How Emma Lung went from New York at 15 to plum TV job

She may be playing a ‘blindly optimistic’ character, but Emma Lung can clearly see it was a punt she took on herself which led to a plum role starring opposite Australian television royalty.

Asher Keddie and Emma Lung in season two of Strife. Picture: Binge

She may be playing a character who is “blindly optimistic”, but Emma Lung can clearly see, fittingly, that it was a punt she took on herself at a young age that led to a plum role starring opposite Australian television royalty.

Lung, who soon will be reprising her role as Lucy in the second season of Asher Keddie vehicle Strife, says a move to New York at the age of 15 in the late 1990s set her up for the career she is now enjoying in her early 40s.

After several years at Newtown High School of the Performing Arts, Sydney-based Lung completed a short course at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York – at the same time her then boyfriend was at the Professional Performing Arts School in Manhattan – before returning home.

“All I wanted was to go back to New York,” she tells The Australian. “And so I sent over, without anyone knowing, a videotape audition to the Professional Performing Arts School and got accepted.

“And so I then presented that to my parents, and they just felt like they couldn’t stop me even if they wanted to, which they didn’t.”

Her parents remained supportive of Lung living with her boyfriend in New York at such a young age, and the risk paid off: she scored her first role with the Sydney Theatre Company at just 18.

“They (her parents) were both, forever, supportive,” she says. “There was no ask too great.

“It changed my life, that decision. And they did not take that sort of stuff lightly … (but) having them in my corner, I think it really shaped how competent I could be in terms of knowing who I was or who I am.”

Many years and many roles later, it has led to Binge’s Strife, created by Sarah Scheller, which aired its first season in 2023 and broke records for the streaming service.

Strife follows Keddie’s Evelyn, a former magazine editor who strikes out on her own in 2012, launching a female-focused news and culture website while juggling co-parenting responsibilities with her ex.

The show is inspired by Mamamia founder Mia Freedman and her memoir Work, Strife, Balance.

Lung’s Lucy is an old friend of Evelyn who is facing her own crises at home, having agreed to her husband’s request for an open relationship despite her concerns.

“I think there’s a bit of an evasiveness to the things that are happening in Lucy’s life, and I think she’s a bit avoidant, really, and maybe blindly hopeful, blindly optimistic.”

Emma Lung at the AACTA Awards on the Gold Coast in February.Picture: NewsWire / Richard Gosling

In the second season, set to premiere on Binge on May 8, Lung says she relished the opportunity to explore Lucy more.

“There’s so many changes that have happened between when the last season ends and the second season begins.

“I guess, because of these big life changes that she’s made, it means that there’s a lot more room to explore the character. Not to give too much away (but) it’s always really exciting to play from an acting standpoint because you get to run the gamut of emotions.”

Lung’s credits include several Australian and American films starring big-name actors such as Hugo Weaving and Clive Owen, as well as a litany of television credits ranging from appearances on All Saints, Entourage, Rake and The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart.

Playing Lucy, whom Lung calls “the yin to Evelyn’s yang”, as a sounding board for the series’ lead, has been rewarding, despite playing second fiddle.

“There’s probably times when it does feel a bit facilitatory. You are facilitating, and you have to, because that’s how good stories are told,” she says. “I have zero ego about any of that, it’s exactly as it should be.

“But for the second season there’s so much more to uncover, and which then also impacts the relationship that Lucy has with Evelyn. I’ve known Asher for a very long time and getting to spar with her in terms of the new developments of my character and hers – that is a complete joy and not like any old run-of-the-mill best friendship that’s played on television shows.

“Not all of them are as dynamic or as interesting.”

In reality, Lung likens herself more to Evelyn’s “yang” than her own character, however, noting her honesty-above-all approach to life.

“I’m probably more like Evelyn than Lucy in that I’m sort of a bit erratic and impulsive, and I hate routine.

“I’m quite gregarious and probably have a bit of a wicked sense of humour and am quite anti-authority. I’m probably above all honest, and that’s how I raise my kids.

“It’s unconventional sometimes because sometimes people will ‘hide’ from their kids or their husband, but you will get me the same way I am with my parents, my husband, my children, my best friend or the Queen.”

Working with Australian crews on an Australian show also plays a significant factor in Lung’s appreciation for the Strife job after having spent time in the US.

“I would choose to work in Australia over America every single time … Australian crews are unbeatable.

“They won’t suffer egos or arrogance. There’s a real sort of camaraderie … and I really love that. I don’t like the feeling of any kind of hierarchy or elitism, which I have experienced before.

“It was never not a pleasure going to work on this show. It feels like a complete privilege, but if I’m honest, one that I’m worthy of. It’s not an easy industry to be in, so you take the wins with perfect pride.”

The second season of Strife premieres on Binge on May 8.