INTRODUCING -
ACTRESS
RHIANNON PAVLOVSKI
A: I was born October 24th, 1994. When I was around 4 I moved to the North Shore. I attended Killara High School and am currently working as a receptionist at Fitness First. My mother, Jasna, is Croation and my father, Zlatko, is Macedonian - they moved here when they were young. I have a brother - Travis - who is 15 and a sister, Sinead - who is 13.
2 You are an actor. Have you always wanted to be one?
A: I still remember the first time I stepped on stage and ever since that day I have known I've wanted to be an actress. I was six. For the past 13 or so years, never once have I strayed from that dream. I don't think a day has gone by when I haven't had a thought of acting in an upcoming movie or television show, or dreaming up scenarios of winning an Oscar and appearing on interviews. I stand in front of the mirror and talk to myself, pretend I am acting for a camera at that very moment. I'm still trying to figure out if everyone does that or if it's unique to me. I'll get back to you on that one. For me, acting has always been the ultimate; my goals are what's most important to me.
3 Is there anyone else in your family who is in entertainment?
A: Not particularly, no. My maternal grandmother used to act and run a theatre group in her village in Croatia, but that's about as far as I can see that the entertainment gene descended. However, my mother was an art teacher so that could be where some of my creativity stems from. My sister is also a brilliant singer.
4 Have you had formal training?
A: Yes, a lot of it. I've been having drama lessons since I was 6, and have tried out many different drama schools after that. My most notable training is short courses with the Australian Theatre for Young People and the National Institute of Dramatic Art. I am currently in the process of doing an eight week course at the Australian Theatre for Young People, called 'The Actor's Toolkit', which teaches the essentials all actors should know.
5 What do you enjoy doing when not acting?
A: To be honest, there's not much I do outside of work and acting. I work full time so I try and fill up any of my spare time with auditions, acting projects or acting lessons. I love to do the usual: coffee with friends, spending time with family etc, but my main hobby has always been performing.
6 Have you done any travelling for your work? Please tell us about that.
A: Not particularly. I have been taking acting lessons since I was very young but I am still finding my feet in the acting world and haven't yet had any need to travel.
7 What is next in the pipeline for Rhiannon Pavlovski?
A: Ultimately, I'd like to work on as many projects as I can - whether it be short films, commercials, TV shows or feature films - I want to do it all!
8 Have you ever been bullied at all? At school, work, wherever?
A: It took me a while to find my feet my high school. I never really knew what it was but I guess it came down to that people found me annoying. In Year 7 I had a couple of girls be mean to me. Really childish stuff - I remember a boy coming up to kick me, because these two girls had asked him to. Didn't help when you were already crying.
I remember trying out a few different friendship groups and came across one in Year 8. I could sense that I wasn't particularly welcome there, but it was better than sitting alone. Eventually, that friendship group came to an end. There was one girl who never really liked me and one day we ended up having some sort of a fight. I can't really remember what is was about, but eventually one of the other girls stepped in and yelled something at me that definitely shut me up. She interrupted, screaming: 'No-one even likes you!' They don't say words can 'feel like a slap in the face' for nothing. I remember looking around at the faces of my 'friends', all of them in shock. The rest of that day wasn't easy, I remember having to sit down in an outside school assembly, with the girl who yelled at me crouching down in front of me, apologising. It was that awful feeling of trying so hard not to cry, that all you can do is sob. The rest of that day was just a river of tears in the bathroom. It's a really scary feeling and devastating feeling to know that you aren't liked by anyone. My mum was away on holidays and I didn't tell my dad. In all honesty, I just hoped he would notice something was wrong. However, in true actress fashion, I put on my most depressive face and of course knew something was up.
Unfortunately, when it comes to being rejected from a friendship group, the effects last a log longer than the immediate pain. I had to think about who I was going to sit with at recess and spent quite a few days sitting in the bathrooms - if you're going to sit alone, you want to at least save yourself the embarrassment of it. I eventually became good friends with a girl that was in a similar situation to me. It took a while for both of us to integrate into another friendship group, but we slowly got there. I went back to hanging out with those same girls again. It all started to get better towards the end of Year 9 - we all went out for my 15th birthday and from then on we became good friends.
School got easier from then on. I stayed friends with a couple of girls from the group and made some new ones. These are the people who I am still friends with today. After Year 9 it all died down, with just a few little typical girl fights. That same girl that started the fight with me in Year 8 never really stopped having a problem with me. One day in Year 10 or 11 we got into another yelling match - she called me a buffalo. Great insult, hey? At that point I was completely fed up with girl drama. But after that, really, not much else happened to me directly. However, in Year 11, it was my best friend who was targeted. My best friend is openly gay and for what it's worth, had a lot of people who loved him in high school. My year group was one that never really got along. One night, all of us were at a large party at one of our friend's house. All was going well, until my friend accidentally bumped into one of the guys from my school whilst passing through a doorway. My friend kept walking, but the person he bumped into wasn't happy. He was extremely angry and swearing and his friends had to calm him down. Later that night, after the party, a bunch of us were sitting at the local shops. Me and two friends were waiting for my dad to come and pick us up. All of a sudden I saw a bunch of guys running from the shops, but I didn't think anything of it. My friends stayed over and the next morning we were chatting. One of my friends said that she wondered if my best friend was okay. I asked what she meant. Turns out, these five guys had run to go and find my best friend. I immediately called and asked him where he was. He told me he was in the hospital. They hit and hurt him so badly they had fractured his knee. Five guys on one, two of them standing back and three of them physically abusing him.
I felt helpless - I saw those boys running somewhere. I kept replaying the scene in my mind. If I had only known where they were running to I could've stopped them. But eventually I realised that these thoughts wouldn't get me anywhere so I did everything I could to be there for my best friend. Him and I have been through a lot together but now our relationship is stronger than ever.
