TheAustralianactorstarredinTheGreatestShowmanandHotel
Mumbai, appearsinthismonth’sTheNakedWanderer, hasan
upcomingroleinGunsAkimbowithDanielRadcliffeandis filming
seasontwoofherfirstTVshowTheSociety, theNetflixseriesabout
a groupofteenswhoreturnfroma schooltriptodiscovereveryone
elseintheirtownhasdisappeared.Haven’twatchedit?Catchup.
ForAW19-20,LiuBordizzotookherplacealongsideKristen
Stewart,JanelleMonáeandMarionCotillardfrontrowatChanel
(she’sa friendofthehouse).Shehasappearedinmultiplefashion
campaignsandregularlyturnsoutinred-carpetlookshotoffthe
runway,butdon’tcallhera“model-turned-actress”.Theactor,
whowasraisedinsouth-easternSydney,is quicktopointoutshe
wasstudyinglawanddidn’tdoa day’smodellingbeforeshewas
castin herfirstrole(fromherfirstaudition)ofSnowVaseinCrouching
Tiger, HiddenDragon:SwordOfDestiny. It’s anassumption
that’softenmade,presumablybecauseshe’sgottheslightframe,
heightandirreverentairofthetypicalmodeloff-duty,especially
todayinherfrayedjeans,croptop,denimjacketandbackpack.
It’sfine,shesays.It’sjustnothernarrative.Andfactuallyincorrect.
WhatevermodellingLiuBordizzodoesdo,it’sbecauseit
helpsherfilmcareer,whichshe’sclearis herfocus.Buttherewas
atimewhenactingcame closetolastonherlistofpriorities.
“Imean,I havealotofhobbieslikephotography,andI wrote
a lot,shortstories.ButI neverassociatedthatwithacting–I had
nointentionofbeingoncamera.NotonlydidI havenointention,
I hadstagefright.I diddramainschoolandtheminuteit wasn’t
compulsory– I thinkit wasinYear9 – I quitit rightaway.”
Althoughshedescribesherselfasa“straight-upnerd”inhigh
school, it’shardto believeLiuBordizzo wasever notgood
at something. Withher perfect posture, obvious intelligence
andnaturalself-assuredness,youcouldeasilycastherasthat
girl,theonewiththeexcellentgrades,adoringfriendsandbright
futuremappedoutinthestars.Orperhapsthat’sbecauseinthe
weekleadinguptoourinterview,I’vebeenbinge-watchingThe
SocietyandhaveunconsciouslymergedthisIRLLiuBordizzowith
Helena,herpopularon-screencharacterwhoiscommittedto
God,herquarterbackfiancéLukeandplaidpleatedminiskirts.
Amix-upthattechnicallyI can’tbeblamedforgiventhatthepress
aroundtheshow,whichheavilyreliesonInstagram,intentionally
blurs the lines. “It’s a very strange thing – it’s like your personal lifeandtheshowget blurredbecauseit isyour
personalplatform,”saysLiuBordizzo.“Butit’s
also forwork,it’s branding. Soour showis
agroupofyoungpeoplewhohavereal-life
friendshipsandon-screenfriendships.”
Those real-life/set-lifefriends includeAlex
Fitzalan,whoplaysHarry,alongwith fellow
AussiesOlivia DeJonge andTobyWallace.
“ThereistheAustralianconnectionbetweenus
butit’snotreallyaboutthat.We’reallclosewith
eachotherin thecast,”shesays.WhileThe
SocietyissetinthefictionaltownofWestHam,Connecticut,
filmingfortheshowtookplaceinMassachusettsontheoutskirts
ofBostoninsometimesfreezingtemps.“Itwasoneofthemostfun
four monthsofmylife.I waswithpeoplemyagewhowere
up-and-comersandwealllearnedfromeachotheronashow
thatwasmoreintellectualthana lotoftheYAstuffoutthere.We
don’tthinkit’s‘youngadult’.Anyonecanenjoyit.It’sgotenough
subtextthatI thinkadultsseethepoliticalmetaphors,theyseethe
questions that are being raised. The questions raised about
genZsandwhattheywoulddowitha newworld.”
Theshow,shesays,formanyreasons,wasthetippingpointof
hermovingtoLosAngeles.“Partofthatwasthepeople.I have 12
new,veryclosefriendswholiveinLA,orNewYork.”InFebruary,
LiuBordizzogota placeinWestHollywood,whichis providing
amuch-neededbaseaftertravellingnon-stopforthepastthree
yearsbetweenAustralia,theUSandChina,whereshehumbly
admits“Idoa lotofwork”.(Infact,sheisa hugelyrecognisable
faceintheregion,somuchsoshehaslearntfluentMandarin,and
starsinDetectiveChinatown 2 , China’sfourth-highest-grossingfilm
ofalltime.)“I’dbeona planeeveryfewweeks,longhaulwithmost
ofmystuffthatI wouldtaketothenextplacebecauseI’dbethere
a while.It wasfunbutI startedtolosemymindinthethirdyear!”
It’sachangefromheruniversitydays,whenshewasbroke,
working atthe libraryand unabletopull thehours tomake
enoughpocketmoney.Backthen,withnofamilymembersinthe
industryandnotone“actorfriend”,shedescribesherpre-screen
lifeasa whole“separateuniverse”.Whichmakeshernextmove
allthemorefearless.Withlittleunderstandingofwhatcreating
a blockbusterentailed,shesoughtoutworkasa bodydoubleat
FoxStudios.Inherfirstglimpsebehindthescenesofa Hollywood
production,LiuBordizzobookedtwofilms,TheWolverineand
GodsOfEgypt, andwashooked.“Iwasjustplungedintoa film
set.EverydaythatI wasn’tatuniversityI wasjustthere...therewas
alotofwaitingbutI didn’tmindbecauseI hadmyownthingto
do.I alwayshadmybookswithmeormylaptop.Andthenwe’d
beonagain–somanypeople,somanydifferentdepartments
doingdifferentthings.I waslike,‘Wow,thisis actuallykindofvery
suitedtothewayI work.’I’mverymuchaprojectperson.I love
projects.I lovethebeginning, middle and the end and then it’s
over and onto the next.”>COVER STORY
127
IF YOU DON’T
ALREADY KNOW
NATASHA LIU
BORDIZZO, YOU’RE
A BO U T TO.