“As actors we give so much of ourselves away so I like to keep my personal life to myself.”
“I came from rather humble beginnings.”
“I haven’t met everyone from all different cultures, but I do know Aussies are very tough”
“I love zombie films like Danny Boyle’s ’28 Days Later’ – I thought it was so brilliantly done and so grounded in reality. I was definitely thrust into the zombie world watching that film.”
“I know my parents are really proud of me, and they think I’ve become successful, so that’s nice, but there’s still so much I want to achieve in my life.”
“I think Aussies try to stay humble.”
“I feel like if I ever got into some sort of rumble on the street, I will actually be able to defend myself.”
“Obviously I don’t have a stylist for everyday stuff, but for a premiere or something usually the studio will hire someone.”
“As a producer you have creative control, and that’s what is so exciting about it. At the end of the day, if you have made a film it’s totally your responsibility, and if it works it’s your responsibility and if it doesn’t it’s also your responsibility.”
“I’m very much into animal welfare.”
“I had the best of both worlds when I was a kid. I’d spend a quiet week with my mum, then I’d go to my dad’s property in the Adelaide Hills, where there were all these kids and animals running around.”
“I do like fantasy films.”
“I’d always dreamt of acting but, in Adelaide, we don’t have exposure to the opportunities that make stardom a possibility.”
“I was so dorky up until I was about 14 or 15 and started to get a little bit cooler, but I was a socks and sandals girl. I would wear big frilly socks with sandals and all the kids would tease me.”
“I’m a workaholic, I always try to fill my time with projects.”
“In real life, I’m always in tracksuits, and I never wear makeup.”
“I can walk around relatively anonymously.”
“I always have those feelings – lucky and blessed – and I don’t know if they’ll ever go away. I really hope they don’t, as I think it keeps you grounded. That’s how I feel about every film I do.”
“I was thrown in the deep end at 18 when I got cast in a movie that I didn’t audition for. The director just sort of found me and put me in a film, so the decision was really made for me.”
“I can’t speak for anyone else, but in my case, I sort of fell into acting.”
“I love to challenge myself.”
“There aren’t a lot of movie star males around my age that I can play opposite.”
“The nerds are my favourite sort of boys – any guy with a passion – whether it be physics or film or writing or poetry even, I think it’s super sweet and it’s very attractive for a female.”
“If you are having fun on screen, it shows.”
“Kids are really cruel.”
“My parents don’t really watch movies at all.”
“I think that Americans find the Australian humour and the energy of Australians very refreshing – we are quite self-deprecating, we’re light-hearted and can have a laugh.”
“I try to get back to Australia as much as possible.”
“I think, for me anyway, music and film is where you can really transport yourself to another universe.”
“You never know when the next up-and-comers will be in the spotlight so people forget you. There’s no guarantees.”
“I always thought I wouldn’t want to be pregnant at my wedding. But I love it. It’s beautiful to know our baby was there with us. And I’ve never really been that traditional.”
“Adelaide, it’s now called Radelaide, because it’s so ‘Rad’!”
[on working with Terrence Malick] “It was definitely guerrilla-style filmmaking and I don’t know if I can touch having that experience ever again. And by the way, I don’t even know if I am going to make the final film, but being around Malick was absolutely enough for me.”
[on collaborating with Terrence Malick] “It really just changed the way I saw film. I could understand there are boundless possibilities in this world.”
[on not starring in Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)] “I have made my peace with letting that opportunity go. The character I was to play in “Fury Road” is very similar to Six (I Am Number Four (2011)) in a way, so I feel like I have played her before.”
[on returning to the Australian film industry for the first time in six years] “I’ve carved my path in America doing these big movies and I was switching it up by moving between genres. But I was missing that sense of collaboration you get on these smaller, local movies.”
[on I Am Number Four (2011) not getting a sequel] “It was really disappointing because I poured my heart into that character and I was so excited by the sequel–“The Power Of Six”–in which I had so much more to do.”
[on why she turned down her original plans of becoming a journalist] “I always wanted to be a TV presenter. There’s a show back home called “Getaway”, which is all these beautiful girls, and they go to all these incredible places around the world, and they report from these places. They get to go on holidays, and also get to be a TV presenter. So I thought it looked like glamorous work, and I started studying journalism to try to get into that area. But it was maybe three or four months into the journalism that I got a call–this director said, “I want you to be in my movie”. It kind of went from there. I’ve been in whirlwind ever since, and I never got to doing journalism.”
[on fellow Australian Nicole Kidman] “She was just lovely, and really endearing, and offered me some words of wisdom. She told me to be picky. She was like, “Oh, you do one big film. Don’t get too carried away. Take your time. Be selective with the roles that you take.” And she said, “Your career’s defined by the things you say no to.” Which is really interesting, and I’m really trying to do that at the moment.”
[on the differences between working in the US and Australia] “It’s almost more competitive in Australia because there are far fewer projects and many, many, many talented actors all vying for these roles. We maybe only make ten movies a year–and five of them are decent. It’s quite sad, so when we run out of roles in Australia, we flock over [to] the United States, but luckily for us Aussies we’ve had amazing Aussie actors come before and sort of pave the way, like Naomi Watts and Nicole Kidman.”
[on Kristen Stewart] “I have been recognized as her on the street, and I’ve just gone ahead and signed her name. I’ve been like, “You know what, whatever, I’m just gonna sign her name”, because the person was so crazy excited and so I decided to just go along with it. I’ve only done it once [though]. Usually I’ll be like, “Oh, I’m sorry to disappoint you! You actually wouldn’t know who I am”, but whatever, I can totally pretend to be her!”
[on filming Hacksaw Ridge (2016) and Berlin Syndrome (2017) at the same time] “They are different characters. And I feel like that is easier. I’m glad they’re not too similar. I play a woman, taken captive dealing with Stockholm syndrome in Cate Shortlands movie. It’s a dark sexual role and then I go into this very innocent character, who is just falling in love with her man in “Hacksaw”. They are opposite experiences but equally wonderful.”
[in December 2015] “There seems to be a real movement towards gender equality in our industry. It’s about time, it’s really exciting and it’s very much needed. I have noticed it personally. I have a child; many moons back that could hinder your career and now I feel like it has just added to my career. I have never worked so much since I have had my son. They just embrace the fact that I am a mother now and they just write it into all of my roles, it’s really just an amazing climate right now.”
[on Mel Gibson] “He is really a special person. He is such a huge talent, he is a genius, an eccentric genius who knows exactly what he wants and what his vision is. I’m so inspired working with him because he is definitely getting the best out of everyone, and that is exciting.”