STREAMING leading lady

PART OF A NEW GENERATION BOLDLY TACKLING TOUGH ROLES AND TABOOS, BAZLUHRMANN FAVOURITE OLIVIA DE JONGE SAYS IT’S TIME TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY

- Alexandra English

Olivia DeJonge skipped the usual Aussie-soap-star step on her way to Hollywood, but that’s not to say it’s because it would have been a wrong move (who could deny the success of Margot Robbie and Naomi Watts?). Instead, DeJonge made the small jump from after-school acting classes into radio and TV ads, then a giant leap into the Netflix universe with a starring role in The Society, before skidding – eyes closed and fingers crossed – into Hollywood, landing on her feet in Baz Luhrmann’s upcoming Elvis biopic in the not-so-small role of Priscilla.

“I put myself down on tape for the audition and didn’t hear anything for a couple of months,” DeJonge says of how she scored the role. “[When] I got a phone call saying that they wanted me, it completely blindsided me. Not in a million years did I think this would be my next project.”

DeJonge may not have seen such an iconic character so immediately in her future, but watching her in her previous roles, it’s clear that something big was coming. There was talk Lana Del Rey had been given Priscilla’s blessing for the role, but whether there’s any truth to that no longer matters. Luhrmann has a gift for spotting up-and-coming talent and, in DeJonge, he’s struck gold.