Conquering Tinseltown: The next generation of Nicoles, Russells and Cates

Sydney Morning Herald

2 days ago

This story is part of the August 2 edition of Good Weekend. See all 14 stories.
The bright young stars at tomorrow night's Logie Awards could only hope to emulate the Hollywood success of Nicole Kidman. Yet it was a 21-year-old Kidman who told 60 Minutes reporter Mike Munro back in 1989 that she was wary of fame and would rather be a 'hermit'. No such luck. For years, the names Nicole, Russell, Cate and Hugh needed no surnames when it came to Australians conquering Tinseltown.
Today, while Milly Alcock, Jacob Elordi and Kodi Smith-McPhee have garnered star attention back home, plenty of others haven't – despite making a splash internationally. Like Sydney's Jess Bush (pictured). She has her own doll, thanks to playing nurse Christine Chapel on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) graduate Harry Richardson's breakout global role was in Poldark; he now plays wealthy New York heir Larry Russell in the lavish The Gilded Age, showing on Paramount+. Cody Fern, recipient of the 2014 Heath Ledger Scholarship, appears in the mega-budget AppleTV+ sci-fi series, Foundation.
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'Thanks to the internet, actors can audition anywhere,' says casting director Dave Newman. 'Many are now skipping the traditional route of 'overnight success' after spending years on a local soapie. They compete in a small pond here, which makes them resilient and creates a strong work ethic that's recognised internationally.'
Take 2023 NIDA graduate Jack Patten, who's landed the lead in the upcoming, mega-budget TV series Robin Hood. Similarly, 20-year-old Sydneysider Joseph Zada has been cast in the next Hunger Games movie.
Australia's acting exports are also starting to reflect our diverse ethnic make-up. For example, 27-year-old Korean-Australian Yerin Ha is set to play the female lead in the next season of Netflix's hit Bridgerton. Anglo-Sri Lankan actor Josh Heuston, 28, hails from Sydney's Baulkham Hills and got his start on Heartbreak High but is best known as the dashing warrior Constantine Corrino on Dune: Prophecy.
Melbourne's Christopher Chung, 37, is of Irish-Chinese Malaysian ancestry. He was nominated for a 2025 BAFTA for his role in the AppleTV+ series Slow Horses and will soon play Harry Beecham in Netflix's remake of My Brilliant Career. Fellow Aussie and Sydney-born WAAPA graduate Hoa Xuande hails from a Vietnamese background. He played the lead in The Sympathizer, a 2024 big-budget HBO series opposite Robert Downey jnr.
Aussies are everywhere in Hollywood, it seems – if you know where to look.