on the STAR TRAIL

Priscilla Bonnet has her eyes on Hollywood and movie fame. And winning a major role playing the young Bette Davis in a film about the life of legendary comedian Lucille Ball promises to the start of something big. Sharon Kells reports.

Priscilla Bonnet is a much sought after commodity in Hollywood. She's a member of the Aussie acting contingent, headed by the likes of Nicole Kidman, Naomi Watts, Geoffrey Rush, Rachel Griffith and even our adopted son, Oscar's bad boy, Russell Crowe, which is cutting a swathe through tinsel town.

"Once, if you were an Australian, you had a hard time breaking into the American scene," says Priscilla.

"However, with all the talent that has landed there, we've come into our own and Aussie actors are now right in favour and sought after in America."

Yet, despite the welcome mat being out and well trodden, unless you occupy the upper echelons of fame, like Cate Blanchett and Heath Ledger, America's stringent 'green card' rules continue to make it difficult for new actors arriving on the scene.

And in a classic Catch 22, Priscilla, who has been in Hollywood on and off since she was 17, found herself in the bizarre position of having to audition for only the lead roles.

"If I went along to a bit part, it could be argued that the role could be taken by any other American actor," the 23-year-old explains.

"But if you score a lead, you will get the backing from the studio and producers to be allowed to work - so, I've been hitting the big parts.

"It's a bit of an irony when you look at it that way."

So far, she has gone up against fellow Aussie Naomi Watts, for the lead in Mulholland Drive, vied for the Armageddon lead with Liv Tyler and been called back for a part in 200 Cigarettes that eventually went to Kate Hudson.

"It normally would be very intimidating, but I've had several call backs for parts, which is encouraging.

"It shows that you are on the right track, otherwise you wouldn't even get a second glance."

Priscilla says the auditions are also part of the process of getting your foot in the door and your face in front of producers.

Callbacks are par for the course.

But recently, Priscilla scored big time when she won a major role playing a young version of Bette Davis in a movie adaptation of the life of comedian Lucille Ball.

The movie, to be titled Redhead, is being shot in New Zealand, which allows Priscilla free reign to work.

The Gold Coast brunette has a touch of the theatrical Bette in her, and it is easy to see how her big eyes will transform into the wide, intense look made famously by the legendary actress.

To prepare for the audition, Priscilla spent days locked away in a hotel room watching old Bette Davis movies.

"I wanted to get the accent and the mannerisms right for the audition," she says.

"But the more I watched, the more entranced I became and the more awed at the acting ability of these older actresses.

"Bette Davis had a very direct style to her.

"She is someone who looks you straight in the eye, with such a sense of purpose.

"And she comes across as very strong, yet at the same time open."

Priscilla says acting is essentially a study in human nature.

"When you take on a part, you incorporate the body language, the mannerisms, the voice.

"And you begin to feel very much like the person you are playing."

Priscilla flew out from Los Angeles, where she is based in America, for the New Zealand audition, and scored the role after two call backs.

She is fortunate in having a gift for mimicking accents.

"Whenever I've turned up for an audition in America, I've gone with a local accent - they haven't known I'm Australia," she says.

Priscilla has wanted to be an actress ever since she decided she didn't want to be a lawyer.

"I used to think I wanted to do law, and would watch all the legal television shows and get quite excited about the courtroom challenge and parry," she says.

"But then, I realised it wasn't the law that was the attraction, it was the drama and the play, the acting."

When she was 17, Priscilla went to America to study acting at the established Lee Strasburg school for performing arts in Los Angeles.

"I was travelling between America and Australia, and coming back to do stints as a panellist on Beauty and the Beast," she says.

And she was also sidelining a musical career as a songwriter singer, which saw her recently win a nationwide search to find a top female recording artist.

The competition was promoted by Gloria Cacheral fragrance company and will see Priscilla's song, Pretty Good, recorded and produced at Sydney's Milkbar Studios.

Priscilla, whose inspiration includes Tori Amos, Fiona Apple and Gwen Stefani, travels with a dictaphone to record melodies that 'pop into her head' while she's driving along, or just sitting around.

But although she is soaring ahead in the singing and acting talents, Priscilla has her failings.

For one thing, she is a 'lousy cook' who has difficulty making even a cup of tea or coffee.

"The problem is both my mum and dad were such great cooks that I was spoiled in that department growing up," she says, referring to her French-born father Michel and mother Patricia, who ran a number of successful restaurants on the Gold Coast.

"I just never had to learn, I guess. But thank God for takeaways and visits home to Mum."

Priscilla starts shooting the movie Redhead tomorrow and once that is under her belt, will have some established credentials to take back to Hollywood with her.

"You just have to keep at it. But if you have the desire, and I certainly have, then you have to come through in the end, no matter what is thrown at you."

From the Gold Coast Bulletin of January 14th, 2003

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