Freya as Wendy Darling in Once Upon a Time
way. My mum gave up her full time job to be with me
when I was 17 and stayed with me for the first three
years while I settled into LA. That made the transition
to the US a lot easier for me. I couldn't imagine not
having my mum with me at such a young age in a
different country. But then again, I've met many
young ones who do it and kudos to them - it's
incredibly admirable!
Many Australian actors have become successful in
Hollywood in recent years. What qualities do you
think Australians have that has made them so
popular?
Having spent a few pilot seasons in LA and speaking
with and meeting many actors and families of young
actors, there seems to be a real different set of ideals
in the American entertainment industry that doesn't
exist in Australia. What I mean by that is a lot of
families will bring their kids to LA to 'try their luck'
thinking that maybe they'll make it and become a star,
and a lot of the times with the kid not even wanting to
grow up being an actor. LA has the image of 'making
Stars' and I think that attracts every man and their dog
(kid). Just look at American reality TV and you'll see
what I'm talking about. Australian actors seem to be
really focused on their craft and take what they do
seriously. There's no sense of, 'oh, if I become an
actor or actress I'll be rich and famous' because that
culture just doesn't exist in Australia. I believe acting,
when being pursued as a profession, should be treated
the same way a young med student would go about
getting a degree to become a doctor - hard work,
focus, passion and a lot of determination!
In 2012 you joined the cast of the Netflix series
Hemlock Grove, playing the role of Christina
Wendall. What impact did this have on your
career and your profile in the US?
There's different stages of auditioning. First stage
being a read with the casting director, the second
stage being a callback with the director and maybe a
producer. If you get more callbacks after that it's
usually with the director and producers. Having a
series regular role in a big US series I found myself
getting sent for more of what they call "straight to