Star light, star bright
November 27th 2009 19:48
We Aussies have had our eye on the beautiful and oh-so-talented Abbie Cornish for some time, but now it finally looks as though Miss Cornish is set to make a real breakthrough in Hollywood. Her newest film Bright Star - in which she plays Fanny Brawne, the love interest and eventual muse of the great poet John Keats - has critics enthralled, with some tipping the 27-year-old for an Oscar nomination and others calling her 'the next Cate Blanchett'. But in typical Abbie fashion, she downplays her talent and instead calls on the old-world charm of the film's subject matter and script.
"As soon as I read this script, I knew I wanted to do it," the actress said last month. "I think I was the first person to audition for the role but then I had to wait months to hear whether I had the part.
"But it was such an amazing script and I loved Keats's poetry. I read all of it and then the letters he wrote to Fanny and the letters she wrote to his family.
"I also researched that period of history and was entranced. It was a much slower, more languid kind of time, so gradually I managed to start doing everything more slowly, too. It felt a time of such truth and honesty; I loved the experience and I loved playing someone so much in love."
Abbie herself is no stranger to love, although her relationship with Hollywood actor Ryan Phillippe was initially not so well received by the public. Cornish became unwilling tabloid fodder when she started dating Phillippe two years ago, after they met on the set of 2006's Stop-Loss. At the time, Phillippe was still married to actress and America's sweetheart Reese Witherspoon, who also happened to be the mother of his two children.
Cornish admits that the paparazzi attention was initially tough to cope with. "In a normal successful career, someone usually learns these things bit by bit," she says. "For me, it was like night and day. I woke up one day and there was this whole new thing I had to process and deal with."
Still, their relationship has endured, and with any luck Bright Star will take the attention away from Abbie's private life and put it firmly back where it belongs: on her career.
Bright Star was directed by award-winning filmmaker Jane Campion, and as such has become one of the most eagerly anticipated films of the year. It opens in Australian cinemas on Boxing Day.
The fabulous Abbie Cornish
"As soon as I read this script, I knew I wanted to do it," the actress said last month. "I think I was the first person to audition for the role but then I had to wait months to hear whether I had the part.
"But it was such an amazing script and I loved Keats's poetry. I read all of it and then the letters he wrote to Fanny and the letters she wrote to his family.
"I also researched that period of history and was entranced. It was a much slower, more languid kind of time, so gradually I managed to start doing everything more slowly, too. It felt a time of such truth and honesty; I loved the experience and I loved playing someone so much in love."
With co-star Ben Whishaw, who plays the legendary Keats
Abbie herself is no stranger to love, although her relationship with Hollywood actor Ryan Phillippe was initially not so well received by the public. Cornish became unwilling tabloid fodder when she started dating Phillippe two years ago, after they met on the set of 2006's Stop-Loss. At the time, Phillippe was still married to actress and America's sweetheart Reese Witherspoon, who also happened to be the mother of his two children.
Cornish admits that the paparazzi attention was initially tough to cope with. "In a normal successful career, someone usually learns these things bit by bit," she says. "For me, it was like night and day. I woke up one day and there was this whole new thing I had to process and deal with."
Still, their relationship has endured, and with any luck Bright Star will take the attention away from Abbie's private life and put it firmly back where it belongs: on her career.
At the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, where Bright Star premiered
With her partner Ryan Phillippe
A country girl hits the big time
Bright Star was directed by award-winning filmmaker Jane Campion, and as such has become one of the most eagerly anticipated films of the year. It opens in Australian cinemas on Boxing Day.
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