SHORT TAKES : Motherhood’s No Act for Ward

Actress Rachel Ward retreated to Australia after the film “Against All Odds” and produced two children, which now occupy a large portion of her day.

“There isn’t much time for anything other than raising them, is there? That just about takes up all of your time, if you’re doing it properly,” Ward said on a promotion tour for her new movie, “After Dark, My Sweet.”

She said 5-year-old Rosie and 3-year-old Matilda were a handful.

“One’s just starting school, the other’s not yet, and since I don’t work nearly as much as I wish I did, they’re pretty much a full-time preoccupation,” she said.

Last year she portrayed an overly materialistic wife in “How to Get Ahead in Advertising.”

“I’m just trying to find things I feel are stimulating and fulfilling, rather than necessarily maintaining a high profile,” Ward said, adding the high-profile life of a celebrity does not appeal to her.

“I didn’t really feel that that was particularly rewarding,” she said. “If you do that you have a chance to be in a lot of movies and stuff. But just being in the movies ultimately isn’t enough.”