Australian actress Andrea Solonge has change into the twelfth recipient of the Heath Ledger Scholarship.
Solonge was introduced as recipient of the celebrated award at an Australians in Movie occasion held final night time at Soho Home in West Hollywood attended by the likes of Yellowjackets actors Melanie Lynskey and Simone Kessell, The Bear co-showrunner Joanna Calo and Rabbit Proof Fence director Phillip Noyce.
The award was established in 2012 after Batman Returns actor Ledger had tragically handed away. It has broadly change into the important thing barometer and platform for brand spanking new expertise popping out of Hollywood, with earlier recipients together with American Horror Story: Apocalypse actor Cody Fern, Mojean Aria (Memory), Ashleigh Cummings (Citadel), Charmaine Bingwa (Emancipation) and Rahel Romahn (A Mad Max Saga).
Solonge will obtain a $10,000 dwelling allowance, hire and transport help in LA, plus a number of different prizes geared toward constructing her profession in Hollywood, comparable to personal teaching, tax recommendation and headshot and publicity support. She’ll additionally get mentorship from Bella Heathcote, as she settles into West Coast life.
Decide and fellow Australian actress Sarah Snook stated: “I liked getting to observe recent faces showcase their abilities and fervour for performing. It was a tricky choice, as all of the finalists had been sensible, however one stood out with a fascinating depth and power. I’m very excited for Andrea to be this yr’s 2024 Heath Ledger Scholarship recipient.”
Lynskey, one other antipodean actor in Hollywood, informed Deadline: “Andrea is stunningly lovely and completely has star high quality. Her work was very, very wealthy and there was a wide selection within the themes she tried to indicate the judges. She is correct on the verge and this little push will get her the place she deserves to be. She deserves superstardom and I actually hope this scholarship does that for her.”
Solonge’s credit embrace recurring roles in Taika Waititi’s Apple TV+ collection Time Bandits and Stan and Roku megachurch drama Prosper. We perceive she has landed roles in upcoming community exhibits and an animated manufacturing. In an interview with Deadline, she stated: “Given what the previous recipients have gone on to do, with the Heath Ledger Scholarship backing me, I’m excited to do that.”
Solonge received forward of Charles Wu (Physician Physician, Harrow), Taj Aldeeb (4 Years Later, The Fall), Kartanya Maynard (Heartbreak Excessive, Deadloch), Will McDonald (Dwelling and Away, Heartbreak Excessive) and Ezekiel Simat (The Clever Dodger, Beneath the Storm).
The Sydney-based actress stated that younger abroad expertise may see Hollywood as “a overseas panorama, which makes it scary and daunting,” however that the help of the scholarship “and the trail Heath laid out” gave her the braveness to push forward. She paid tribute to fellow Australian actress Margot Robbie and her LuckyChap manufacturing label, saying she had been “such a pioneer for tales she desires to get off the bottom, and such an inspiration for me.”
Solonge, who’s of African heritage, stated: “After I consider my very own expertise as a Congolese-Nigerian-Australian, there are such particular tales to me that I want to be in service to and convey again to my group, the African diaspora in Australia. I really like Australian tales, I really like filmmaking and being in service to these narratives and nevertheless I can carry that again I hope to do.”
