By Dov Kornits
“I spent a lot of my shoot days covered in mud, running in the bush, and swimming in the titular billabong…when I dreamed of making movies, I didn’t think I’d be so cold, dirty, and exhausted,” laughs Emily Joy to FilmInk. The young actress is talking about her debut screen performance in the Aussie horror flick, Red Billabong, which sees two brothers (Home & Away’s Dan Ewing and Dance Academy’s Tim Pocock) and their friends at the mercy of a mysterious evil presence in the Australian outback. Is this the kind of movie that Emily Joy likes to watch as a viewer? “Yes and no,” she smiles. “Yes, because it’s a high-stakes adventure film filled with interesting characters, and no, because I’m a wuss when it comes to scary stuff. I know exactly what happens in this movie and I’m still scared to watch it,” she laughs.
In the film, Joy scores a nice, juicy role, essaying the character of Kate, an impressionable young woman caught in the thrall of Ben Chisholm’s BJ, a drug dealer with a nasty streak who settles in as the film’s more recognisable antagonist. “My agent came across the script and suggested me to director, Luke Sparke,” Joy explains of how she got the role. “After watching my show reel, he asked to meet me, and I was offered the role outright in our meeting. It doesn’t make for an interesting story, but it was a wonderfully quick and simple process; I was very blessed.”
The role is a major step-up for Emily Joy, who has so far appeared in the short films, A Better Man and Sailboats. And as with Red Billabong, those films have demanded that she slightly modulate her accent. “Yes, I’m from Cape Town,” the actress smiles. “I immigrated to Australia when I was eleven-years-old. It seems that the secret to perfecting an accent is living in that country for ten or more years. Simple! Any directors out there wanting to cast me as an Italian, just know that I’ll need a decade’s notice!”
And what pushed this South African Aussie towards an acting career? “Not being a good enough dancer,” Joy laughs. “When I was younger, I wanted to be a ballerina. I took dancing lessons and loved being on stage, but lacked the technique to dance professionally. Acting seemed like an easy way to perform without pointe shoes.” Though, as Joy has previously alluded to, it’s hardly a glamorous profession, particularly with low budget indie projects like Red Billabong. “At the end of the (fourteen hour) day, everyone is working really hard to make the best film possible,” the actress says. “We could only complete this monster of a film with the amazing crew we had. Pun intended.”
And what of that monster, which was created completely in post-production via CGI? “There should be an Oscar category for Best Acting With Inanimate Objects,” Joy laughs. “It was such a fun and unique challenge acting opposite a tennis ball on a pole. All you can do is give it 100% and pray that your performance makes sense with the visual effects created in post-production.” Emily Joy might have to get used to that kind of acting: she’s just jagged a role in the local sci-fi flick, Stream. “It follows a scientist who creates technology that makes telepathy possible. It’s dark, emotional and challenging material. John Noble [Fringe, The Lord Of The Rings] is in line to play the scientist, and I play his daughter.”
And while LA likely beckons – as it does for all young Australian actors – Emily Joy is more than happy where she is right now. “I hope to continue working in Australia,” she says. “I’m really excited by the state of Australian cinema; we’re really coming into our own as a nation of powerful storytellers. I’m so thrilled to be a part of this industry.”
FilmInk Presents will be holding two very special screening and Q&A sessions of Red Billabong in Adelaide (August 15) and Melbourne (August 16). For all details, click here.
