Isla Fisher has broken through Hollywood with big budget films such as "Confessions of a Shopaholic," "Wedding Crashers," and "The Great Gatsby," but, just like most thriving careers in show business, she started small. And she's paying homage to her start by giving the Aussie soap "Home and Away" backhanded compliments.

The 37-year-old Australian-raised star played her Logie Award-nominated role as Shannon Reed on the long-running soap opera "Home and Away" from 1994 to 1997. She has then travelled abroad to enrol in an acting school and to audition and win various roles before landing a part in the 2002 U.S. comedy "Scooby-Doo."

From then on, she was able to land roles alongside Hollywood stars, such as Vince Vaugh and Owen Wilson in "Wedding Crashers," Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Matthew Goode in "Hot Rod," Rachel Weisz and Ryan Reynolds in "Definitely Maybe," Leonardo DiCaprio in "The Great Gatsby," and Woody Harrelson and Morgan Freeman in her latest film "Now You See Me."

She also had her first Hollywood main starrer-flick in "Confessions of a Shopaholic" in 2009.

She has come a long way, indeed. And that's thanks to her soapie beginnings.

"Home and Away taught me how to look good in a bikini," she had told The Guardian's Observer in a recent interview. "And how to deliver bad dialogue convincingly - a skill that really helped in the early days of my career."

It's not the most complimentary thing to say about the soap that helped her become a star, but she really sounded sincere in thanking the Seven Network series. Perhaps she just wasn't aware she was giving it a backhanded compliment.

"For a long time I was auditioning for films that weren't good, but I'd always get called back because I could make a terrible line sound real. For that, I'll always be grateful," Isla, who is married to comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, continued.

The Seven Network hasn't replied to Isla's apparent diss yet.

Watch Isla's last day at Home and Away:

Isla isn't the only "Home and Away" graduate who slammed the soap.

It can be recalled that Melissa George, who played the teenage runaway Angel Parish from 1993 to 1996, threatened to walk off the set of "The Morning Show" in November 2012 when she accused the hosts of constantly aligning her with "Home and Away."

The incident wasn't played on air, though it was widely reported in the press.

"I don't need credibility from my country any more, I just need them all to be quiet," she was quoted as saying. "If they have nothing intelligent to say, please don't speak to me anymore. I'd rather be having a croissant and an espresso in Paris or walking my French bulldog in New York City.