Sophie Wong is a fictional character in the Australian Channel Seven drama series Winners & Losers, played by Melanie Vallejo. Sophie is one of the show's four female protagonists and made her debut screen appearance in the pilot episode "Covert Aggression in Netball", which was broadcast on 22 March 2011. Vallejo did not undertake much preparation for her audition, opting to be natural to impress the casting staff. Upon receiving the role she moved home from Adelaide to Melbourne for filming. The series focuses on the lives of Sophie, Frances James (Virginia Gay), Jenny Gross (Melissa Bergland) and Bec Gilbert (Zoe Tuckwell-Smith) who attend a school reunion and later win money on the Oz Lotto.
Sophie is characterised as a "self-aware, sexy, confident and hot female" who used to be bullied for being over-weight during high school. Vallejo said that Sophie is likeable because "she is fun, she wears great clothes [and] kisses lots of boys". One early storyline for the character is a cocaine habit, which was deemed "risky" for the network to air. Sophie's problems are attributed to her backstory; once engaged to Leo Chung, she was devastated when he died in a car accident. She was a medical student but left the profession and began working as a personal trainer. Throughout the series Sophie shares a close friendship with Doug Graham (Tom Wren), but he is in love with her. Some of Sophie's "steamy" sexual scenes involve Doug, both Vallejo and Wren thought the plot was "hilarious". At the end of season one the two characters began a relationship, which began Sophie's story arc for the second season of Winners & Losers. Bec discovers that she is pregnant with Doug's child – but the characters decide to try to make their situation work. Sophie also returns to train in medicine.
The reception Sophie has garnered from critics has been mixed. The character's sexual prowess has often been reported on; Clem Bastow from The Vine said that Sophie is "the sex kitten of the show", while Ruth Beloff from The Jerusalem Post branded her "sexy" and "promiscuous". One reviewer felt that Vallejo became a "household face" because of Sophie – and Darren Devlyn and Colin Vickery from the Herald Sun said the critics were "raving" about Vallejo's performance. But The Age's Debi Enker labelled Sophie a "standard" stereotype of the "glamorous, troubled brunette" and Melinda Houston writing for The Sydney Morning Herald left unimpressed with Vallejo's acting, likening her to a "slightly wooden pretty face".
Creation and casting Vallejo told Belinda Wan from Jetstar Magazine that she did not carry out much preparation before she auditioned for the role. She added "I just made sure I arrived on time, knew my lines and crossed my fingers that they'd like me." She was having a good time in the role and felt that being in the show from the very beginning was "special". Vallejo told Debbie Schipp from the Herald Sun that she auditioned alongside Virginia Gay who went on to play Frances James. Vallejo moved home from Adelaide to Melbourne for the role.
The character and Vallejo's casting, alongside the series itself, were first announced in September 2010. Created by Bevan Lee, the show focuses on the friendship between four females; consisting of Sophie, Frances, Jenny Gross (Melissa Bergland) and Bec Gilbert (Zoe Tuckwell-Smith). The quartet were labelled "losers" while at school and Lee said that it would explore how society carries their "inner loser". Producers wanted the four characters to have chemistry and forced the actresses to spend time together in the early stages of production. Vallejo told Colin Vickery from The Daily Telegraph that it resulted in them "really" connecting and developing real friendships. The show's producer Maryanne Carroll told Michael Idato from The Sydney Morning Herald that it was not her team's intention to cast low profile artists in the lead roles. The "crucial" requirement was to have "four girls with the right chemistry together"; and Carroll felt that there was "something really magical" about the dynamic Vallejo and her co-stars shared.
Character development
Characterisation Sophie is described on the show's website as being a self-aware "sexy, confident and hot" female. Although in her backstory she had been overweight and bullied throughout school and gained the nickname "So Wong". She was academically bright and her Chinese father, Charles Wong (Ferdinand Hoang) was strict. She was "miserable and lacked self-esteem" but found safety through her "friendship and close rivalry" with Frances. She finished Dux of the school and went on to study medicine where she found love with Leo Chung. He was killed in an accident and Sophie went on a "downward spiral". Sophie becomes a personal trainer and "spends her time partying and flitting through the world having casual sex with anyone she wants." She also shares a friendship with Doug Graham (Tom Wren) who attempts to bring order to her life – although Sophie "really has no idea who she is anymore".
