Matilda Mary Fowler wants to be an actress. She says there’s only one problem. Her acting.

Mary Fowler has always wanted to be an actress. How’s it going? ‘So bad,’ she says.

For Matildas star Mary Fowler, following in the footsteps of Sam Kerr seemed more likely than becoming the next Nicole Kidman. Picture: Richard Callis/MB Media/Getty Images

Mary Fowler wants to be a star of stage and screen. AC/DC reckons the road is rough and mean but the young Matildas superstar fancies the idea of juggling Oscars and Olympics commitments. There’s just the one eensiest, teensiest, potentially irksome problem in her glassy-eyed dreams of conquering Hollywood as an actress. She can’t act.

“Urgh. Ick. It’s so bad,” she says.

And so for now the high-profile 20-year-old is content with her role on the highest-rating TV show in Australia. The Matildas. You may have heard of ‘em. They featured in the nation’s highest-rating program of all time, a tragic, weeping tale called World Cup semi-final against England – urgh, ick, so bad – and now they’re regathering in Perth for a fly-in, fly-out schedule of three Olympic qualifying matches in six days.

Fowler and Matildas teammate Alanna Kennedy played in Manchester City’s 1-0 win over Leicester City in England on Sunday. They bolted to the airport, hopped on a Perth-bound plane, probably watched a few movies, probably had a nap, probably marvelled at the sudden business of their lives. They’re whacking on the boots against Iran on Thursday, against the Philippines on Sunday and against Chinese Tapei on November 1, and then they’ll be bolting back to Perth airport, hopping on a London-bound plane, probably watching a few more movies, probably having another nap and probably marvelling at how quickly the Paris Olympics is rolling around.

Fowler was front and centre on Sunday night on 60 Minutes. “I‘ll say I’m a bit weird, but in a goofy way,” said the Matilda who went from being relatively anonymous to a household name at the World Cup. She’s so little-known in Manchester, during the Women’s Super League, that she catches the tram to and from training with nowt locals batting an eyelid.

“I like it because I just like to feel as ordinary and as normal as I can,” she said. “Because, at the end of the day, I’m just a young 20-year-old and I‘m just playing a sport that I really enjoy playing. So I really like that. After training at the club, I just go to the tram and I’m just like, ‘I feel so normal.’ I feel like I’m coming home from school or something. So, yeah. It’s nice.”

Lucy Bronze of England and Mary Fowler of Australia compete for the ball during the FIFA Women's World Cup semi-final match. Picture: Elsa/FIFA via Getty Images

She fancied cinema before discovering she wasn’t too shabby at soccer. Perhaps she’s being unnecessarily self-critical? Artists, hey. Following in the footsteps of Sam Kerr seems more likely than becoming the next Nicole Kidman and, as she concedes, there’s no immediate need to give up her day job.

“When I look at what I get to do now and I speak to the older girls I‘m like, ‘I have literally come into football at the perfect time,” she told Channel 9. “I actually wanted to be an actor when I was younger. I’m not going to do any acting just now … I had this envelope in my journal that I was saving up for acting school … it’s okay, I’m really bad. I’ve filmed self-tapes and stuff of me practising and ow if I watch it I’m just like, ‘Urgh. Ick.’ It’s so bad.”

The Matildas face two rounds of Olympic qualifiers to reach the Paris Games. The fixtures in Perth and then a home-and-away series in February. They made it clear on 60 Minutes they were sick of finishing in the worst spot in sport. Fourth is urgh. Ick. It’s so bad.

Asked what’s next for the Matildas, goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold said: “Hopefully a gold medal at the Olympics. I think we‘ve come up short so many times that we’re just, we’re over it. It’s time to win something. What we did at the World Cup has put so much belief in us. We want to win a medal, we want it to be gold, but we’re done losing at the last hurdle. I think there’s a lot of success to come for us.”

Mackenzie Arnold. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Hayley Raso. Picture: Will Murray/Getty Images

Hayley Raso added: “Going to the last Olympics and finishing fourth, playing in the World Cup and finishing fourth, there‘s three medals and you finish fourth – I really don’t think there’s anything worse than finishing fourth. So the desire from our team, from us all as individuals to win something with Australia is huge.”

One of the few Matildas not jetting to Perth from overseas is Sydney FC’s Cortnee Vine. She of the penalty that poleaxed France in the World Cup quarter-final. She said of the goal that made her a household name: “Pure joy. I know it‘s very iconic. That’s something that’ll stay with me forever, which is amazing. I didn’t hear the crowd, which is pretty crazy … it was an out-of-body experience. Something I’ve never felt before. I think that’s the power of adrenaline. I was like, probably, effing come on!’”