When most people think of Australian actresses and actors in Hollywood, they usually think of the obvious ones: Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, and even Russel Crowe (who’s actually from New Zealand.) But the presence of Australian actresses in the United States is far broader again.
Australian actresses have lead or major roles in a range of American television programs and movies, but they aren’t always obvious, because most adopt American accents.
Here’s a list of seven actresses you might not know are Australian (well, presuming you’re not reading this from Australia.)
Anna Torv (Fringe)
31 year old Anna Torv was born in Melbourne, and grew up on the Gold Coast (Queensland.) A graduate of Australia’s National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), Torv made her TV debut in the Australian TV series White Collar Blue, before landing a regular spot on Australian soap The Secret Life of Us. Her selection to play the role of Olivia Dunham on Fringe was considered surprising at the time given her relative lack of experience, however neither Torv, nor the show has ever looked back.
Notably, John Noble, who plays Walter Bishop on the show, is also Australian.
Yvonne Strzechowski (Chuck)
26 year old Yvonne Strzechowski was born in Sydney, and had only light acting experience before Chuck. A graduate of the University of Western Sydney’s Theatre Nepean, she had a number of minor roles on Australian television, before heading the States to try her luck.
Here’s a clip about her audition for Chuck, including Strzechowski speaking without an American accent:
Poppy Montgomery (Without a Trace)
36 year old Poppy Montgomery was born in Sydney, and moved to the United States at the age of 18. Montgmorey came into prominence with her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in the 2001 CBS mini-series Blonde, before landing the role of Samantha Spade in Without a Trace.
Melissa George (various)
32 year old Melissa George was born in Perth, Western Australia. Well known in Australia for her long running role on soap Home and Away, George moved to the United States in 1998, where she landed minor roles in movies including Dark City, The Limey, Mulholland Drive and Down with Love.
Her first big breakthrough was playing the role of Lauren Reed on the ABC series Alias in 2003. She’s since started or co-stared in a variety of movies, including The Amityville Horror.
Rose Byrne (Damages)
29 year old Rose Byrne was born in Sydney. Byrne made her television debut in 1995 in Australian soap Echo Point, before taking on a number of smaller roles as she developed her acting skills. Her first movie role was as Dormé, the handmaiden to Natalie Portman’s Senator Padmé Amidala, in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones.
After working her way up the ranks, Byrne has appeared in numerous films, and has been playing one of the leading characters in the TV series Damages.
Miranda Otto (various)
41 year old Miranda Otto was born in Brisbane, and is the daughter of well known actor (in Australia) Barry Otto. Unlike many of her fellow Australian’s, Otto started her career in movies, rising quickly to become a popular lead actress in Australian films.
Her break through role internationally was playing Éowyn, a shieldmaiden of Rohan, in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy starting in 1999. Her first major Hollywood appearance was opposite Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer in the suspense thriller What Lies Beneath in 2000. She also appeared in the TV series Cashmere Mafia, and opposite Tom Cruise in War of the Worlds.
Otto has not vigorously pursued a Hollywood career, dividing her time between productions in the United States, the UK, and Australia, including theater work.
Isla Fisher (various)
33 year old Isla Fisher was born in Oman, but moved to Perth Western Australia at the age of six, and is an Australian citizen. Fisher wrote two best selling novels at the age of 18, before landing a role on Australian soap Home and Away.
Her breakthrough role came in 2002 when she played Mary-Jane, Shaggy’s love interest, in the Scooby-Do movie. In 2005, she won the Breakthrough Performance Award at the MTV Movie Awards for her role in Wedding Crashers, and has more recently starred in Confessions of a Shopaholic. She’s also engaged to Borat and Bruno actor Sacha Baron Cohen.
Here’s a David Letterman interview where Fisher’s accent came up:
Notable others (some well known as being Australia)
Rachel Griffiths (Brothers & Sisters)
Emilie de Ravin (Lost)
Frances O’Connor (Cashmere Mafia, others)
Toni Collette (United States of Tara)
Stephanie Chaves-Jacobsen (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles)
Samantha Noble (Gabriel)
Dichen Lachman (Dollhouse)
It’s been confirmed by people in the Paris Hilton camp that the hilton hotel heiress has split up with her boyfriend of 6 months, Doug Reinhardt.
A rep for Paris Hilton is quoted by as saying:
“In response to the inquiry on whether Paris Hilton has split up with Doug Reinhardt, yes, this is true they are no longer together. They remain friends and ask that you please respect their privacy.”
Hilton and Reinhardt have been an item for the past 6 months or so and their public displays of affection (PDA) were fodder for the paparazzi the entire time. Right up until Monday night at a premier the two were all over each other. Gossip blogs and tabloids have long been speculating as to how long their relationship would last so this breakup comes as no surprise, but why did it happen now, so suddenly?
