from launceston to LA

Rachael Taylor may have her name in lights and a Hollywood Hills pad, but the actress is still a Tassie girl at heart

WORDS CARLA CARUSO

Packing your bags for Hollywood at the tender age of 21 would be a surreal experience for most. But Australian-born actress Rachael Taylor – with movie-star good looks and raw acting ability – has taken it all in her stride.

“It was hard and heartbreaking to leave,” Taylor says, sighing. “I loved my life in Australia. But I made the decision that this was what I was going to do. An actor is deeply what I am and you go where the work is.”

Born and bred in the Tasmanian city of Launceston and an only child, Taylor, learned at a young age how to be strong and fend for herself. She made the bold move to Sydney from Launceston at age 16 to pursue her acting dream, before moving to Los Angeles five years later.

Photo: Tourism Tasmania/
Garry Moore

With bit parts in American productions and horror flicks, as well as a role in the ill-fated Aussie soap, Headland, Taylor finally got her big Hollywood break with last year’s blockbuster, Transformers. She’s now among the new Aussie female brigade taking over Hollywood that includes Abbie Cornish, Radha Mitchell, Sophie Monk and Teresa Palmer.

Next up, the 23-year-old stars in Shutter, alongside Joshua Jackson – the duo play a young couple on honeymoon in Tokyo, who see ghostly images in their photos – and Bottle Shock with Chris Pine, a love story set in the 1970s, amid the birth of the Napa Valley wine industry in California.

Photo: Tourism Tasmania/
Rob Burnett

While she no longer shares a one-bathroom house in Sydney with five women and now has her own gorgeous Japanese-style pad in the Hollywood Hills, Taylor remains a Launceston girl at heart. For one, she’s not above doing her own housework. “Something I don’t agree with is having a cleaner. So many people have a cleaner in LA and I’m like, ‘You’re kidding, you don’t do your own laundry?’ It’s not hard.”

And rather than a dubious trans-Atlantic accent, Taylor’s is all Australian. “Wouldn’t it be revolting if you picked up the phone and I’m, like, ‘Hello’ [puts on an American accent]? I don’t think I could lose my accent if I tried. I’m a Tassie girl.”

What was it like working with Chris Pine in Bottle Shock and Joshua Jackson in Shutter?
I’ve been so blessed with the men that I’ve worked with. Chris Pine is just ridiculously good-looking – look him up on the internet – but he’s just such a good person and so talented as well. Joshua Jackson, I think, is really wonderful in Shutter. People will see him in a new light after this.

Photo: Dreamworks LLC/Paramount
PicturesDo you date actors?
I hate to say absolutely never, because it might come back to bite me later, but I’m seriously dubious of that. I’ve never dated an actor. I like people that have real jobs. At the moment I’m completely single – and I’m dating work! I love my friends and I have a community here in LA and I’m sure someone will wander in when the time is right.

 

You’ve said you prefer not to do overtly sexy roles?
I’m really particular about what females should be like on film. I just don’t think that floating around with too much lipgloss on is particularly interesting. I really like women on-screen who are intelligent but, more than that, who are driven to win something – women who are on a mission.

Tell us what you love about your hometown of Launceston.
The most beautiful component of the city is the people. They’re really down-to-earth, good human beings. It’s all about the small pleasures in life there, like going to buy milk at the supermarket and they ask how you are and they really mean it. There is a small town, six-degrees-of-separation feel to it and it’s a city with a lot to offer.

Photo: Stephen Vaughan/Paramount
Pictures

What are your favourite things to do in Launceston?
Every time I go back to Launceston – I usually have to be dragged to the gym – I will go running at Cataract Gorge (the Basin Rd picnic spot). Especially in the morning, when the sun’s coming up and there are peacocks and kangaroos around, it’s so serene. That’s my spot. My parents actually got married there and I always run past the tree they were married under.

Where do you like to dine when in Launie?
I’m a big foodie and there are some really good restaurants there. Stillwater River Café Restaurant & Wine Bar (“Ritchies Mill”, Patterson St, Launceston, tel: + 61 (3) 6331 4153) is a good one. At the new Invermay seaport, there’s a place called Mud Bar and Restaurant (28 Seaport Blv, Launceston, tel: +61 (3) 6334 5066), which makes a killer cocktail and fish ’n’ chips. Both of those restaurants are as good as anything in LA, New York, Tokyo, Sydney or any other big city in the world.

What’s a must-do for travellers heading to Launceston?
The Princess Theatre (57 Brisbane St, Launceston, tel: + 61 (3) 6323 3666). It’s where I cut my teeth doing stage shows and it’s a beautiful, old building that has got this real British theatre feel to it. Apparently, it’s haunted! I have emotionally potent memories of being on-stage. It’s where I fell in love with acting. My first show there was a Cinderella pantomime and I played an ugly stepsister – even then, I wasn’t doing the pretty, gratuitous roles! I did a bunch of cute musicals too, such as the Wizard of Oz. It’s just a magical space.

What about secret spots off the beaten track?
I remember when I was 16 going to the Trevallyn Dam (Gorge Rd, Launceston) with my boyfriend. I thought it was a really romantic, secluded spot at the time – but maybe it was not as secluded as I thought! (laughs).

Aside from Launceston, where is your favourite place in the world?
New York. There’s just something about it for me. Drop me in the East Village or SoHo any day of the year and I’m a happy girl. There’s just so much to discover – I love the randomness of the city. You can step out of your apartment and never know where the day could take you.