9 What and/or who are your inspirations?
A: I definitely take inspiration from actresses such as Meryl Streep, Jessica Lange, Diane Keaton, Audrey Hepburn, Nicole Kidman as well as actors like Tom Hanks, Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Nero, Al Pacino, Will Smith, Hugh Jackman, Johnny Depp, Ryan Gosling, Sean Penn, Kevin Spacey and Christoph Waltz - just a small portion of actors and actresses who I admire and take inspiration from. Ultimately I look up to actors who are able to be versatile; playing a large range of characters truthfully. They are, in their entirety, what I aim to become.
10 What do you plan for your career long term?
A: I would like to be a film actress - mainly feature films. Of course, an Oscar win would be ultimate and I am definitely striving to meet that goal. I would also love to work with and create charity organisations - the word that charities such as Comic Relief do are truly inspirational.
11 Do you have a message you would like to send to the world?
A: I guess what I will always try to get across is the message that we are all equal. Different, of course, with all our individual hopes and dreams, but the same basic human needs are relevant to all of us. I believe that you should not be discriminated against due to something you can't change - whether that be your race, gender, sexuality, any disabilities you may have etc. However, this seems to happen all too often and be the main cause of discrimination. I truly believe in treating others the way you want to be treated. As humans, our actions can have such an incredibly powerful impact, whether it be something as simple as a smile to brighten someone's day, or a snicker to bring it down completely. We tend to forget what it feels like to be another person, or how we feel by the way others treat us. It's an overused saying, but walking in someone else's shoes really does give you a powerful perspective and you may find out that their feet are not much of a different size to yours. I am a firm believer in living life to the fullest, trying everything so that you can never say 'I wish' and being good to others, because without kindness, one can never truly be happy.
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Unfortunately, when it comes to being rejected from a friendship group, the effects last a log longer than the immediate pain. I had to think about who I was going to sit with at recess and spent quite a few days sitting in the bathrooms - if you're going to sit alone, you want to at least save yourself the embarrassment of it. I eventually became good friends with a girl that was in a similar situation to me. It took a while for both of us to integrate into another friendship group, but we slowly got there. I went back to hanging out with those same girls again. It all started to get better towards the end of Year 9 - we all went out for my 15th birthday and from then on we became good friends.
School got easier from then on. I stayed friends with a couple of girls from the group and made some new ones. These are the people who I am still friends with today. After Year 9 it all died down, with just a few little typical girl fights. That same girl that started the fight with me in Year 8 never really stopped having a problem with me. One day in Year 10 or 11 we got into another yelling match - she called me a buffalo. Great insult, hey? At that point I was completely fed up with girl drama. But after that, really, not much else happened to me directly. However, in Year 11, it was my best friend who was targeted. My best friend is openly gay and for what it's worth, had a lot of people who loved him in high school. My year group was one that never really got along. One night, all of us were at a large party at one of our friend's house. All was going well, until my friend accidentally bumped into one of the guys from my school whilst passing through a doorway. My friend kept walking, but the person he bumped into wasn't happy. He was extremely angry and swearing and his friends had to calm him down. Later that night, after the party, a bunch of us were sitting at the local shops. Me and two friends were waiting for my dad to come and pick us up. All of a sudden I saw a bunch of guys running from the shops, but I didn't think anything of it. My friends stayed over and the next morning we were chatting. One of my friends said that she wondered if my best friend was okay. I asked what she meant. Turns out, these five guys had run to go and find my best friend. I immediately called and asked him where he was. He told me he was in the hospital. They hit and hurt him so badly they had fractured his knee. Five guys on one, two of them standing back and three of them physically abusing him.
I felt helpless - I saw those boys running somewhere. I kept replaying the scene in my mind. If I had only known where they were running to I could've stopped them. But eventually I realised that these thoughts wouldn't get me anywhere so I did everything I could to be there for my best friend. Him and I have been through a lot together but now our relationship is stronger than ever.
9 What and/or who are your inspirations?
A: I definitely take inspiration from actresses such as Meryl Streep, Jessica Lange, Diane Keaton, Audrey Hepburn, Nicole Kidman as well as actors like Tom Hanks, Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Nero, Al Pacino, Will Smith, Hugh Jackman, Johnny Depp, Ryan Gosling, Sean Penn, Kevin Spacey and Christoph Waltz - just a small portion of actors and actresses who I admire and take inspiration from. Ultimately I look up to actors who are able to be versatile; playing a large range of characters truthfully. They are, in their entirety, what I aim to become.
10 What do you plan for your career long term?
A: I would like to be a film actress - mainly feature films. Of course, an Oscar win would be ultimate and I am definitely striving to meet that goal. I would also love to work with and create charity organisations - the word that charities such as Comic Relief do are truly inspirational.
11 Do you have a message you would like to send to the world?
A: I guess what I will always try to get across is the message that we are all equal. Different, of course, with all our individual hopes and dreams, but the same basic human needs are relevant to all of us. I believe that you should not be discriminated against due to something you can't change - whether that be your race, gender, sexuality, any disabilities you may have etc. However, this seems to happen all too often and be the main cause of discrimination. I truly believe in treating others the way you want to be treated. As humans, our actions can have such an incredibly powerful impact, whether it be something as simple as a smile to brighten someone's day, or a snicker to bring it down completely. We tend to forget what it feels like to be another person, or how we feel by the way others treat us. It's an overused saying, but walking in someone else's shoes really does give you a powerful perspective and you may find out that their feet are not much of a different size to yours. I am a firm believer in living life to the fullest, trying everything so that you can never say 'I wish' and being good to others, because without kindness, one can never truly be happy.
Links: Facebook
StarNow
