Where are you from?
Sydney, so I wear flip-flops a lot. Where I live there’s this little walkway called Barefoot Boulevard and everyone wears flip-flops. We actually call them thongs in Australia but in the US it can sound inappropriate if you say you’re wearing a thong.
Are you a Sundance virgin?
I’ve been there once before. I had a supporting role in a film called The East which premiered in 2013.
How does it feel to be a Sundance sensation?
It feels crazy. And honestly, kind of overwhelming. There is a lot of buzz about the film. I haven’t seen it yet, but before the festival, I’ll be going to a screening in New York with Bridget Everett, who plays my mom. We have to sit next to each other because we’ll be clawing each other’s arms with nerves.
What’s the buzz?
I’m still trying to figure that out myself. It’s definitely a coming-of-age story, so in that sense it feels familiar and relatable. But what’s unique is the focus on a girl from New Jersey who wants to be a rapper — and to make it in a male-dominated industry that doesn’t necessarily accept her. On top of that, she’s not your typical girl. We see rappers like Iggy Azalea and Nikki Minaj and they’re very beautiful, perfectly sculpted women with tiny waists and nice curves. Patti is just an average girl. She’s trying to make it in a business that is all about image and she doesn’t have the right image. It’s also a misfit story — there are so many characters in this film that you haven’t seen before. It is ultimately about individuals trying to find to find acceptance regardless of race, gender and body image.
How would you describe your character?
Patti is a tough yet insecure girl who has bigger dreams than she can even imagine. She wants to get out of this place where she is stuck and she wants to achieve greatness. This film is about her figuring out how to do that — and along the way she also discovers who she is as a person.
What do you have in common with your character?
Patti and I walk differently, we talk differently, but we have the same heart. That is where I connected with her: On the inside. And then I learned how to be her on the outside. We are both really passionate about something — rap in her case, acting in mine — and we want to be able to do what we love. Also, we happen to be in industries that don’t promote the body types we have.
How did you land the part?
One of our producers saw me in The East and he showed my photo to the director. Then he saw a film I did called Every Secret Thing and thought: “OK, she can do this.” He invited me to come to the Sundance Labs in 2014 so that he could workshop some of his scenes. I got this offer, which was like: “You’ll be going away for three weeks where there is no cell reception, you’ll be volunteering and you’ll have to play a New Jersey rapper.” I was like: Huh? What? I can’t do that accent, I don’t know how to rap and I’m pretty sure I’m tone deaf. I was terrified. So I was like: OK, let’s do it. Why not just completely challenge myself? And to this day it was one of the best experiences of my life.
