Foxtel Magazine - 01.04.2018

(Ann) #1

Foxtel INSIDER


YOUR FIRST


STOP FOR


ENTERTAINMENT


NEWS


IN THE KNOW


Ruby Rees has never been


more thankful for her youthful


looks – after all, they helped


the 22-year-old actress land the


role of prepubescent schoolgirl


Edith Horton in Foxtel’s highly


anticipated reimagining of


Picnic at Hanging Rock.


“Edith was the clear pick


from casting when they took


a look at me!” she tells Foxtel


magazine. “Edith’s 13. The


other girls are almost women,


on the cusp of 18, but Edith’s


a junior, still a child really.”


Fortunately, Rees didn’t


have to look far for inspiration


playing someone nine years


her junior, with the ensemble


cast made up of real-life


teenagers aged from 13 to 16.


“I was never stuck on what


teenage girls do – I just had to


look to my left to see a bunch


of them,” Rees explains. “While


they didn’t know that I was


using them every day to inspire


me to find that 13-year-old self


again, I was really grateful


they were there – especially


Inez [Curro], who plays


Sara Waybourne, because she


really is 13 and there are a lot


of scenes with Edith and Sara.”


Though this isn’t the young


actress’s first role, it’s by far


the biggest – and one that will


no doubt put her on the map.


“I say all the time that it was


one of the most challenging


roles I’ve ever done,” Rees


admits. “It’s the age diference


but also the writing being so


good you want to do it justice.”


As for her character’s


relationship to Natalie Dormer’s


Headmistress Mrs Appleyard,


Rees admits Edith is the


proverbial thorn in her side.


“Edith is definitely annoying


to the older girls but, man, is


she annoying to the teachers,


too!” she laughs. “Natalie’s


a total powerhouse. She was


generous and just awesome


to be around.”


Picnic at Hanging Rock


makes its world television


premiere Sunday May 6 at


8.30pm on showcase [114].


Picnic at Hanging Rock star Ruby Rees


reveals why she could only ever play Edith


SNEAK


PEEK


YOUNG


AT HE A RT


4 Foxtel APRIL

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