Miranda Turbitt is an Australian actress who is set to turn a lot of heads in the coming months.
Close-up Culture‘s James Prestridge caught up with the rising star to chat about her upcoming projects, her dream role, what motivates her as a creative person, and much more.
Q: You’ve been performing in theatre, short films, music videos and TVCs for nearly a decade now. Can you tell us more about your background and having this passion for performing from a young age?
A: I grew up in a really small town and ever since I can remember I’ve always loved performing. I was in every school play from the age of 6 and created home-made videos with my dad and brother a lot when I was little.
My first proper role was in a music video when I was 10 years old. I remember loving the whole experience, the excitement of it all, hearing “action! cut!”. That’s when I fell in love with film and TV and knew I wanted to pursue it seriously. The director at the time (Emma Freeman), then gave my mum a list of agents she thought I should apply to and that’s where it all began I suppose!
Q: I saw a clip of you in Cyan Sheridan’s upcoming short film, ‘Iris’, on Instagram. What can you tell us about the project and the character you play?
A: I play the character of Iris (surprise, surprise). She is a young girl living in the 1980’s, which I think is super cool. We follow her on the night of her birthday when she receives a telescope as a gift from her father as she has a strong fascination with astrology.
There’s a complicated relationship between her and her father. She ends up sneaking into her dad’s office and stumbling across some highly confidential stuff that he’s been keeping from her involving a parallel universe. That’s basically the gist!
Q: I also saw a picture of you covered in blood for a role. Is that a horror short or something else?
A: Yeah, that was a fun little VCA short film I did. I play this girl who seduces a man and kills him! The character I was playing was much older than I am and I’d never done a really intense seduction scene, so it was really fun to try something new and step a little outside of my comfort zone.
There’s an element of excitement playing someone that’s really evil. It was super fun getting fake blood splashed all over me, but it tastes absolutely terrible!
Q: It must be an extremely exciting time for young actors given the growing number of streaming services and creative platforms. How excited are you by the opportunities out there?
A: I’m super excited! The roles I’ve been going for recently have been amazing. It’s great that Netflix, Stan and other streaming services have become so popular as it allows for further production of new feature films and TV series. New Netflix and CW shows are always exciting to go for.
People have the opportunity to get really creative and make some amazing artwork that evokes real emotion and has the ability to convey really important messages. All of this results in more roles for actors and the more roles the better!
Q: What would be a dream role for you at this point in your career? Perhaps a Netflix rom-com opposite Noah Centineo, a high-octane superhero flick, a large scale sci-fi or a weighty drama directed by Spielberg?
A: If we’re talking at this point in my career, I’d honestly love to do a great Australian feature or TV series. I love those gritty, honest scripts that don’t glorify day-to-day life and tell it how it really is.
But if we’re talking my absolute dream role? It would probably be an emotional drama that’s a real tear jerker. Exploring the trials of a difficult father-daughter relationship or something, and why don’t we just throw Leonardo DiCaprio in there. He can play my father. Not that I’ve thought about it in detail or anything…(I have).
Q: As well as acting, you are trained in dance and have teased your musical skills on Instagram. Can you talk about these passions and the creative release/fulfilment they give you compared to acting?
A: Oh wow, you’ve really done your research! I would love to start sharing more dance/ musical stuff on Instagram/my social media. I love playing guitar and writing/singing but I’m a little (a lot) scared to share it with everyone. I suppose I shouldn’t care about that, everyone has something different to offer. I think music is a great way to express emotions. I find if I’m ever feeling sad that’s when I turn to my guitar most & it really helps me.
As for dance, I have trained in jazz, tap and ballet but I much prefer hip hop. I always have a great time when I’m dancing and it never fails to make me feel super happy and energetic. I’m always bouncing off the walls. Like I said, I’d definitely like to start sharing more dance/music videos purely because I enjoy it. I’d like to think of myself as a creative person and I want to exercise every creative bone in my body!
Q: What drives you as a creative person? Any influences or people/things you aspire to?
A: Honestly, it’s more of a feeling that drives me. Every time I’m doing something creative that I love I can’t imagine myself doing anything else. It’s a feeling of pure happiness, fulfilment, nervousness and excitement all at the same time!
There are a bunch of people that really inspire me in different ways, whether that be Timothée Chalamet’s acting, Gary Vee’s mindset, Madelaine Petsch’s story of how she made it (also because she has red hair and I feel related to every red head in some way shape or form), Bella Hadid’s fashion sense, Baz Luhrmann’s films and creative work.
Something that is also a massive drive for me is the success of all of my amazing, talented friends who are absolutely killing it in the acting industry! They are a great source of motivation for me.
Q: What are your plans and ambitions for the future?
A: I would love to grow more as an actor in Australia and eventually travel over to America or maybe even the UK. Almost all of my auditions lately have been self tapes that my agent has to send over to the US. It seems that my look is better suited for US film and television, so I definitely see America in my future.
I also think travelling for a job would be awesome. I have this fantasy of filming a show like Outlander somewhere in Scotland for 6 months. Most of all, I just want to have the privilege of telling some amazing, interesting and engrossing stories on screen.
Title photos by Zubair Aslam
Listen: