It’s an interesting question: If you could find out the day you were going to die, would you want to know the answer?
It’s also precisely the predicament the main characters in the new thriller Knowing stumble into when a mysterious time capsule is unearthed. But for one of the film’s stars, Rose Byrne, the answer to that question isn’t so cut and dry.
“When maybe, but not how,” admitted the rising Australian star with a chuckle during a recent interview. “I don’t want to know how.”
For someone so willing to learn about her date with destiny, Byrne has taken a somewhat opposite stance with her career — opting to strategize how she’ll succeed in showbiz without concern as to when it would happen.
As such, the 29-year old is finally coming into her own in Hollywood thanks to carefully-picked movies like Knowing (in theatres Friday) and hit TV show Damages — for which she earned a Golden Globe nomination. With 30 film and TV credits under her belt since she began acting in Sydney as a teen, she has been patient. So what has motivated her choices?
“Director, director, director. Someone who’s a visionary and if I felt like (I was in) safe hands,” said Byrne adding that she has also searched for intricate characters. “Anything that makes me curious is a good thing.”
Byrne has put no restrictions on those choices either. Whether it’s playing Brad Pitt’s lover in a big Hollywood blockbuster like Troy or spending time in Halifax filming the independent dark comedy Just Buried.
“Australians are very proud,” she admits, while quietly adding success at home can still be tenuous.
