Shabana Azeez: From Lesbian Space Princesses in Adelaide to The Pitt in the States

by Helen Barlow

It was fascinating to catch up with Adelaide-raised Australian actor-on-the-rise Shabana Azeez at the Berlin Film Festival where she was promoting Lesbian Space Princess.

After an uproarious premiere, the animated Australian feature, directed by her friends, real life couple Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese, went on to win the Teddy award for best LGBTQI film at the festival.

Azeez voices the title role of Saira, the daughter of lesbian royals who rule the planet of Clitopolis, a place which as noted in the film, is hard to find. She’s in love with bounty hunter Kiki (Bernie Van Tiel) who does not share her passion, though Kiki ultimately needs her help when she is kidnapped by three box-like Straight White Maliens, the ocker villains of the piece whose expressions are cleverly animated, and they get a lot of laughs. So, Saira travels to the other end of the universe to rescue her.

Saira finally meets goth singer-musician Willow (Gemma Chua Tran) and finds the first real friend she has ever had.

After failing to get into drama school, Azeez had studied for a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Adelaide and worked for a South Australian non-profit. When she realised that she wanted to pursue her dream of acting, she auditioned for a short film, and the die was cast.

Shabana’s breakout role was in the Australian 2023 feature film Birdeater, before she appeared as trainee doctor Victoria Javadi in the HBO medical series The Pitt, which has received an astounding 12 nominations in the upcoming Emmys. She says that she “got lucky” when Birdeater screened at SXSW in 2024 and she found American management which led to The Pitt. “It was really fast.” The show has now been renewed for a second season with Azeez among the cast.

Azeez also appears in Varghese’s short, I’m The Most Racist Person I Know [below], which won a Special Jury award at SXSW this year. The film screened at SFF and at MIFF. “It’s about internalised racism and beauty standards and dating,” she says.

Azeez, who was 27 at the time of our interview, discusses her background, her projects and her astounding success. “I love working; I just want to work forever,” she says. “I’m very grateful for every opportunity.”

You seem keen to show the younger woman’s point of view in your projects.

“I feel like for a long time, young women weren’t taken seriously as a market, that the things young women like weren’t taken seriously culturally. I think that it’s time to change that. I’m very much happy to be a champion for young women, because I am one.”

You voice the lead role of Saira in Lesbian Space Princess, and you look a bit like her, or she looks like you.

“I’ll take that.”

What was it like to do the voice work? Have you done that before?

“It was my first time doing animation, but I’ve done audio books before. I’d never voiced a character in a feature. It was incredible. I was aware of the project from the very beginning because from when I started acting, Emma and Leela had cast me in their short films.”

You’re all from Adelaide.

“Yes. Emma and I used to work together at a small filmmakers’ hub, so we knew each other before I was acting, and before they were together, before they were working together. Now they’re my closest friends. When they were applying for the funding, for the development funding, and then the production funding, I was aware of the film the whole time. So, it was really lovely to audition for my friends and to see them succeed after so many years of such hard work.”

What is the message of your character?

“The message of the film and the message of my character I think are really important. It’s a film about self-love and self-acceptance and the strength of that on a social level.”

It is a coming-of-age story for Saira really, isn’t it? She’s put down and a little bit like your character in The Pitt and she has to rise above it. Do you sometimes feel that yourself?

“I felt like that when I was a lot younger, so I related to Saira a lot. I didn’t feel like I belonged, I didn’t know how to be myself, but I think acting has really taken me out of that. I don’t feel like I have to prove anything anymore.”

But voicing a character is different.

“I remember playing Saira, this really anxious, nervous character, who is so embarrassed by every quality that she has, and I was in a room alone doing a fight scene, which is so embarrassing. Voice acting is so embarrassing, and you have to really be confident and have some strength in yourself to be able to grunt at a wall for 30 minutes.”

Were you with the other voice actors at all?

“No, I never met any of them. It’s particularly strange doing a love story with somebody You’ve never met. I have now met Gemma, but when we did our performances, I had no idea of her performance or her energy. So, you really have to trust your directors to make sure you’re putting down what Gemma can pick up, and vice versa.”

The film is fast-moving, action-packed and funny and can appeal to a wide audience. It’s not just for queer movie-goers.

