Sydney actress Alexandra Phillips will make her “debut” in her first feature film next year.
North Shore

Sydney actress Alexandra Phillips scores lead role in Hollywood thriller The Black Spot

Jessica Rapana, North Shore Times

June 23, 2016 7:02am

LESS than a year after making the leap to Hollywood, emerging actress Alexandra Phillips has landed her first lead in a feature film.

Phillips, from St Ives, moved to Los Angeles in October last year after beating 6000 hopefuls and securing a position in the StarNow Hollywood Immersive program.

Best known for her part in Channel Nine’s telemovie House of Hancockalongside superstar Sam Neill, she has locked down an agent, a manager and a feature film in less than eight months.

The young actress is making the most of her Hollywood experience.

Phillips, 23, has also brushed shoulders with some of Hollywood’s biggest names, including actors George Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio and Al Pacino.

“I’m settling in really, surprisingly well,” Phillips told the North Shore Timesfrom LA. “I was pretty lucky landing a feature film, it kind of emphasised why I’m here,” she said. “Not many actors come here and land a lead in a feature film in their first year.”

The former Brigidine College student will star in The Black Spot, a horror film about a group of friends who reunite on an island camping trip and discover a buried curse.

The thriller will film for three months from October in Hawaii, the Bahamas and the Big Sur in California

It is set to be released in the United States next year.

The 23-year-old said she was enjoying her first crack at making the big time.

Ms Phillips described her life in the US so far as “a lot of wait and rush” — a flurry of long auditions, then weeks of nothing at a time.

But landing the coveted lead role was a pay off for all the late nights she had stayed up learning scripts for roles that she missed out on, she said.

Phillips said her role of the “multidimensional” Sandra would be “challenging”.

Ms Phillips should be recognisable to Australians for her role on House of Hancock.

“She’s confident, sassy and strong but underneath that she’s quite insecure. I can relate to her strong side and her weak side,” she said.

Phillips said the role has given her the opportunity to make a name for herself in the industry.

“It will be my first feature film lead, so I guess it is my debut.”