EMILY ROBINSON discovers a young local star juggling a bright TV career with a feep affection for her home region.
You’re a Geelong girl, how would you describe your experience growing up in Geelong?
I love Geelong, that’s why I’m still here. I went to Bellbrae Primary School and then to Sacred Heart College. I’ve had a lot of different jobs– I’ve worked at a lot of businesses in Geelong. I’m still living in Geelong and doing retail on the side.
Do people ever recognize you?
Yes they do. I don’t have a problem when people want a chat. But I find it a bit rude when people want a photo and then walk off. I’m all for chatting but when people do that I get a bit confused, it’s quite bizarre. I don’t really know what to do, sometimes I feel like saying you can’t have a photo without saying hi and introducing yourself (laughs).
Maybe people just don’t want to bother you?
Yeah I actually considered maybe people felt like that the other day. But personally, I would feel more uncomfortable asking for a photo than asking for a conversation. I think Justin Bieber recently had a whinge about this (laughs). I think now with apps like Instagram it changes things – people seem to rather pictures these days.
Did you always want to be an actress?
No. I didn’t start acting until I was in my 20s. Throughout school I liked a lot of different subjects – I suppose that’s what makes acting the best – I get to be lots of different roles. I was always quite interested in a lot of areas, all through high school I was like oh gosh I want to do everything (laughs).
How did you get your ‘foot in the door’ in the acting industry?
I just gave it a go. I literally saw a sign promoting Screen Actors and I thought it would be a bit of a laugh. I had heaps of fun. It was a lovely environment – I kept pursuing it because I enjoyed the people I was meeting along the way.
You had a six-episode guest role in Home and Away, what did you learn there?
Home and Away as well as Neighbours are very similar in how they run – they have to shoot so quickly. They’re on a tight time frame. You have to jump in and hit the ground running. The scenes are really short, like a minute long. Working with the team was great, they’re all professionals and everyone’s doing what they love doing. People say there are divas in the acting industry, but I’ve never met anyone like that just yet.
You recently stared in local play, Exit The King, how did you find the on-stage experience?
It’s a completely different skill set. You can still create your character in similar ways, but how you perform is different. The audience can’t always see your face on stage, so you need a strong voice to carry expression. On set, you just get a microphone attached to your top which can pick everything up. On stage you also need to have faith in the people around you – that they’re going to catch you if you stuff up. You have to keep on rolling, whereas in television you can just do another take. So to trust in your fellow actors is really important.
Your biggest role has been playing Jess Warner in Wentworth, can you tell us about that experience?
It was the first big role I had. I was able to apply all the things I studied and was trained to do – I was given the opportunity to give it a crack. Every character you play is an exploration of being a different person and how different people behave in their environment. Obviously driving up to Melbourne wasn’t great at times – start times were sometimes 5am in the morning. But you get past it because you just love your day.
Will you be returning for the fourth season?
For those who haven’t seen the end of the third season yet, this may be a bit of a spoiler. But my character is strangled to death and killed at the end of the third season, so definitely not coming back (laughs).
Do you have plans to move out of Geelong?
No plans at all.
Would you consider working overseas?
I would, but the problem with working overseas is getting a working visa. It can be difficult to get them and they take a lot of time. I have a Canadian working visa but to get an American one is a bit of a process.
What are your plans for the future?
I’ll see how Sammy J and Randy in Ricketts Lane on ABC goes. They aired six episodes on ABC iview recently and its now on ABC TV. You can’t predict the future. I don’t know when the next audition is, I don’t know anything.
What is your career highlight?
I’m constantly striving for a highlight. It’s a really tough question. I think everything is magical in its own sense. The stuff I learnt on Wentworth I’ll never learn anywhere else. Maybe the highlight is that I get to do new stuff all the time? But I think my biggest career highlight is yet to come.
What are some of your favourite things to do in Geelong?
To be honest it’s the beach. I consider Torquay a part of Geelong. There’s just something so wonderful about being able to get to the beach. Geelong is great, I love getting around it – it’s so quick and easy. Everything you want is like five minutes away. I like to go for runs along the Barwon River and people say hello and it’s lovely. People are great, I love it.
There are a lot of young girls who look up to you. Do you have any advice for those looking to get into acting?
Acting is just a job, a career. I think people tend to put acting on a pedestal – it’s just storytelling. I think if you’re going to pursue acting to be famous, you’re not an actor. You need confidence, but you need confidence in every job. I think an actor is someone who is a part of a team and who tells stories. The whole famous thing is something quite bizarre and ridiculous. I would say to young girls just make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons. If you’re doing it to be famous, it’s not going to be fulfilling, it’s going to be really difficult.
Is there anything else you’d like to say?
Just a big thanks to everyone who has come up to me and had a chat – beside the people who just ask for photos and leave (laughs). People come up to me and say ‘I love Wentworth and I love this about your character’. They’ve been so wonderfully supportive. I’ve been really flattered and grateful for their comments.
