Given how brutal Hollywood is in its treatment of young actors, it's a testament to Mia Wasikowska's fortitude and skill that she continues to find new and interesting roles for herself.
Since her 2006 debut with a small role in the Cannes/TIFF Aussie film "Suburban Mayhem," and her mainstream success as Alice in Tim Burton's 2010 reimagining of "Alice In Wonderland," this 24-year-old star has sought out increasingly unique and diverse roles. In 2013 alone, she appeared in four compelling films (including the Hitchcockian "Stoker") and directed a segment of the anthology film "The Turning."
Three of those films that played festivals late last year are only seeing their theatrical release now. First was Jim Jarmusch's unique take on the vampire ethos in "Only Lovers Left Alive," where Mia plays Ava, a force of nature that brings life and energy to the laconic film. In "Tracks," the actress takes the lead, driving camels across the Australian desert with a lovestruck Adam Driver in tow. Finally, there's Richard Ayoade's "The Double," with Ms. W. Hannah the focus of much of the film's narrative.
Moviefone sat down with Wasikowska during last year's Toronto Film Festival, where all three of these films were playing to enthusiastic audiences.
On "Tracks"
Moviefone Canada: Did you know the story of Robyn Davidson before reading the script?
Mia Wasikowska: I was aware of it, but I hadn't read [about] it. I got sent the script and mentioned it to my parents and they were like, "Oh my god, you have to do it, it's such a great story!"
How did you prepare for schlepping in the desert for weeks at a time?
I spent a couple of days before we started filming with our camel wrangler and with Robyn, learning to be around them and how to handle them. That was absolutely great!
In the film you draw a strong connection to the Aboriginal community in Australia.
It's a tragedy what happened with the indigenous people in Australia and they still bear the scars of their horrific past, but they're wonderful people. With Roly (Mintuma), or Mr. Eddie, I've never really had that [deep connection]. It's part of what's charming about films, that you end up having relationships with people that you never would have thought you'd have.
Is there something not on camera that you take away from the experience?
Yeah, there's the scene where he gives me a rock. Because he didn't speak English, we had a translator there for him, and the translator was telling me that on the way to shoot the film, just before they were leaving Alice Springs, he was stopping all of the time trying to find a rock to give to me. It was very sweet.
Any camel trouble? I hear they're real bastards.
You don't want to come across a wild camel, but the camels we were working with, which were all trained or domesticated, they were wonderful. Surprisingly, the dogs were harder to work with just because of their nature of wanting to go to their owner. There were so many takes where it was perfect but the dogs ran off at the end, so it just becomes very technical.
Viggo Mortensen always adopts his animals after he does big projects. Did you keep any of the camels?
No, unfortunately, they couldn't fit into my apartment.
On "Only Lovers Left Alive"
Were you keen to work with Jarmusch before this project came up?
I was really keen to work with him! I was sent the script three years ago and I've been attached to it for a really long time. It just finally came together. I wanted to see what he would do with a genre that was so distinct, and how we would put his spin on it. It was great to work with him.
What was it like shooting in Detroit?
The thing about Detroit is that it's so relatable, but then you remember that there's no one in those buildings. If you look out there [in Toronto] now, it's exactly the same, but if no one was in those buildings or some of the windows were smashed in. It's this huge city which should have so many people in there but it doesn't. I'd never even seen a city like that in my life. I don't think there's a city anywhere in the world abandoned like that.
On "The Double"
What drew you to this strange and wonderful story?
I really liked the general theme and the idea of that kind of identity confusion. It's about perception and how we're perceived and how we perceive ourselves, how that has repercussions for our surroundings. I liked this paranoid feel to it where because everybody in the movie is seen through [the Double's] eyes. They're all utterly crazy, but because they're all crazy together he's the crazy one. And they're all completely normal because they're crazy together.
Was there anything that you drew particularly from working with Jesse Eisenberg?
I thought it was amazing how throughout the film there was never any confusion as to who was who at what time. That was really great.
What was it like being on that crazy set?
It's so wonderful. There was no real indication of what it would be from the script. Well, there was a bit of an indication that we were in some kind of world, but we never knew what country we were in or what they even did at that office, which I loved. You just know that they're pushing a lot of buttons and photocopying things and putting stuff out and adding stuff up, but you don't really know what they're doing. I loved that and I loved that Richard always saw it as how people in their 20s imagined the future or how they imagined the '80s to be, and it's this old-fashioned modern world. The way that Richard observes those things that aren't written in the script. All of these little details I thought were really brilliant.
What about working on three different projects with three very different directors?
I always think, oh, I've done this a bunch of times, I know what this is like and then I turn up on each new film and I realize that you learn all over again. What I'm finding is that there's never this formula that equals good performance. It's the same thing on a film where you have a really awful time where you don't get along with someone, it can turn out really great and you have a fantastic time, sometimes it'll be terrible. There's no way to know what you're in for.
"The Double" opens in theatres on June 13.
