it girl
DESCRIPTION
At 21, Lucy Fry is already a seasoned small-screen actress but as the star of two feature films set to release next year, she's likely to become Hollywood's newest 'it' girl. By Michelle MackeyTRANSCRIPT
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itAt 21, Lucy Fry is already a seasoned small-screen actress but as the star of two feature films she is set to release next year, she is likely to become Hollywood’s newest ‘it’ girl.
Our new Aussie
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“Lucy Fry – on her way to the lights
of Hollywood.”
Clothes by Lisa Brown, lisa-brown.com.au
“There’s something special about this blonde bombshell from Brisbane. It’s more than her movie-star smile and contagious giggle
– she’s got the ‘X factor’.”
Words: Michelle Mackey Photography: Brian Usher [email protected] & Styling: Melissa Usher [email protected]: Bernadette Cliff – Toni & Guy Broadbeach 07 5539 9444Clothes: Lisa Brown – www.lisa-brown.com.au
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PEOPLE
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eads turn as Lucy Fry walks into a small coffee shop for an interview with Ocean Road Magazine. There’s something
special about this blonde bombshell from Brisbane. It’s
more than her movie-star smile and contagious giggle – she’s got the
“X factor”. She’s genuine and unscathed from
her time in Hollywood and her growing fame is set to rise to
new heights with the release of her first starring role in Vampire
Academy: Blood Sisters.
Her big break follows years of theatre training and courage to take a risk in the cut-throat profession of acting.
As a child, Lucy’s passion for the stage was sparked by her father’s storytelling. “Growing up, my dad would always tell my sister and I lots of stories and we could choose who we wanted to be so I felt like we were part of the story,” says Lucy. “I love going into that fantasy world and being something that I’m not.”
The fantasy became a reality when, at 14, Lucy joined
a youth acting program in Brisbane at Zen Zen
Zo. The young starlet was inspired by fellow actors
who were making a living by doing something
they loved. “I realised it was
something I could actually do,” she says.
After four years of physical theatre
training, plays and short films, Lucy signed with Mollison Keightley Management and made the move to Sydney at just 18 years of age. Monica Keightley, director of Mollison Keightley Management, recalls her first impression of Lucy: “Upon meeting her for the first
time, I was struck by her beauty, intelligence and warmth,” says Monica. “As I got to know her I became aware that Lucy also works incredibly hard, pays enormous attention to detail and throws herself
wholeheartedly into every role.” Thus, it came as no surprise when,
“Acting fills me with so much passion and energy and joy.”
The ORM team took Lucy out to a beautiful farm in
the Tally Valley for the cover shoot.
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Great clothes by Lisa Brown as
always.
Lucy shines in front of the
camera. A pleasure to work with.
“I do a lot of yoga, I go to the beach and that party scene is not me, so I don’t think there’s a chance that I could even pretend to be like that.”
within two months with the agency, Lucy landed her first leading television gig as Zoey in Lightning Point.
For Lucy, it has never been about the fame and fortune: “Acting fills me with so much passion and energy and joy,” she exclaims. But come February 14, 2014, Lucy will be thrust into the Hollywood spotlight with the release of Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters.
The Weinstein Company film is based on the best-selling book series of the same name and Lucy plays a central character, Lissa Dragomir, alongside television star Zoey Deutch, Golden Globe winner Gabriel Byrne, Bond girl Olga Kurylenko and Modern Family’s Sarah Hyland.
The enormity of the role was not lost on Lucy when she heard about the casting. She put everything she had into becoming Lissa Dragomir for her audition – the very first audition she had after moving to Los Angeles. “I arrived in LA after backpacking around Europe and I went to this audition,” says Lucy. “I’d been practising, drawing pictures on the plane … I felt so connected to the role right away and I wanted to work really hard for it.”
The hard work eventually paid off. However, unbeknown to many, Lucy didn’t receive a call back from the first casting. After hearing that producers were taking self-tapes from around the world, she submitted one too. “In my lounge room with my best friend. I just filmed the audition scenes and sent them into the producers.” A few days later, she got the call that would
drastically change the course of her life.
“I got a call saying I had a test deal for the role – I was in shock!”
After months of prepping for her role and two months of filming, Lucy is proud of Vampire Academy:
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Blood Sisters and says the focus on friendship rather than romance makes the movie unique in the midst of a vampire movie craze. “Especially for teenage girls, it’s really refreshing
Lucy enjoys playing in the
stream. A beautiful place to
capture Lucy at her natural best.
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to have a film that’s about friendship because when you’re a teenager your best friends are the most important thing in your life and there aren’t enough films that reflect that,” says Lucy. “Rose (played by Zoey Deutch) and Lissa are really great role models for that.”
Lucy too wants to be a great role model and chooses to avoid the partying lifestyle to which many young starlets succumb in Hollywood. “I do a lot of yoga, I go to the beach and that party scene is not me so I don’t think there’s a chance that I could even pretend to be like that,” says Lucy. “I am really lucky to have good Australian friends and a wonderful boyfriend in LA who keeps my feet on the ground.”
However, being in the midst of the Hollywood lifestyle proved beneficial for researching her role in the Australian film, Now Add Honey. The movie is set to release after Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters and is her second starring role in a feature film. Lucy plays Honey Halloway, a famous Hollywood pop star whose extravagant life is turned upside down when she comes to Australia and is forced to stay with a working-class family. To prepare for the role, Lucy would spend time studying people in LA, learning how to portray the stereotypical Hollywood lifestyle of superficiality and extravagancy that defines the character of Honey. “When I found
out I got the role, I spent of lot of time in cafes just watching people … how they move, how they talk,” says Lucy. “The stereotype can be real.”
The theme of Now Add Honey rings true in Lucy’s personal life. “It’s such a family oriented film with all these themes about finding yourself and being grounded … that family’s more important than money and fame,” she says. Being home in Australia and spending time with her close-knit family also enables Lucy to ground herself. “I spend so much time being other people that it’s nice when I get to be
me again!”Despite
the likelihood of become Hollywood’s next ‘it’ girl, Lucy remains humble: “I feel so lucky to be doing what I love every day. I really hope it keeps going and I get the chance
to play lots of different, interesting characters.”
Perhaps what is most remarkable about Lucy is her fearlessness. She understands that acting is an unpredictable career but says confidently: “Life’s too short not to do what you love and to take risks for love.” Moreover, she is fearless in the fact that she remains true to herself in an industry that centres on being other people. She understands that “to stay who you are takes a lot of courage” … and Lucy Fry certainly has it!
“Life’s too short not to do what you love and to
take risks for love.”
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