Your Cart is Empty
ROLLACOASTER MAGAZINE: EMERGING TALENT: FASHION & MUSIC.
Essie Randles is living the dream. The actor, who hails from Sydney, received a life-changing phone call last year: she had been cast alongside industry heavyweights Annette Bening and Sam Neill in the miniseries adaptation of Liane Moriarty’s Apples Never Fall. Quite the co-stars for your first TV role.
Playing Brooke, the youngest of the four Delaney children, Essie is joined by on-screen siblings Amy (Alison Brie), Troy (Jake Lacy) and Logan (Conor Merrigan Turner). Annette and Sam play their parents, Joy and Stan, with the whole family finding their world rocked by the arrival of mysterious houseguest Savannah (Georgia Flood) and the subsequent disappearance of Joy.
While this marks Essie’s first major role, there’s plenty more to come, as they have already filmed their feature film debut in The Speedway Murders. The true crime story of the unsolved “Burger Chef Murders” that occurred in Speedway, Indiana in 1978, is set to be released later this year. Essie plays Jayne Friedt, one of four young people who vanished during a graveyard shift at their local Burger Chef restaurant, only to be found dead in the woods the next day.
Chatting to me the week after Apples’ release, Essie dishes what it was like to work with such a stellar cast, their humble acting origins and being inspired by Lizzie McGuire.
JENNIFER LYNN: Congratulations on Apples Never Fall! What attracted you to being part of the Delaney family and what was the process like of getting the part?
ESSIE RANDLES: When I first auditioned I didn't know who was cast in the other roles. I read the character brief and Brooke and I are very different, but there were some eerie similarities in her backstory to my life, so I immediately felt like I knew who this person was. I had been feeling a bit anxious about auditioning, so I decided to do an experiment where I pretended I had no fear—because I thought there was no way I'd ever get the part. Somehow the stars aligned, so I'm trying to implement that experiment all the time now.
JL: I love that. What was it like to have Annette Bening and Sam Neill play your parents?
ER: It was crazy. I couldn't believe it. After my first callback, I was told that Annette was playing Joy and that galvanized me even more to think, “I would do anything to work with Annette.” I found out about Sam's casting when I got the part and was equally as excited. They're amazing people. They're obviously at the top of their game and so talented in their craft, and in their work, but they're also kind, generous, beautiful people. To work with them on my first TV job was a dream come true.
JL: Such a great gig! Growing up in Sydney, when did you first show an interest in acting?
ER: I remember after one performing arts night, in which I think I played a possum and my mum had sewn me a possum costume, I was so excited and proud. My mum said to me afterwards that it was the happiest she'd ever seen me. I didn't really do anything on stage – it was an ensemble piece – but I think I knew from such a young age that I wanted to do this. I never really had a plan B.
JL: Which actors did you look up to back then?
ER: I've always looked up to Cate Blanchett. She's such an amazing example of someone who started in Australia in theatre and has had this incredible international career. As a kid, I was really into Lizzie McGuire. I would watch the episodes on YouTube over and over again. Hilary Duff as Lizzie McGuire was huge for me.
JL: Honestly, an incredible show. You have another exciting project coming soon, The Speedway Murders. Were you a true crime fan before being cast in it?
ER: Absolutely. That was one of the draws to that project for me. I had already listened to a podcast about the case. This was my first feature film and I was so excited to be in something that I felt like I would personally seek out. I saw a preview screening of it at the Adelaide Film Festival and it broke my heart. It's a devastating story.
JL: I was doing some Googling this morning and saw they started demolishing the Burger Chef building today.
ER: That is devastating that it's happening today! I didn't realise. I've never been to Speedway, because we filmed in Adelaide and they built a replica of the restaurant, but I feel very sentimental about it with the amount of time we spent in there.
JL: I couldn’t believe it…such a coincidence that I would be speaking to you today. What was it like to embody Jayne Friedt?
ER: It was something that I took really seriously. I didn't have many photos and I didn't have any video footage of her to base my portrayal on, so most of the character development came from conversations with our marvellous directors, Luke Rynderman and Adam Kamien. They had done so much research and compiled all these interviews with friends and with family, with people who knew her, and the other folks involved. I really tried to bring humanity to her and see things from her point of view, and treat that story with the respect that it deserves. That case has left such a hole in the hearts of so many people, so I wanted to give her total dignity and I hope I achieved that.
JL: Before we sign off, let’s do some quick-fire questions. What’s your favourite city right now?
ER: New York. I'm going in a week and a half, and I can't wait.
JL: Music artist?
ER: I go back and forth a lot, but let’s say The Go-Betweens.
JL: Song?
ER: “Dance Hall Days” by Wang Chung. I've been rinsing this song.
JL: I’m about to go listen right now. Thanks, Essie!
Photography by @parismumpower
Styling by @styledbysum
Interview and words by @barbiesnaps
Hair by @glennellishair at @theonly.agency
Make-up by @1carolpark
Editorial Director @charlottejmorton
Editor-in-Chief @ellaxwest
Creative Director @jeffreythomson
Art Director @harry_conor
Assistant Art Director @beth1owri
Production Director @bencrankbencrank
Production Assistant Lola Randall
