According to Lucy Fry, Acting Has Its Own Special Aura
The Australian-born talent opens up about how her career has altered her view of the world.
Photography by Sami Drasin
Fashion by Jardine Hammond
Hailing from the other side of the world, Lucy Fry is making a name for herself in the American film industry, exploring and cultivating her craft as she goes. To date, the actress has already chalked up an impressive list of productions to her name, having starred in several critically acclaimed films and TV series. Fry began her career on the theater stage in her native Australia as well as starring in several smash-hit Aussie TV shows, notably including the popular horror series Wolf Creek. But early on, the actress had her sights firmly set on Hollywood, and shesoon made moves to establish herself in the US.
“I got a US manager and came to the states when I was 20 and stayed on a friend’s couch as a lot of Australians do,” Fry recalled. Her big break came playing Vampire Academy's Lissa Dragomir—a role she secured after only one audition. Since then, the actress has gone on to play a rich boarding school student in The Preppie Connection and a Russian-born pharmacist in Hulu’s 11.22.63.
For Fry, acting has its own special aura. “There's something about getting the chance to allow a character to inhabit my body and experience things from their perspective —it almost feels like traveling,” she points out. And, to prepare for each role, the actress undergoes extensive preparation. When it came to playing Tikka, a mystical elf in Netflix’s fantasy cop thriller Bright starring Will Smith, she tapped into her spiritual side.
“I climbed Mount Baldy right before beginning the role,” Fry notes, referring to a mountain outside of Los Angeles. “I did Reiki training to learn how to heal with my hand. I started to get a bit more in touch with mysticism and let Tikka guide and show me what she wanted.”
Opportunities like those are what excite Fry most, roles that allow her to imagine and inhabit characters that broaden her own view of the world. “I really love working on transformation and allowing these different perspectives to change the way I see the world,” she said.
Case in point: Fry’s upcoming role as Jane in director Tim Kirby’s action-thriller Waldo, in which she stars alongside the likes of Charlie Hunnam and fellow Aussie Mel Gibson. “I’ve learned a lot, from Jane, about my confidence and about not feeling ashamed,” the actress explained of her experience working on the project.
Indeed, it would seem that, for Fry, each role is the opportunity to learn more about herself—and entertain us in the process. Speaking of entertaining, Fry's latest projects are sure to keep us in her thrall, including the TV mini-series Godfather of Harlem—a prequel to the 2007 drama American Gangster—in which she plays the role of Stella alongside a cast including Forrest Whitaker. For Godfather, as with all her roles, Fry strives to “tell a story in a way that allows an actor to experience some sort of catharsis,” which in turn certainly makes for great drama. When the series premieres this Sunday, it's sure to get the world talking with its dramatic plot and political references, with Stella's interracial romance with musician Teddy Greene only enhancing the complexity. Here's to seeing how Fry tackles the turbulent 1960s role.
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