No stranger to action-packed roles, Brisbane-born actress Lucy Fry starred in the chilling series Wolf Creek and counts an alien as one of her earliest performances. She’s now in one of Netflix’s biggest films of the year, appearing alongside box-office superstar Will Smith in the fantasy adventure flick Bright as an elf.
“I do seem to be doing intense and crazy things with weirdos,” the charming 25-year laughs. “All my roles are pretty extreme.”
Now based in Los Angeles, Fry—who often earns comparisons to Aussie darling Margot Robbie—spills on her new film, her legendary co-stars and the TV series she can’t get enough of.
It must have been great fun transforming into elf Tikka while shooting Bright. Talk us through the prosthetics and makeup.
I got to have little elf ears, which was quite fun. When they were designing everybody’s ears, they gave them a little bit of personality. My ears were a bit cute and cheeky, while Noomi [Rapace]’s ears are more angular because she’s a badass villain. As well as that, I had eye contacts to make my eyes a whitish blue. As elves, it gave us a different way of seeing things, because it was a little bit blurry.
Are you a person who gets starstruck? What was it like meeting Will Smith and Joel Edgerton on your first days on set?
[Laughs] I mean, it’s Will Smith! What I sort of did was to stay in character, because Tikka’s not scared—she’s testing Ward (Smith) and Jackoby (Edgerton) to see if she can them. But I would still pinch myself! I would wake up the next day and be like, “Oh my God was I just in an alleyway in downtown LA with an Orc and Will Smith, or was that just a dream?”
What version of Will Smith do you know and love? Are you a Fresh Prince fan or more into his action movies?
I guess his action films, and I love his beautiful performances in Seven Pounds and The Pursuit of Happyness. I love those movies that pull at your heartstrings.
What kind of physical training was involved for Bright?
I did American Kenpo Karate training and I got my yellow belt before we started filming, and by the end of filming, I have my orange belt because I loved it so much. I was learning how to fight and how to stand up for myself and just be more confident. In the film, I got to do a few jumps and a bit of fighting and some tussling with Noomi.
Were you a fan of the fantasy genre before filming?
Oh totally, I love fantasy, it really taps into your imagination. It allows you to delve into something deeper that you can’t really get away with and make entertaining if it is just a bunch of humans. In this film, through the metaphor of the elves and the humans, we can tell a story about equality in this world—it’s very segregated. My elf, Tikka, and Will’s character Ward, and Joel’s character Jackoby, they’re all breaking out of the stereotypes and the pressure that their race has put on them.
You looked incredible at the film’s premiere in LA in. Who are your favourite designers?
I was so grateful to wear Toni Maticevski to the premiere, I loved it because it kind of looked like Tikka, a little bit elfen. I love Kit X because they’re sustainable and really creative. I’d love to wear Stella McCartney one day because she does that so well too.
You’re often called ‘the next Margot Robbie’. How do you feel about those comparisons?
I’m always so honoured and so stoked when people say that! I look up to her in the industry a bit like an older sister; she’s so brave and so fearless and really paving the way. When I was auditioning for Tikka I saw her work in Suicide Squad and she was so good in it and brings so much light and so much love into her roles. I hope I get to meet her, I just think that she’s the bomb.
What Netflix shows are you loving at the moment?
I’m obsessed with The Crown right now. Claire Foy is so good in it, I worked with her in Vampire Academy, many years ago, she is so lovely and so talented.
How’s your English accent? Could we see you in season three?
That would be incredible! I haven’t done my English accent for a while [laughs].
What’s coming up next for you?
I’m going home for Chrissy to spend it with the family and then I’ve got an indie film coming out next year called Highway. And then back to LA and back to auditions—and then I guess we’ll see what happens from there.
Bright premieres on Netflix on Friday, December 22.
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