Australian actress and comedy sensation Rebel Wilson has had quite a journey since her early days portraying a proud bogan. Her roles in the hit Hollywood movie Bridesmaids, and more recently as the endearing Australian expat Fat Amy in the Pitch Perfect series, have made her one of Hollywood’s beloved funny stars. In an exclusive chat with Julia Zemiro’s Home Delivery this week, Wilson revisited her beginnings in Castle Hill, a suburb in Sydney’s northwest, giving viewers a personal glimpse into her upbringing in Australia.
From her childhood job at dog shows to daydreaming about winning an Oscar, here are 10 lesser-known facts about this talented star.
1. She scored 99.3 per cent on her HSC
Wilson loved to study in school. During lunchtime, she would often be found in the library, buried in her books. “Every lunchtime, like a total Nigel dork, I was in that library just sitting by myself with no friends,” she said.
In 12th grade, all of her effort paid off when Wilson got an almost perfect score of 99.3% on her Higher School Certificate (HSC). “She worked incredibly hard, but see Rebel, she is one of those people who whatever she sets her mind to, she just works really hard at it,” her mother Sue said.
2. She was a shy child
Wilson mentioned that when she was a kid, she was really shy, but at some point, she made a decision to change that.
“I kind of became known as a bit of a cheeky character around here.” “I had read somewhere that if you don’t cement your personality by age 15, that’s it, you are going to be like that for the rest of your life,” she said. “[I thought] ‘Oh my God I am like 14’. If I don’t change I am going to be this way — this very shy girl who gets red in the face when she has to answer a question.”
She mentioned she had to put in a lot of effort to make friends and be outgoing, but eventually, people started seeing her as someone with a unique personality. “I think I really had to work on that side of things. I deliberately went out and tried to make friends,” she said. “You just try every day. And then I kind of became known as a bit of a cheeky character around here.”
3. She went by a different name at school
In school, Wilson used the name Melanie instead of her first name. “For a Christian girl’s school [Rebel] is not the best name to have,” she explained.
4. She originally studied to be a lawyer
After finishing school, Wilson first aimed to become a lawyer. However, she later realized that working in the corporate world wasn’t what she wanted. Instead, she pursued her dream of becoming an actor.
When Rebel shared this decision with her mother, Sue, she cried. “I cried when she said she was going to America,” Sue said. “She was supposed to be a lawyer and she got an amazing mark.”
Wilson mentioned that her abilities were well-utilized in Hollywood. “In the early days I used to negotiate a lot of my own contracts,” she said.
5. She once hallucinated that she won an Oscar
During his year-long exchange program in Africa, Wilson got very sick with Malaria. “I almost died … I was in intensive care for two weeks,” she said. “I was the skinniest I have ever been. It was great,” she joked.
“I hallucinated that I won an Oscar and then I went up there and gave an acceptance rap instead of an acceptance speech.”
While she was in the hospital, she decided she wanted to be an actor. This happened when she imagined herself winning an Oscar. “I am there in the hospital. The malaria medication was very powerful,” she said. “I had to keep taking all these pills and it was so gross and I was hallucinating — I don’t know whether it was from the drugs or the disease”. “I hallucinated that I won an Oscar and then I went up there and gave an acceptance rap instead of an acceptance speech, and it brought the house down.”
“It was so real that I came out of the hospital and I am like ‘you know what? I have got to go back to Australia’. “I like came back and I enrolled in the Australian Theatre For Young People and people thought I was nuts.”
6. She worked in a cinema during her early acting career
When Wilson was a teenager, she had two jobs. One was at a movie theater in Castle Hill, and the other was acting. She mentioned that this sometimes confused people, especially when she was working at the cinema while her first movie, Fat Pizza, was playing.
“I am in the film and I am still working there making the popcorn, sweeping up the trash,” she said. “People would see me and they’re like: ‘Hey weren’t you just in that film?’. “It would confuse the hell out of people because obviously when you start out as an actress you don’t earn the big bucks.”
7. Her family is big in the dog show world
Wilson’s mom judges dog shows worldwide and also breeds and exhibits Beagles for a living. Wilson mentioned that she used to go with her family to these shows frequently and even was a junior handler at one point. “I was excellent … I went all the way to the Royal Easter Show,” she said.
8. She has stopped telling people her age
After Wilson came to America, she stopped sharing how old she was with others.
“I was just being a lady and not telling my age,” she said. “The reality is when you get hired, when you work in America, you have to show your passport and your visa for every single job, so it was not like you could hide how old you were. “Most actresses do that.”
9. She wants to play more dramatic roles
Wilson, who has acted in lots of funny movies, mentioned that she’s now searching for chances to be in serious films.
“Something crime-related… a murderer,” she said. “I still feel like I am at the beginning of my career and I have got so much to do and show people.”
10. She always knew she would be successful
Wilson never thought she’d be famous, but she always believed she’d succeed.
“I never thought I’d be doing what I do now, being an international movie star,” she said. “I think I have developed a lot as a person. “I was very shy and I still think I am growing into my looks … I was like pretty feral as a child.”