Multi award nominated lead actress Nicole Chamoun sits comfortably among the likes of co-lead American Thomas Jane (The Punisher, The Vanished, Boogie Nights) and well known Australians Angela Punch McGreggor, Damien Garvey, Kate Beahan, and David Lyons.

"I hadn't worked with any of them before, but of course I was familiar with their work.

"It was great to have TJ [Jane] as executive producer, it added level of care to the production."

Chamoun's previous roles have been mostly hard-hitting characters which she loves to portray.

"They're the roles I've been cast in - I adore them. And if you do well people think of you in that kind of genre.

"I thrive in the chaos and drama of life and wanted the role of [ex-con turned private eye] Amanda Pharrell because she was an intense, well rounded character.

"I read the book [Crimson Lake], because I'm impatient and couldn't wait until the scripts came to me.

"I loved the book, but you have to be careful. I didn't want my approach to the character swayed too much by what I was reading.

"Crimson Lake is a novel, whereas ours is eight one-hour episodes. So we have more room to expand the arc of the characters.

Chamoun praised the Troppo production crew.

"I think they've done such an exceptional job of creating the world of Crimson Lake. Film noir was a reference we were all given from the beginning.

"It makes it so much easier; so much of the work is already done for you.

The Gold Coast hinterland substitutes for the tropical Far North setting.

"The heat wasn't so bad, but it started to get quite warm towards the end of the filming.

"TJ was really great at that [as disgraced ex-cop Ted Conkaffey]; he moved slowly as if the air was so thick. You can see how the heat makes you go troppo.

Chamoun says she was nervous about the series being shot there.

"We encountered everything. There was a safety officer on board, but you are reminded every day - 'If you see a snake, don't move, no fast moves'. We had a lot of creepy crawlies and snakes and crocodiles."

Despite the conditions, Chamoun's character wears heavy pants and boots and gets down in the thick of things.

"I loved it [the dirt]. Amanda [her character] is not very kind to herself, and to wear pants in that heavy heat, she is torturing herself. It added to her personna, and I used that.

Chamoun had been sidelined by illness for a time but was fortunate everyone was so collaborative on Troppo.

"We worked closely together to create the physicality. I wanted to embrace it and keep her [hair] buzzed really short.

"I felt intuitively it was exactly what I needed in my life personally and professionally.

"I'm most proud of myself and what I was able to accomplish.

"If you had told me I could accomplish that two months out of treatment, I would have said you were crazy.

"It was really important to me I showed the industry a different side of myself, I did feel I was starting to get pigeon-holed."

Chamoun says she is curious to know how the audience will receive the series.

"We didn't shy away from the sinister.

"I had some input even with her bike. The more hands on I can be helps me creatively.

"Hair and make-up on set are like your therapist - they calm you down and listen to you.

It took two and a half hours in the chair in the mornings to apply the tattoos

"We worked with a tattoo artist, and there is a story behind every one. The tattoo artist helped me design them, and trained me how to do it.

"It was interesting watching the way people reacted to them.

"I don't have any tattoos, but Amanda has inspired me - I think. Maybe I will get something small and in an area that can be covered up easily.