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Simone Buchanan

Simone Buchanan

Actor · Born March 11, 1968 (58) · Marrickville, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Simone Buchanan (born 11 March 1968) is an Australian film and television actress, and television director. She is best known for her television roles as Debbie Kelly in Australia's most successful and longest running sitcom Hey Dad...! Simone Buchanan went on to star alongside Deborah Lee Furness in internationally acclaimed feature film Shame. Simone has also starred in many television dramas including Neighbours, McLeod's Daughters, Blue Heelers, Water Rats, All Saints, Pacific Drive, A Country Practice, Sons and Daughters and Upper Middle Bogan. Her film credits include: Forced Entry, Push, High Country, Doctors and Nurses , My Brilliant Career, Patrick alongside Rachel Griffiths and Charles Dance and most recently Boar starring alongside Huge Sheridan and John Jarratt. She has been married to Brett Smith since April 5, 2008. They have two children.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
March 11, 1968 (58)
From
Marrickville, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Works as
Actor
Titles
10 on MovieCove · 26 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 37 days to Oct 26Down 25% in 30 days

What are Simone Buchanan's films like?

Across a limited sample of 4 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Survival.

Themes

share of theme weight
Morality
32%
Survival
22%
Self
19%
Power
14%
Bonds
13%
Family bonds2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 4 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Wry: How sincerely it treats its story and characters, from ironic to earnest. Browse their wry movies.
Tone · Sincerity
ironicearnest

A split, not a type: Ironic 1 · Wry 0 · Earnest 3

Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 1 · Serious 1 · Dark 2

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 1 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 0

Intense: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their intense movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 0 · Charged 1 · Intense 3

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 0 · Shifting 4 · Whiplash 0

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 4 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 0

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 1

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 0 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 0

Open-ended: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their open-ended movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 2 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings shown from 5 titles

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
4
Dread
4
Bittersweet
2
Absurd
1

How their films linger

Fun2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Simone Buchanan's films?

As of October 24, 2026, all 10 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (5).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Simone Buchanan's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

26 credits, 10 with a MovieCove page.

  • Girl at the Window(2022)

    as Christina Ellis

    Midcredits score: 6th percentile of all films

  • The Possessed(2021)

    as Carissa

    Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all films

  • Boar(2017)

    as Debbie

    Midcredits score: 16th percentile of all films

  • Patrick: Evil Awakens(2013)

    as Patrick's Mother

    Midcredits score: 12th percentile of all films

  • Upper Middle Bogan(2013)

    Show 1 episode · as Kirby

    Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all shows

  • End of Town (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)

    as Mother

  • McLeod's Daughters(2001)

    Show 1 episode · as Amy Tanaka

    Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all shows

  • All Saints(1998)

    Show 1 episode · as Mitchie Bell

    Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all shows

  • Water Rats(1996)

    Show 1 episode · as Jenny Spiro

    Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all shows

  • Pacific Drive (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)

    Show 101 episodes · as Laura Harris

  • Blue Heelers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)

    Show 1 episode · Actor

  • R.F.D.S. (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)

    Show 13 episodes · as Rebecca Owens

  • Shame (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)

    as Lizzie Curtis

  • Hey Dad..! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)

    Show 162 episodes · as Debbie Kelly

  • Platypus Cove (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)

    as Jenny Nelson

  • Run Chrissie Run! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)

    as Cathy

  • Neighbours(1985)

    Show 72 episodes · Actor

    Midcredits score: 16th percentile of all shows

  • Runaway Island (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)

    Show 16 episodes · as Jemma McLeod

  • High Country (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)

    as Debbie Lomax

  • Carson's Law (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1983)

    Show 3 episodes · as Melanie Creswell · as Rose Gunn

  • Secret Valley (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)

    Show 26 episodes · as Simone

  • Mystery at Castle House (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)

    as Kate

  • Doctors & Nurses (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)

    as Jane Gilmour

  • Run Rebecca, Run! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)

    as Rebecca

  • My Brilliant Career(1979)

    as Mary Anne

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films

  • A Good Thing Going (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)

    as Cathy Harris

Career shape

Star power in the 82nd percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 26 titles from 1978 to 2022; peak year 2022.

Biggest box office

The Possessed (2021)

$233K worldwide

Highest rated

The Possessed (2021)

Midcredits 36th

Film career

19782022

Peak 2022 · at the high point of their film career. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.

  • 1985Screen debut· Neighbours
  • 1988First film· Shame

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting26 of 26: 26 only acting, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score42nd

By decade

1970s2 · acting1980s12 · acting1990s5 · acting2000s2 · acting2010s3 · acting2020s2 · acting

Billing

usually 8th · top billed in 0% of 5 roles

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30.

How do Simone Buchanan's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 16th percentile, the median of all 5; across a limited sample of 4 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 19th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

19thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 4

Approval · how many liked their films

12thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 4

Reach · how many have seen their films

78thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 4

Midcredits score across 10 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up2
  • 50th to 74th2
  • 25th to 49th2
  • Below 25th4

Shape of the crowd

5 of their 10 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Cult Classic2
  • Crowd Pleaser5
  • Mixed3

Most divisive · actor

Neighbours (1985)

84th percentile spread · 24% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

My Brilliant Career (1979)

Midcredits 86th · 74% liked

Reviewers score the acting 46/100 in their films, across 4 reviewed titles; fans 71, detractors 28. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Simone Buchanan's work okay for kids?

Across a limited sample of up to 3 MovieCove titles with content scores.

Their medianMedian of all films
Sex & Nudity3 titlesmedian 47 · moderateMedian of all films: 32

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.

Who does Simone Buchanan work with?

People who share at least 2 of Simone Buchanan's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Compton Ross shares the most, 3.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers