Bojana Novakovic

Bojana Novakovic
Novakovic at a Les Miserables premiere, Sydney, Australia, 2012
Born	(1981-07-12) 12 July 1981 Belgrade, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia
Nationality	Australian and Serbian
Alma mater	National Institute of Dramatic Art
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1994–present
Relatives	Valentina Novakovic (sister)

Bojana Novakovic (Serbian: Бојана Новаковић, Bojana Novaković; born 12 July 1981)^[1][2] is a Serbian-Australian actress who is currently starring in the American TV series Instinct with Alan Cumming.

Novakovic is known for her roles in films such as Devil (2010) and The Little Death (2014). She starred alongside Keanu Reeves and Adelaide Clemens in the drama Generation Um... and with Mel Gibson in the thriller Edge of Darkness. She appeared in the U.S. version of television series Shameless as Bianca.^[3] She starred in the science fiction film Beyond Skyline, a sequel to Skyline.

Early life

Novakovic was born on 12 July 1981 in Belgrade, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia, to Serbian parents. She moved to Australia in 1988, at the age of seven. She was initially interested in becoming a social worker or doctor, but she changed her mind and decided to pursue performing arts. Novakovic studied at The McDonald College in Sydney^[4] (where she was dux of 1999) and graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) with a bachelor's degree in dramatic arts in 2002. Her younger sister Valentina is also an actress, known for playing Natasha Williams in the Australian soap opera, Neighbours.^[5]

Career

In 2003, Novakovic played Randa in the ABC mini-series Marking Time, a role which won her an AFI Award for "Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Television Drama or Comedy". As an actress, Novakovic's film credits in Australia include Blackrock (1996), Strange Fits of Passion (1998), The Monkey's Mask (1999), Thunderstruck (2004), Solo (2005) and the Serbian films Optimisti (2005) and Skinning (2010). From 2007 to 2009, she played Tippi in TV series Satisfaction for Showtime Australia. Other roles include Drag Me to Hell (2009), Edge of Darkness (2009), Devil (2010), and Burning Man (2011). Generation Um is scheduled for release in 2012.^[6]

Her theatre credits in Australia include These People, Away and Strange Fruit at the Sydney Theatre Company; The Female of the Species at the Melbourne Theatre Company; Woyzeck (Helpmann award nomination for best supporting actress in 2009), Criminology (Green Room award nomination for best actress 2007), Eldorado (Helpmann nomination for best supporting actress, 2006) and Necessary Targets at the Malthouse Theatre in Melbourne, Death Variations and Loveplay (Ride On) for B Sharp, Romeo and Juliet with Bell Shakespeare Company and Debris for Ride on Theatre (which received a Green Room nomination for best Independent production and best actress in 2006).

Novakovic runs her own independent theatre company, Ride on Theatre (Sydney and Melbourne) with co-director Tanya Goldberg. She was a producer and performer for the 2004 Ride on Theatre sell out season of LOVEPLAY at the Downstairs Belvoir Street Theatre, and the 2006 Green Room nominated production of Debris (in which she was also nominated for best actress).^[7]

In 2008, she translated, adapted and directed Fake Porno in Melbourne, which was invited to be part of the Powerhouse season in Brisbane in 2009, and also received three Green Room nominations including best production. Outside of Ride On, she wrote and directed with Melbourne's Black Lung Theatre for the critically acclaimed production of Sugar at the 2007 Adelaide Fringe Festival. In 2010, Novakovic received an AFI nomination for International Award for Best Actress for her role in Edge of Darkness.^[8] She is currently starring in an improvised theatrical production called The Blind Date project for the Sydney Festival.^[9]

Novakovic landed the part of a beautiful prostitute-turned-law-student in Fox's series, Rake, starring Greg Kinnear. The show was cancelled in May 2014. She portrayed Clare Hitchens in The Hallow,^[10] a horror film set in Ireland and directed by Corin Hardy.^[11]

Works on Mary MacLane

Ride On's late 2011 production was The Story of Mary MacLane by Herself, based on the writings of Mary MacLane, a self-proclaimed genius and recluse from the very early 20th century in Butte, Montana. Novakovic wrote the piece with musician Tim Rogers and Tanya Goldberg as director. They received funding from the Australia Council for the Arts for development of the show with support from Malthouse Theatre, Merrigong Theatre Co. and Griffin Theatre Company, as well as production funding from Art NSW. A comprehensive MacLane anthology – Human Days: A Mary MacLane Reader – debuted in Australia with a Foreword by Novakovic in late November 2011. The second volume, A Quite Unusual Intensity of Life: A Mary MacLane Companion, also issued under the Petrarca Press logo, is to be published in 2015. The two volumes will total more than 1200 pages.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

• Bojana Novakovic on IMDb