Vallejo told Wan that Sophie was fun to play because she is "straight-talking, confident, fun-loving and has a wicked sense of humour. She often says what everyone else is thinking but too afraid to say." Vallejo revealed that she could identify with Sophie's "lust for life and sense of loyalty", but not her wild side. The actress also found it "quite easy" to portray Sophie's emotional scenes because she knew the character well. Carroll coordinated a team of "experts" to create the lives of the four protagonists. One aspect focused upon is their accommodation; with each item within signifying something about the characters. Sophie's flat is a "clash of high heels and boxing gloves".
Vallejo told Schipp that it was hard not to like Sophie because "she's fun, she wears great clothes, kisses lots of boys". The wardrobe department dressed Sophie in "tiny little hot pants" made from lycra and midriff tops, which Vallejo believed that no one in real life would wear unless they were sixteen. They also tried to get her Sophie into short hemmed skirts, but the actress got into "tussles" to have them longer. Sophie has an enthusiasm for men and one-night stands. Vallejo explained that she found her character's sex scenes more "fun than raunchy". Sophie often feels awkward about her flings the following morning. Vallejo added that "her enthusiasm for men is OK; it's part fun, part distraction, she hides herself in men. But she also does it because she can, because she used to be a very big girl, so now she's flaunting it."
The reunion and friendships Vallejo told a writer from the show's website that Sophie had much insecurity because of the way she used to look. When she goes to her school reunion it causes her insecurities to come "flooding back". The actress told Scott Ellis from The Sun-Herald that Sophie, Frances, Jenny and Bec are not the type of people portrayed on television most of the time. The four are "unashamedly the losers from high school and that's okay" because they are just older but "still just the same friends as they always were". This was something that she felt made them "normal" people. A theme for Winners & Losers is "Can you escape who you are?". Vallejo said that Sophie was a "good example" because her physicality had changed to the point she looks "completely different". She has a new life, but when she is around the girls again – it makes her feel like the same sixteen year old." Vallejo believed that women would easily relate to the girl's behaviour; as she also believed that people do not change as much as they would like to think they have.
Vallejo told Vickery that she felt lucky to play Sophie because she stands out from the rest of the girls from the first episode. She stated that their personalities develop over time, while Sophie immediately has "all these layers" visible. She is also the character who has changed the most since their high school years. An early storyline for Sophie is her cocaine habit. Vickery reported that the show was taking "a big risk" portraying the issue via a lead character because it "could easily alienate viewers". Vallejo admitted that she judged Sophie from the beginning as she questioned why Sophie was acting this way. She added that when viewers first see Sophie, she is "at the height of her craziness".
Following the reunion the girls play the Oz Lotto on a drunken whim and end up winning. Lee told Frances Atkinson from The Age that most people do not keep in touch following reunions, but their lotto win "binds the girls and sets them on a new path". They each have certain aspects of their lives that they are dishonest about and it forces them to confront this. Lee explained that "Sophie's in a lot a pain and just wants to keep dancing on a glass floor".
Relationship with Doug Graham Sophie and Doug later sleep together; Wren told Lizzy Lovette of The Sun-Herald that it was "hilarious" to get nude with his "good mate" Vallejo. The pair eventually "got into it" after a period of giggles. Lovette predicted that Sophie and Doug's "super steamy" scenes would boost the show's ratings. Doug later expresses his interest in a relationship with Sophie, but she turns him down. He becomes close to Bec and a romance develops between them. Vallejo told Clare Rigden from TV Week that "down the track, this leads to lots of complications for Sophie. There's a very pivotal moment coming up for her."
Sophie and Doug get together but soon after they discover that Bec is pregnant with his child. At first Sophie, Doug, Bec and her husband Matt O'Connor (Blair McDonough) attempt to carry on with their lives as normal. The actress told Debbie Schipp, writing for The Daily Telegraph, that they had an "excruciating" wait to see how Sophie would deal the scenario between production break. Vallejo told Clare Ridgen from TV Week that Sophie would embrace a "new adult mature life" while she is with Doug. She explained that Sophie and Doug share moments "where they're blissfully happy, then there's the baby". None of them actually know what changes the baby will have in their lives and everyone "is being fine" about the situation, but it has an "ominous presence". She even likened the baby to a "tiny little growing elephant [...] in the room". The situation becomes strained and Sophie is the first implode. Vallejo said that up until that point, Sophie had ignored that situation, believing it would not change her relationship with Doug. But Doug tells Sophie that her home is not big enough for a baby, and she begins to think "this is starting to affect me way too much". The actress explained that because the four characters did not discuss it enough, it causes a lot of drama, "especially from Sophie". Sophie has tried to be the "supportive friend" to Bec and ends up feeling left on the outside. Doug and Matt later get into a fight about their predicament, while Bec is "oblivious". Vallejo also branded the concluded that the storyline "may be a little out there, but those tensions are very real".