Tasma Walton (born 19 August 1973) is an Aboriginal Australian television and film actress and novelist.
Early life and education
Tasma Walton was born on 19 August 1973 in Geraldton, Western Australia. She is of Boonwurrung descent through her mother, however she only discovered this in her late 30s.
Walton joined local radio station 6GE and trained as a production assistant and copywriter in Geraldton, her home town. In the same year, she made her film debut in Fistful of Flies. Her last episode of Blue Heelers ("The Full Circle") screened in mid-1999.
In 2009, Walton joined the cast of City Homicide in the semi-regular role of criminal profiler, Claudia Leigh. In July 2013, it was announced that Walton had rejoined the cast of Home and Away in the recurring role of Jade Montgomery. She was on the show for two seasons.
In 2016, Walton appeared on three episodes of Rake. She also had a regular role on Cleverman (in 2016 and 2017). In 2018, she joined the cast of Mystery Road, reprising her role from the 2013 film of the same name. She returned to season two in 2020.
In 2023 Walton appeared in Channel Seven series The Claremont Murders, and she joined the second season of Foxtel series The Twelve. in July 2024.
After the success of Reckless, a series created and written by Walton, on 24 February 2026 ABC ordered a new six-part crime drama series created by her, titled Pilli Sisters PI.
Other film and TV appearances include Water Rats, Sea Patrol, The Postcard Bandit, and Perdition. She also won recurring roles in White Collar Blue and BeastMaster.
Writing
Walton has also written two works of fiction:
- Heartless (2009)
- I am Nannertgarrook (2025), an historical novel
- Longlisted, Stella Prize, for I am Nannertgarrook
Personal life
Walton was in a relationship with Danny Roberts for seven and a half years until 2004. She began dating Rove McManus in October 2007. They married in a private ceremony in Broome, Western Australia, on 16 June 2009. In December 2013, Walton and McManus announced the birth of their daughter.
Filmography
Film
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
|1996
|Fistful of Flies
|Maria "Mars" Lupi
| Feature film
|-
| 1998
|Cody: The Wrong Stuff
|
|TV film
|-
|1999
|Airtight
|Virg
|TV film
|-
|2000
|Virtual Nightmare
|Wendy
|TV film
|-
| rowspan="2" |2003
|Subterano
|Stone
| Feature film
|-
|The Postcard Bandit
| Frankie
| TV film
|-
|2004
|Roll
|Emma
|TV film
|-
| rowspan="2" |2005
|Perdition
|Jo
|Short film
|-
|Little Oberon
|Georgie Green
|TV film
|-
| rowspan="2" |2006
|Safety in Numbers
|Caroline
|
|-
|BlackJack: At the Gates
|Sylvia
|TV film
|-
| rowspan="3" |2009
|Dreamland
|April Freeman
|
|-
|Blessed
|Gail
| Feature film
|-
|Together Alone
|Trish
|Short film
|-
|2013
|Mystery Road
|Mary Swan
| Feature film
|-
|2015
|Looking for Grace
|Sandra
| Feature film
|-
|2017
|The Half Dead
|Julie Masden
|Post-production
|-
|2021
|How to Please a Woman
|Monique
| Feature film
|-
|2022
|Sweet As
|Mitch
| Feature film
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
!Ref
|-
| rowspan="3" |1995
|Home and Away
|Rachel Watson
| TV series, season 8 (recurring role)
|
|-
|Echo Point
|Gina
|TV series
|
|-
|Blue Heelers
|Kim Treloar
| TV series, episode: "Salutary Lessons"
|
|-
|1996–99
|Blue Heelers
|Const. Deirdre E. "Dash" McKinley
| TV series, 129 episodes
|
|-
|2000
|Water Rats
|Belinda Harvey
| TV series, episode: "Able to Leap Tall Buildings"
|
|-
|2000–02
|BeastMaster
|Caro
| TV series (recurring role)
|
|-
|2001
|The Secret Life of Us
|Leah
| TV series (recurring role)
|
|-
|2003
|White Collar Blue
|Gemma Mancuzzo
| TV series, episodes: 2.10, 2.11
|
|-
|2004
|McLeod's Daughters
|Tracey Morrison
|TV series, season 4, episode 8: "Show of Love"
|
|-
|2006
|Stupid, Stupid Man
|Janine Russell
|TV series, episode: "A Very, Very Private Function"
|
|-
|2009
|Sea Patrol
|Jila
| TV series, season 3, episode: "Secret Cargo"
|
|-
|2009–10
|City Homicide
|Claudia Leigh
|TV series (regular role)
|
|-
|2013–14
|Home and Away
|Jade Montgomery
| TV series, seasons 26-27 (recurring role)
|
|-
|2014
|It's a Date
|Paulina
| TV series, episode: "Should You Date Outside Your Comfort Zone?"
|
|-
|2016
|Rake
|Jack
| TV series, episodes: 4.6, 4.7, 4.8
|
|-
|2016–17
|Cleverman
|Araluen
| TV series (regular role)
|
|-
|2018–2020
|Mystery Road
|Mary Swan
|TV series, episodes: 2, 3 & 4
|
|-
|2023
| The Claremont Murders
| Karin Margolius
| TV series, 2 episodes
|
|-
|2024
|The Twelve
|Thelma Connell
|TV series: 8 episodes
|
|-
| rowspan="3" |2025
|Scrublands: Silver
|Josie Jones
|TV series: 2 episodes
|
|-
|Deadloch
|Detective Greene
|TV series
|
|-
|Reckless
|June
|TV series
|
|-
|TBA
|Pilli Sister PI
|TBA
|TBA
|
|-
|2020
|Whovians
|Herself
|TV series, 1 episode
|
|-
|2019
|Show Me the Movie!
|Herself
|TV series, 1 episode
|
|}
Theatre
Walton has also performed extensively on stage, including the following productions:
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1992 || Summer of the Aliens || Mrs Irvin / Japanese Woman || UNSW Parade Theatre
|-
| 1993 || The Skin of Our Teeth || || UNSW Parade Theatre
|-
| 1993 || The Grace of Mary Traverse || Mary Traverse / Hangman || NIDA Theatre
|-
| 1993 || All's Well That Ends Well || || NIDA Theatre
|-
| 1993 || A House is Built || Katie || UNSW Parade Theatre
|-
| 1994 || Jigsaws || || New Theatre, Sydney
|-
| 2001 || The Vagina Monologues || || Ensemble Theatre
|-
| 2001 || Men of Honour || || Ensemble Theatre
|-
| 2004 || Live Acts on Stage || || Playhouse Theatre, Perth
|-
| 2015 || Dinner || || Heath Ledger Theatre, Perth
|-
| 2019 || Winyanboga Yurringa || || Belvoir Street Theatre
|}