“I think it’s very much a story for everyone. A lot of white men who’ve seen it have found it hilarious. It’s not a film that’s talking down to anybody. It’s very much like, everybody’s invited! I think the concept of it can be quite alienating for people, but it’s a warm uplifting story. It’s not about queer trauma at all. It’s also not about being in an in-group or an out-group. At the end of it a lot of people go, ‘Oh, the Straight White Maliens were the most charming, fun, lovely characters.’ That’s really important, and it’s a beautiful thing about the film.”

Your ethnicity is Fijian Indian?

“Yes, I came over with my parents from Fiji and I grew up in Adelaide.”

We’ve known a couple of Fijian Indian doctors who live in Australia.

“Yeah, we’re around the place. There’s not many of us, but I feel like I hear about us doing stuff often, which is lovely. I love Fiji, and I love Fijian Indian culture. I think it’s beautiful and very cool. I love the food, I love the vibe, I love the way we speak multiple languages, and how much different cultures have influenced our language. I love going back to Fiji and seeing all the family. It’s a beautiful place.”

Did you do well at school in Adelaide?

“I was very academic. Everybody was quite shocked when I became an artist in my 20s. Nobody saw that coming, but I love it. I think that’s more important. I’d rather love something than just be good at it.”

And what did your parents think about you becoming an actor?

“They were mortified, but I did it for myself. Even my very academic group of friends at school were all like, ‘What are you doing?’ But I’m really grateful for how it all turned out and I’m really happy with where I am right now. I feel grateful to have a job in America on The Pitt, a show I love, a show I love working on and I’m so grateful to have this film coming out, a movie I love and loved working on. If people leave Lesbian Space Princess and have empathy for someone who’s really anxious or a bit of a social outcast, then I’ll have done my job. If people watch The Pitt and next time they go into an ER, they’re not so mad about the wait time, or they have a bit of empathy for people working there, then I’ve done my job. I love to do research, and I’ve always been a big reader.”

Did you learn a lot about medical procedures on The Pitt?

“We did a two-week boot camp at the top of shooting. We learned how to intubate, how to find a vein, do an ultrasound and treat a pericardial effusion. We learn how to do all this disgusting stuff. On the series, the visual effects and the make-up make it look so realistic.”

What is Noah Wyle like to work with?

“It’s so important to have an incredible number one on any show, because they set the tone. And Noah is everything you could ask for. His mind is a steel trap. If you say you’re interested in something, two weeks later, he’s got you a book on the subject. I told him I want to direct, and he got me two really great books on directing and editing. He encouraged me to pursue my dreams, and I ended up shadowing every single director on set. On my days off, I went to production meetings that everybody invited me to. Noah and the producers and directors all set a really welcoming tone of ‘We’re here to support you, not just as an actor, but as an artist,’ helping everybody grows.”

Birdeater won for best indie film at the AACTAs on February 7.

“I wasn’t at the ceremony. I was going to bed in LA, ready to work the next morning, when the cast and crew were all getting ready, doing their press, all dressed in their suits. Then I woke up and they were still partying because they’d won! It made me so happy.

“I’m really proud of everybody involved. It was a small film that was made for little money and with few resources. It was everybody’s first feature. We were all in our early 20s just trying to make something and it’s an incredible feat.”

Do you think it’s essential to leave Australia and to go overseas to do well? Or do you think you can keep doing what you’re doing now and come back for projects? Do you have a home in LA?

“I don’t have a home anywhere really. I don’t really know where I live. I’ll figure that out as time goes on. But I’m very happy to live out of a suitcase and go wherever the work is. I know Australian actors feel that way. You have to travel. American actors I’ve spoken to also feel like it’s hard to have a base. You end up traveling for work wherever the shoot is. There’s nothing shooting in LA anymore and people who live there are going, ‘where do I want to be based?’ It’s a global issue for artists, at least in the film industry.”

That makes it hard to maintain relationships.

“Yes, but we’re lucky that we’re living in a time where the technology is so great and you can just FaceTime your family every day. Time zones are a nightmare, for sure. If you’re all working 12-hour days in your respective time zones, how do you make that work? But I think these are problems I’d rather have.”

Lesbian Space Princess releases in cinemas on 11 September 2025. The Pitt Season 1 is currently streaming on HBO Max. Birdeater is streaming on Prime Video.