It was inevitable that Thomasin McKenzie would join the film industry. Well, almost. The Kiwi star of such films as Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit, M. Night Shyamalan’s Old, and Edgar Wright’s latest Last Night in Soho is a third-generation actress; both her mother Miranda Harcourt and maternal grandmother Kate Harcourt are performers, while her father Stuart McKenzie is a writer and director. “My parents were pretty pleased when I followed in their footsteps,” McKenzie tells ELLE.com. “But it wasn’t expected.”
McKenzie, 21, who was raised with her three siblings in Wellington, New Zealand, loved biology at school and had early dreams of working with animals. “I definitely didn’t want to be an actress at first,” she explains. “I was more interested in being a vet or working at an animal rescue.” She did, however, enjoy the time away from school she was able to get while starring in local TV and film projects like Consent: The Louise Nicholas Story and the soap opera Shortland Street. “In the beginning, I would do it just so I could get pocket money so I could buy myself Bratz Dolls and Sylvanian Families,” McKenzie smiles. “That was my main incentive—and also to get time off school was a bonus. But the more I did it, the more I fell in love with it.”
While her older siblings pursued careers in journalism and teaching, McKenzie continued to rack up acting credits in New Zealand including a featured extra role in The Hobbit: The Battle of The Five Armies. Although, appearing in the Lord of the Rings franchise was less of a Kiwi rite of passage than being cast in a small role in Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog, the New Zealand filmmaker’s celebrated return to cinema releasing on Netflix this year. “I’ve known Jane my entire life,” McKenzie says. “She’s my little sister’s godmother, and she’s always been someone that I’ve looked up to. She’s been such a magical figure in my life with her silver hair and her wonderful presence.”