SEPTEMBER 2019 257
HUGH STEWART
I love exercising my empathy muscle, I love learning new skills through
my character,” she says, pointing out the research she did for herPork
Piecharacter Keira, an animal rights activist, ultimately led to her and
her Australian actor partner Aaron Jakubenko becoming vegetarians.
It also set her on the path to emerging as the eco-warrior she is today,
a philosophy she lives by.
“I don’t buy any new clothes; I don’t wear make-up, except for
auditions; and still have my sister’s make-up from years ago.” While
publicity shoots and film openings require a certain dress code,
Cummings says she is fortunate enough to have a supportive team:
her Australian stylist founded sustainable fashion magazine The
Frontlash; and her hair and make-up artists are both dedicated to
sustainable and ethical beauty. “It can be tricky, because you can feel
like you’re being a diva, but this is something that matters to me more
than people being upset with me.”
Her concern about environmental sustainability has been further
enhanced by her regular trips to Africa living with various tribes (she
invests in carbon offset schemes to compensate for the damage from air
travel). Since she was 19, Cummings has variously lived with a Berber
tribe in the Sahara, worked in a chimpanzee orphanage in the Zambian
jungle – what she calls ‘voluntourism’ – and, at 23, lived for months
Opposite: Stella McCartney
T shirt, $459.This page:
Bassike jumpsuit, $695.
Veja shoes, $225.
Hair: Michael Brennan
Make-up: Afton Radojicic
“With acting you’re constantly being challenged by new stimuli and environments.
I love exercising my empathy muscle, I love learning new skills through my character”
with a Maasai tribe in Kenya. “It’s all off the grid, no electricity, no
running water, nothing for miles and miles.”
While her base is Los Angeles, where she and Jakubenko own an
apartment, she says it’s mostly rented out as she travels constantly for
work. The couple has been together four years. “We’re rarely together but
we make it work; we’re really great at communicating and talk every day.”
Although Cummings’s acting career is shining brightly she is equally
passionate about other interests – writing for eco magazines and
volunteering among them. She sheepishly admits to regularly quitting
acting, but feels she’s finally found a place of acceptance.
“I always quit acting, and my agent says: ‘Okay, cool, we’ll talk on
Monday.’ But I have so many passions in the world and always feel
I should be on the ground and making changes that are tangible.
And I also had a deeply complex relationship with feeling I was good at
acting, because it’s something I caresodeeply about. But now I know
my worth isn’t tied up with my work. It took a lot of work to get to that!”
she says, laughing. “But I can’t tell you enough why I love acting, and
I do love that I can use this platform to impact change. And storytelling!
Connecting with people through that is pretty special.”
The Goldfinchis released nationally on September 26.NOS4A2streams on
Amazon Prime.
