Australian actorLily Sullivanmay not be an A-list star yet, but she is one well worth watching out for and her movies and TV roles prove it.Sullivan acted in her first film when she was 17 years oldin a movie calledMental.Mentalfeatured Sullivan as one of a family of five kids who are overseen by a hotheaded new nanny.Mentalwas released to mixed reviews upon its release in 2012.
Now 31 years old, Sullivan has gone on to be in a smattering of other projects since then.Mentalwas her gateway into numerous other roles that have allowed the actor to continue to have a career that, while low-profile, is worth reviewing.Throughout her film and television roles, the actor has displayed her strength in a wide array of genres.Sullivan’s career continues on today, with recent work that proves even more that she is one to watch out for.
17Mental (2012)
Sullivan Plays Coral Moochmore
As referenced above,Mentalsees Sullivan playing Coral Moochmore, one of the five Moochmore sisters at the center of the film. In addition to Sullivan,Mentalfeatures a leading cast including Toni Collette, Anthony LaPaglia, Rebecca Gibney, Liev Schreiber, Bethany Whitmore, and Caroline Goodall in key roles.
Mentaldid not do tremendously at the box office, receiving only an estimated $4.4 million worldwide.Even with this low profile, the fact that major actors such as Collette and Schreiber were in the movie likely gotMentalenough attention to help Sullivan’s career move forward.
16Rake (2012)
Sullivan Plays Michelle
After performing inMental, Sullivan booked her next role playing a one-off character in the TV seriesRake. Sullivan played acharacter named Michelle in theRakeseason 2, episode 3 titled “R vs Woolridge & Anor.”
Michelle is a character who is working on a short film who is accused of accidentally killing an actor on set,and ends up making lead character Cleaver defend her case.Rakeis one of the smaller roles in Sullivan’s career, but nonetheless gave the budding actor’s career momentum towards her future roles.
15Galore (2013)
Sullivan Plays Laura
Continuing her career in the Australian industry,Sullivan followedRakewith a performance in the drama filmGalore.This movie is a coming-of-age story chronicling the lives of friends Billie and Laura over the summer in Canberra.
WhileGaloredid not receive great reviews, Sullivan is fairly stellar in the part, showing what she could do in a more understated movie. Sullivan picked up some of the slack where the filmmaking itself was lacking, delivering a believable performance.
14Camp (2013)
Sullivan Plays Marina Barker
Sullivan re-entered the TV world with her role in the seriesCamp. ThoughCampcontinued Sullivan’s TV credits,the tone could not be more different thanRake.
Rather than a crime-filled procedural,Campis a comedy drama that follows the lives of campers and camp counselors at a summer camp named the Little Otter Family Camp.Campran for a single season on NBCbefore being cancelled.
13Sucker (2015)
Sullivan Plays Sarah
AfterCampfailed to start a multi-season TV career for Sullivan,her roles came slowly over the next couple of years.She came back in 2015, however, with another performance in an Australian film.
This time, it came in the form of Ben Chessell’sSucker, about a Chinese-Austrlain YouTube star who becomes the protégé of a con man and his daughter.The daughter in question is Sullivan’s Sarah, who is surrounded by a cast that includes John Luc, Timothy Spall, Jacek Koman, Shaun Micallef, and Kat Stewart.Suckercontinued a genre trend for Sullivan, as it kept her in comedy.
12Jungle (2017)
Sullivan Plays Amie
AfterSucker, Sullivan’s film career went in a starkly different direction when she played Amie in the filmJungle.StarringHarry Pottermoviesalum Daniel Radcliffe,Jungleis a survival movie about a group of friends who are searching for a village in the Bolivian jungle when they discover a myriad of challenges that awaits them.
Junglerepresented a reunion between Sullivan and herSuckerco-star Koman, who plays Moni Ghinsberg in the survival film. Unfortunately,Junglealso failed to make a big splash at the box office.
11Romper Stomper (2018)
Sullivan Plays Petra
Sullivan returned to TV for the first time in 5 years withRomper Stomper.Romper Stomperis an Australian miniseries that is asequel to the 1992 Australian film of the same name.Romper Stomperis a political series that focuses on the tension between fictional far-left activists in a new generation, who face off against a team of far-right people.
Sullivan’s Petra is one of the far-left characters, who is the leader of an anti-fascist group named Antifasc.Sullivan plays Petrain a performance that has been praised for its intensity.
10Picnic At Hanging Rock (2018)
Sullivan Plays Miranda Reid
2018 was the year of the TV series for Sullivan, who continued her career withPicnic at Hanging Rock.Picnic at Hanging Rockwasan adaptation of the Joan Lindsay novel of the same name, which was first adapted into a 1975 film from director Peter Weir.
Picnic at Hanging Rockdid not gain significant traction in the United States, but it did far decently at the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, where it won awards for cinematography and production design.
9The Unknown Patient (2018)
Sullivan Plays Diana
Sullivan rounded out her 2018 year with a performance in the short filmThe Unknown Patient.The nine-minute short tells the story of a WW1 soldier who is battling severe shell shock.
The innovative short was part of the Venice Film Festival and was a virtual reality short that used motion capture animation technology to craft its story. Itwon an award at the Adelaide Film Festival for Best Virtual Reality Film.
8Dark Place (2019)
Sullivan Plays Sally
Though it conveys a very different subject matter thanThe Unknown Patient,Dark Placeis also a project that experiments with form. The film is a horror compilation that tells five Australian Indigenous horror stories.
Sullivan appears as a character named Sally in the “Killer Native” segment. Other actors in this segment included Clarence Ryan, Charlie Garber, Natasha Wanganeen, and John Lloyd Fillingham.
