Lunch with Yvonne
Yvonne Strahovski has cracked Hollywood with her roles in the TV series Chuck, Dexter and 24: Live Another Day. The Australian actress – based in Los Angeles – is back in Australia last week to promote 24: Live Another Day, in which she plays CIA agent Kate Morgan. The 32-year-old spoke to me about her screen roles, living abroad and the hacking scandal where she was on a long list of celebrities who had their private nude photos leaked online.
You live in the United States but you’ve managed to keep your Aussie accent!
[Laughs] It seemed to come back when I landed. It depends on whom I’m talking to. I think if five Americans walked in here and started talking to me, I’d immediately somehow go back into an American accent because you can’t help it. People don’t understand that I play an American for most of my roles, so I spend a lot of my days pretending to be an American, so my ears have become accustomed to being influenced by the sounds that I hear. Also, one of the reasons why I’d go in and out so easily is because Polish was my first language.
How did you land the role in 24: Live Another Day? What was the audition process?
There was none. They called and they asked me to come in to meet with them and they told me about the role and what they were doing with this new special-event series, because it was only going to be 12 episodes. It was a really intense, incredible experience. I got to live in London for six months and experience a different culture and experience this show, with Kiefer [Sutherland].
What was it like to work on the serial-killer drama Dexter?
Dexter was, I think, a little more intimidating only because I really, truly felt like the new kid on the block there. Whereas with 24, they had had a four-year break from being on air.
How long have you been based overseas?
I left in 2007, so it has been almost eight years – although I didn’t know I was moving there originally and just had a ticket for two months. I thought I was going to come back. But I never used my return ticket.
You never did?
No. I landed the female lead role on Chuck within three days of landing in LA, so it was a little overwhelming, and I definitely felt like I got thrown into the deep end. That first year, I just didn’t really know what would happen, so I lived out of a suitcase for the whole year. I had eight different rental cars and I moved five times, lived in different studios under people’s houses and just tried to make my way. And then after a year, I realised that it’s probably time to find a more permanent place and invest in a car.
When you were a child, did you always have ambitions to make it big in the US?
Yes, I always had dreams as a kid. I definitely sat at home and watched the Oscars every year and got emotional every year at everyone’s speeches. I dreamed big. So it’s so great to be living my own dream. I’m working in an industry that I want to work in and I’m doing something that I love every day. So I feel really lucky to have had so many opportunities.
Who are your role models in the industry?
I grew up being absolutely in love with Tom Hanks. I remember all the kids had Brad Pitt plastered all over their textbooks and then I had Tom Hanks plastered over mine.
You made your Broadway debut with Golden Boy, which was nominated for a 2013 Tony Award. Had it always been a goal to work on Broadway?
I always wanted to mainly work in front of the camera but I was trained in theatre, but I sort of let it go. It was one of those things where I didn’t realise that it would be like riding a bike – if you’ve trained that much, it’s still there. But when you haven’t done it for so long, it’s very scary [to go back]. I went into audition for that and I remember the director said almost nothing to me and I went home thinking that I did a terrible job, only to discover that I got the part. That was mind-blowing because I’d never seen a Broadway play in my life. So the first one I essentially saw was the one I was in. It was four months of really intense work.
When you are so invested in a character, is it hard to get out of character when you go home after a day’s work?
I think with that role I was able to switch off because it was so intense. I think for some reason with film and television it’s a little harder to switch off, only because you’re in and out of it and on and off camera all day long, so you sort of have to stay in it because it’s an ongoing process.
You have fans all over the world. Are you open with your fans on social media or do you try to keep a low profile?
I try to keep work and private life separate. Twitter is probably the best way for me to be able to communicate with the fans. It’s a nice way to have a voice as an actor… [but] I’m not too much of a selfie person!
You were recently caught up in the hacking scandal. What was that like?
I mean, it’s a criminal act. It’s something that I think a lot of girls are dealing with at this point in time. It’s a real shame. It’s an FBI matter at the moment so they’re going to continue to sort it out.
24: Live Another Day is out on DVD and Blu-ray now.
BITE SIZE
WE WENT TO Café Opera in the InterContinental Hotel, Sydney CBD.
WE ATE Burrawong Grain Fed Free Range Chicken with charcoal smoked organic corn, sage white asparagus, aerated spelt bread puffed amaranth; White Pyrenees Lamb with jannei goat milk, polenta, zucchini & broad beans.
WE DRANK mineral water.
YVONNE WORE J Brand jeans, ETRO jacket and Veronica Beard top.
I WORE a Bec and Bridge top and skirt.
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See my ‘date’ with Gary Mehigan HERE.
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See my ‘date’ with Shanina Shaik HERE.
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