Is The Wilds star Mia Healey our next Cate Blanchett?
22-year-old Mia Healey is one of Australia’s rising Hollywood stars, and she’s had her fair share of pinch-me moments and a run-in with her idol that left her starstruck.
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She is one of Australia’s rising Hollywood stars, but that hasn’t stopped Mia Healey from being starstruck on occasion. The actor had her own pinch-herself moment when she came face-to-face with her industry idol, Oscar winner Cate Blanchett.
“Cate has always been my hero, I actually met her once outside a cafe in Sydney after I saw her in a play,” Sydney-based Healey tells Stellar. “It was the best day ever.”
In 2019, the NIDA graduate got word from her agent saying she had a call-back for the Amazon Prime drama The Wilds, a dark Lost-meets-Gossip Girl series about a group of teenage girls stranded on a deserted island. She decided she wanted to do it in person.
“I got on a plane the week after and flew to Los Angeles to do my call-back in the room with everyone,” Healey says. “A lot of my best work is done in the room face-to-face. It’s about energy.”
The 22-year-old hopes to make a permanent move to Hollywood in the near future as her original plans to relocate to LA last year were put on hold due to the pandemic.
In the meantime, she is currently preparing to shoot the second season of The Wilds, in which she plays troubled teenager Shelby Goodkind.
“She’s harbouring so many secrets,” Healey says. “I always approach every scene as if I’ve got a secret in my back pocket.”
With the part, which tackles themes including self-acceptance and sexual identity, has come a new-found role-model status for Healey.
“That has been one of the most rewarding things about playing Shelby: hearing the stories of all of these young women and men who are having similar experiences to hers. I truly didn’t realise the effect that this character could have on people in such a positive way.”
And while real-life Hollywood premieres are still M.I.A., Healey was excited about getting into glamour mode for Stellar’s shoot – even without the crowds and carry-on.
“I love fashion. I love expressing how I’m feeling through what I am wearing,” she says.
“I am excited for red carpets to come back after a very long time of being in pyjamas and no make-up.”
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Originally published as Is The Wilds star Mia Healey our next Cate Blanchett?
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