Actor Travis Fimmel never dreamed of a career in Hollywood. He was destined for a life working on his family's dairy farm before he traveled to Los Angeles and enrolled in acting school. Since then Travis has landed roles in Tarzan, Vikings and Raised By Wolves. Host Jenny Cooney speaks with Travis about working as a model to secure a visa, what he’s learned from working alongside director Riley Scott and why he hates being an actor. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Aussies in Hollywood

Travis Fimmell

Director Unjoo Moon was enrolled in a producing course at the Australian Film Television and Radio School before she realised directing was her passion. Since then, Unjoo has directed the documentary The Zen of Bennett about musical legend Tony Bennett and the Helen Reddy biopic I Am Woman. Host Jenny Cooney speaks with Unjoo about transitioning from producing to directing, coming home to film I Am Woman in Sydney and meeting her husband Dion Bebe at film school. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

Unjoo Moon

Actor Eliza Scanlen sprung onto our tv screens playing Amy Adam's troubled teenage sister of in the HBO miniseries Sharp Objects. We then saw her portray Beth in Greta Gerwig's Little Women and she recently made her feature film debut at  Venice Film Festival alongside Ben Mendelsohn in the film Babyteeth. Eliza shares with podcast host Jenny Cooney; how COVID-19 has affected her acting projects, why she decided it was important to shave her head for her role in Babyteeth and how the experience she had on the Home and Away set helped her when she got to Hollywood.

Eliza Scanlen

Actress Geraldine Viswanathan made her mark on Hollywood as Kayla in the 2018 film Blockers. Since then, she has starred in Hala, Bad Education and Miracle Workers. Host Jenny Cooney speaks with Geraldine about growing up in Newcastle, the diversity of acting roles available in the United States and reading scripts with Daniel Radcliffe and Hugh Jackman.

Geraldine Viswanathan

Screenwriter, producer, director and actor, Leigh Whannell, made a name for himself in Hollywood as the writer and producer of the Saw franchise. Since then, Leigh has written and performed in the Insidious franchise and most recently wrote and produced an adaption of H.G. Wells’ novel The Invisible Man. Host Jenny Cooney speaks with Leigh about what he learned about directing from his university classmate & collaborator James Wan, the attitude towards horror in Hollywood and the unexpected success of Saw.

Leigh Whannell

Cinematographer Dion Beebe grew up watching subtitled films at a small foreign cinema in South Africa before moving to Sydney and studying at the Australian Film, Television & Radio School (AFTRS). Since then, Dion has made a name for himself working on Chicago, Green Lantern and Memoirs of a Geisha. Host Jenny Cooney chats with Dion about the pivotal people in his career and what it was like working with his wife, Unjoo Moon, on their upcoming film I Am Woman.

Dion Beebe

Actor Ben Lawson is known for his roles in Modern Family, Designated Survivor, 13 Reasons Why and The Good Place, but when he first arrived in Hollywood, he struggled to land his big break. Host Jenny Cooney speaks with Ben about persisting in Hollywood in spite of setbacks and meeting his childhood hero, Michael J Fox.  

Ben Lawson

Actor Damon Herriman certainly has a type. He simultaneously played Charles Manson in both Quentin Tarantino's "Once upon a time in Hollywood" and the hit series "Mindhunter Season 2". Host Jenny Cooney chats with Damon about what it was like to work with the famous director and how he managed to play the same character in two different projects.

Damon Herriman

Actor Dacre Montgomery landed the dream role of anyone growing up in the 90’s. He played the Red Power Ranger and now stars in the unmissable 80’s sci-fi horror TV series – Stranger Things. Host Jenny Cooney talks with Dacre about his upbringing in the industry, whether fame shapes who you are and his process on creating an emotionally layered villain.  

Dacre Montgomery

Actress Jacki Weaver, is a national treasure in Australia, known for her decades of theatre, TV and Aussie movies. At the age of 72 she became known worldwide after she played the matriarch of a crime family in the Aussie film Animal Kingdom and this earned Jacki her first Oscar nomination. Host Jenny Cooney caught up with Jacki, in West Hollywood, to talk about her favourite types of roles to act in, what it was like to find worldwide fame later in life and her upcoming work.

Jacki Weaver

Actor Elizabeth Debicki shot to fame after her role in Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby. Elizabeth shares with Jenny Cooney the unconventional audition that got her that role, how difficult it was hiding the details of her Guardians of The Galaxy character from superfans and what it was like having Cate Blanchett as a mentor.

Elizabeth Debicki

Actor, film-producer, law-degree holder, film-memorabilia collector and former lolly-stand owner Rebel Wilson is so much more than what you see on screen. Having been a comedy staple on Australian TV, Rebel broke into Hollywood with her hilarious role in Bridesmaids and has now successfully stepped into film-production too. However, her road to fame was not straight-forward, it involved a lot of hard work, self-belief, a law-degree as a back-up pland and oddly enough...a fever induced hallucination!

Rebel Wilson

4-time Costume Design Academy Award winner speaks to host Jenny Cooney about her process of choosing costumes and doing production design on Moulin Rouge, The Great Gatsby and Australia. Catherine describes the unconventional interview she had, with her now husband, Baz Luhrmann which led to her first film job, Strictly Ballroom, and why they’ve collaborated on every creative project since from Chanel ads to Broadway shows.

Catherine Martin

Screenwriter Stuart Beattie came up with the idea for the blockbuster franchise Pirates of the Caribbean, while still in school in Australia, and dreamt up Collateral Damage during a taxi ride in Sydney. He chats to Jenny Cooney about where he gets his inspiration, how screenwriting is rarely a one-person job and how his directorial debut lead his to be a better screenwriter

Stuart Beattie

Actor Eric Bana managed to make it in Hollywood without ever having to relocate to the US. His success story is unusual, especially when you find out that he started as a comedian. He caught up with Jenny Cooney, the day after he finished filming Dirty John, to discuss how the chooses the diverse characters that he plays.

Eric Bana

Jenny Cooney is an Australian journalist who has lived in Hollywood for 30 years. She is a member of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and votes for the Golden Globes. Jenny has watched the waves of new Australian talent arrive in Hollywood and make their marks, both on and off-screen. From Paul Hogan to the Hemsworths, from Nicole Kidman to Margot Robbie - Jenny knows them all and their stories intimately. Join Jenny as she takes you through stories of Aussies In Hollywood; from landing in LA to landing the first gig and then building a successful career.

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Aussies in Hollywood

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