This was published 6 months ago
They are Aussiewood’s next generation, the younger wave of actors landing in Hollywood, hoping to follow in the footsteps of our finest, from Nicole Kidman and Naomi Watts, to Ben Mendelsohn, Margot Robbie and Hugh Jackman.
Some, including Olivia DeJonge and Dacre Montgomery, are well known. Others, such as Joshua Orpin, who is suiting up as Superboy, are only just making their first splash, while another, Mia Healey, is still filming her first role. What all share is a confirmation that Hollywood’s appetite for Australian talent is unabated.
Olivia DeJonge
Olivia DeJonge is set to play Priscilla Presley in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis biopic. Credit:Simon Schluter
The Melbourne-born actress made her film debut in The Sisterhood of Night in 2014 and followed up with a role in the ABC drama series Hiding.
She starred in M. Night Shyamalan’s The Visit and more recently in Netflix series The Society.
In addition to a new season of The Society, DeJonge is set to play Priscilla Presley in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis biopic and her most recent film, Undertow, is released on February 27.
Joshua Orpin
The Melbournian landed in Hollywood with only one Australian credit to his name, a small role in the television series The Blake Mysteries: Ghost Stories.
Orpin quickly scored a serious gig, playing Superboy, alias Conner Kent, in the DC/Warner Bros series Titans.
He’s following in big footsteps: the series already stars Aussie actor Brenton Thwaites as Batman sidekick Robin.
Chris Pang
Chris Pang, star of Crazy Rich Asians.Credit:Eddie Jim
Melbourne-born Pang flirted with an acting career in Hong Kong but returned to Australia and booked a gig in the adaptation of Tomorrow, When the War Began. His other credits include I, Frankenstein and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny. Most recently he played newlywed Colin Khoo in the hit Crazy Rich Asians, directed by Jon M. Chu, and starred in the 2019 reboot of Charlie’s Angels, directed by Elizabeth Banks.
Charmaine Bingwa
Perth-born Bingwa might have ended up a singer but took a chance on acting at university and landed on her feet, earning acclaim for her stage debut in Doubt: A Parable. In 2018 she landed one of Hollywood’s most coveted prizes for young Australians, becoming the first woman of colour and openly gay recipient of the Heath Ledger Scholarship.
Evan Evagora is to star in the new Star Trek series, Picard.
Evan Evagora
Born and raised in Melbourne, of Maori and Cypriot descent, Evagora looked certain for a career in sport, notably winning a stage boxing championship, but was diverted into a career in the creative arts after enrolling in film school. Evagora has landed on his feet in Hollywood with a starring role in Star Trek: Picard, the new Star Trek series from CBS Studios, in which he plays Elnor, a Romulan refugee who is an expert in hand-to-hand combat and is fiercely loyal to the now-retired Jean-Luc Picard.
Mia Healey
The model and actress from NSW has stepped into a leading role in a new Amazon drama series, The Wilds, about a group of teenage girls from different backgrounds who are stranded on a remote island as part of a social experiment. The series also stars Rachel Griffiths, David Sullivan, Jarrod Blakiston and Richard Knowles.
Dacre Montgomery
Actor, poet and podcaster Montgomery has established a solid credential in Hollywood, as one of the stars of hit Netflix series Stranger Things. The Perth-born actor won an award at the 2018 Teen Choice Awards for his work on the Power Rangers film and stars alongside Russell Crowe in The True History of the Kelly Gang, which will air on Stan* in January.
Jordan Rodrigues
Dancer-turned-actor Rodrigues exchanged Brent Street for Hollywood Boulevard after starring in the ABC’s star-factory Dance Academy. The Sydney-born actor’s US credits include the drama series The Fosters, Hawaii Five-0 and Lady Bird, directed by Greta Gerwig. More recently he is starring in the Hulu original series Light as a Feather and a new police procedural drama, L.A.’s Finest.
Desmond Chiam
The lawyer-turned-actor from Melbourne has credits including NCIS: Los Angeles, Bones, and The Shannara Chronicles, which was filmed in New Zealand. More recently he starred in Now Apocalypse, produced and directed by Gregg Araki, and in crime drama Reef Break, with Poppy Montgomery. His most recent role is still top secret: he will appear in the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Harrison Gilbertson
Adelaide-born Gilbertson made his US debut in Virginia, directed by screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, and played Michael Fitzhubert in Foxtel’s critically-acclaimed adaptation of the novel Picnic at Hanging Rock. His most recent credits are the psychological thriller Look Away and a new film adaptation of the Stephen King novella In the Tall Grass.
*Stan is owned by Nine, the publisher of this masthead.
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