Mia Wasikowska's biggest role to date has been on the HBO show In
Treatment, where she played Sophie -- a young gymnast who had her
chances of going to the Olympics squashed after an accident left her in a
cast. She was only on the show for eight episodes but that was enough
for her to be noticed by the bigwigs in Hollywood, and she's since
appeared in the WWII drama Defiance (starring Daniel Craig) and
the forgettable Amelia Earhart biopic, Amelia (starring Hillary
Swank). And after this Friday it's a safe bet Wasikowska will be a household
name.
She stars as Alice in Tim Burton's live-action, 3-D adaptation of Alice
in Wonderland. In the film she falls down a rabbit hole and ends up
in the magical world of Underland where she meets the Mad Hatter
(Johnny Depp), Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter), White Queen (Anne
Hathaway), Knave of Hearts (Crispin Glover), and a slew of animated
characters and creatures.
Brian McKechnie spoke with
Wasikowska while she was passing through Toronto on her press tour. We
chatted about how it was to work with Burton and Depp, her love for the Alice
in Wonderland story, the audition process (she beat out hundreds of
other actresses for the coveted role), and how she found filming all
the green screen scenes. Watch the full interview below.
Alice
in Wonderland opens in theatres March 5.
brian.mckechnie@citynews.rogers.com
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image: A promotional image from Alice in Wonderland. Courtesy Walt Disney Pictures.