An up-and-coming Sunshine Coast actor has appeared alongside some of the biggest names in Hollywood as she establishes herself in the film industry.
Jane Larkin stars in Ron Howard’s latest film, Thirteen Lives, which is based on the captivating true story of the rescue mission to save a team of young soccer players and their coach from flooding caves in Thailand.
Taking on the role of an Australian reporter in the $55 million production, Jane performs alongside Lord of the Rings actor Viggo Mortensen and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them actor Colin Farrell.
Other notable actors include Australia’s Joel Edgerton who is known for his role as Owen Lars in Star Wars and the Disney+ miniseries Obi-Wan Kenobi.
The Sippy Downs local is making her credited debut having previously featured in the same movie as Hollywood heavyweight Chris Hemsworth.
The writer, producer and actor is also in the post-production stage of her own film, The Edge, which was made on the Sunshine Coast.
Other Australians in Thirteen Lives include Queensland-based Josh Helman (X Men Origins) and Zahra Newman (Neighbours and Long Story Short) who have credited roles in the film which received backing from the State Government and Screen Australia.
Jane told Sunshine Coast News she was thrilled to be part of the experience and to work on a movie by one of her favourite directors.
The former Immanuel Lutheran College student has also featured in Spiderhead, staring Chris Hemsworth, as well as Australian-filmed productions Young Rock and the upcoming road-trip mystery Australian series Darby and Joan.
“This has been the best experience of my life,” she said. “I heard that Ron Howard was making a film in Australia, and he is one of my directorial idols.
“What I couldn’t believe when I met Ron Howard was that he asked for my name that first day and he remembered it the rest of shooting.
“I was number 45 in the cast, and he still remembered my name. That just speaks wonders to the sort of person he is.
“I also remember the first time I got to sit next to Viggo and of course he was Aragorn in Lord of the Rings and his poster used to be on my locker at school – it felt surreal.”
The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Studios film is already tipped to do well in the upcoming awards season having received record test scores.
“The original screening of it was given the highest ever audience rating from any MGM film and it has been tipped for awards season to win some pretty big awards,” Jane said.
“The ratings are pretty high and I feel like I know why, especially having seen the film a few times.
“I feel it did a really good job of showcasing how the world come together to save these 13 lives.”
Filmed on the Gold Coast, Jane said the COVID era had a silver lining for the local movie industry and was helping establish herself, and other local actors, to become credible blockbuster names.
“Queensland gave a lot of incentives for the film industry to be here during the COVID-19 time and it’s continued.
“We have so many multifaceted locations and Queensland as a state, and hopefully the Sunshine Coast as a region, is going to be really important in the Hollywood film industry. The sky’s the limit.”
Thirteen Lives is available to watch on Amazon Prime Video.