Carrie Prejean has finally been stripped of the Miss California crown.
Donald Trump and the Miss California camp have just issued a statement saying that Carrie Prejean has been fired from her Miss California position for violating her contract - “specifically for lending her famous face to outside organizations without getting permission from her handlers.”
Donald Trump said:
“I told Carrie she needed to get back to work and honor her contract with the Miss California USA Organization, and I gave her the opportunity to do so. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t look like it is going to happen. Carrie is a beautiful young woman and I wish her well as she pursues her other interests.”
Miss California runner-up Tami Farrell will now take on the role of Miss California USA and take over all of Carrie Prejean’s responsibilities, including appearance requests.
Former Girl Next Door star Kendra Wilkinson is pregnant with her first child.
Wilkinson told E!News that “Hank (Baskett) and I are thrilled to announce that we are expecting our first child together. We are touched by the outpouring of support by our family, friends and fans.”
Wilkinson, the former girlfriend of Playboy boss Hugh Hefner, didn’t reveal though how far along she is. Her wedding to Baskett is scheduled for June 27 at the Playboy Mansion.
The producers of Iron Man 2 have released the first shot of Mickey Rourke on set playing the character Whiplash.
USA Today notes that Whiplash sports a power pack on his chest that looks similar to the one that Iron Man uses. “The technologies are definitely related,” director Jon Favreau told the paper. “That’s part of the core theme of the film.” The first image of the character shows Whiplash making an appearance at the Monaco Historic Grand Prix.
Photographs taken of David Carradine’s autopsy have been published by the Thai press.
The set of images shows various parts of the Carradine’s body on the autopsy table, some close up and others wider. They are nearly all exclusively explicit so we won’t be publishing them. However, the least explicit David Carradine autopsy photo is above.
The image clearly shows Carradine’s tattoos, and where the his body had been opened up as part of the autopsy. Notably jewelry still remains on his hands, and his hands have been crossed together.
The leaked autopsy images follow the leak last week of Carradine’s body still hanging in the hotel room it was found. For details, see David Carradine death photo.
The Black Eyed Peas were guests on the Late Show with David Letterman Tuesday night and performed their new single, “I Gotta Feeling” Live, to kick off their first group album in three years.
Video of the Black Eyed Peas Performing “I Gotta Feeling” Live on Letterman
will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo and Fergie tore it up for delighted fans on Letterman kicking off the release of their new album, The E.N.D, on June 9.
From the Black Eyed Peas wikipedia page:
Group front man will.i.am told Billboard that The E.N.D stands for “The Energy Never Dies”, which describes his model for a project that will be living and frequently updated throughout its designated cycle. “It’s a diary … of music that at any given time, depending on the inspiration, you can add to it,” the artist/producer/songwriter explains. “I’m trying to break away from the concept of an album. What is an album when you put 12 songs on iTunes and people can pick at it like scabs? That’s not an album. There is no album anymore.” He describes the music as “a lot of dance stuff, real melodic, electronic, soulful. We call it, like, electric static funk, something like that.
If you’re one of the lucky few to have some cash kicking around and thinking of snapping up cheap real estate from credit-crunched homeowners, boy, do we have a deal for you!
Mel Gibson has been trying to unload his Connecticut mansion for a couple of years now. His original asking price back in 2007 was $39.7 Million but after a few open houses and no offers, and of course the arse dropping out of the economy, he’s dropped the asking price by about 25% to $29.7 Million.
All kidding aside, this is a breathtaking property.
The 77 acre property was originally called the Old Mill Farm and was designed by noted architect, Charles Lewis Bowman. Construction began back in 1926 and it was built for G.L. Ohrstrom, who loved horses.
The main living space covers nearly 16,000 sq ft. and has 15 bedrooms, 17 bathrooms, a tennis court, a private pond, a landscaped oval driveway and a soaring cathedral ceilings.
The grounds, which were created by landscape designer James Doyle, include formal gardens and a maze. There is also a terrace pool, greenhouse, stable, staff houses and log cabin on the property.
Jessica Alba has been forced to publicly apologize after it was disclosed that she vandalized billboards in Oklahoma City.
Alba plastered sticky posters over walls and a United Way billboard as part of an effort to raise awareness for the save the Great White Shark campaign.
“I got involved in something I should have had no part of” Alba said in her apology. “I realize that I should have used better judgment and I regret not thinking things through before I made spontaneous and ill-advised decision to let myself get involved with the people behind this campaign. I sincerely apologize to the citizens of Oklahoma City and to the United Way for my involvement in this incident.”
The apology may make little difference to Oklahoma Police, who are currently considering charging Alba on multiple vandalism-related charges.
