I thought it might be a fun day out, but I was blown away at how good the the games were!” said Greenfield. “I thought I might watch the first one and then leave, but I ended up watching all four. Even that 90 point game had some nice tries and the tackling was amazing. How do they not get hurt all the time with no pads or helmets?”
Currently filming the Murders on a Monday Netflix movie (an adaptation of the popular murder-mystery novels), Greenfield is using her downtime on set to watch as much rugby league as possible.
“My friends told me about this app that has live games, highlights, and full replays. The live games are a bit hard with the time difference, but I can usually fit in a two-hour replay while in hair and make-up.* And I’ve started listening to Bloke in a Bar. It’s a big long, but I usually finish it in a couple of days.”
Greenfield is even planning a ‘rugby league tour’ to Australia later this year.
“I’m trying to convince my agent to take the Murders publicity tour to Australia so I can fit in some rugby league while I’m there. I’m going to take my Australian friends as they’ll know the best games to watch,” she said. “Even if that doesn’t work out, I’m going to get my Vegas 2026 tickets as soon as they’re available.”
Though Greenfield is yet to complete the most important part of rugby league conversion – picking a team to support.
“I’m happy to be a neutral fan at the moment. My Aussie friends support all different teams and I don’t want to hurt their feelings by favouring one team. I might find a team eventually.”
- = the Wooden Spooners team has no idea how long hair and make up takes on a movie set, so we took Zoe’s word for it and didn’t ask any follow-up questions.
