JORDAN RODRIGUES The Buzz About … ELLA HOOPER
THE NATIONAL TREASURE: EDGE OF HISTORY STAR IS MAKING WAVES THE AUSSIE SINGER’S NEW ALBUM IS DEEPLY PERSONAL
How did your role in the new series come about?
I think I was in New York shooting a movie at the time and I got a self-tape request. I did that audition and it was one of those rare roles that sort of feels right. The way it was written, the character, all these things – it just felt like a jacket that felt really nice on.
The National Treasure movies are much-loved lms. Is the series a continuation of the movies?
Oh, absolutely. It stays in the exact same universe as the lms and it’s set 20 years later. So there are characters from the movies that appear in the series. We have Harvey Keitel and we have Justin Bartha, and a few other familiar faces as well. Did you get to act alongside Justin or Catherine Zeta-Jones much?
I had scenes with Justin and a few stunts with Catherine. Was it interesting watching them on set?
Absolutely, Catherine really set an amazing tone on set. She’s the sweetest person. Even though we didn’t get to work much together, she would always say, ‘Hi, how are you going?’ when we were passing in the halls. And Justin was great because we got to pick his brain about the lm and the franchise, and just his career in general.
Do you feel like you’ve settled into Hollywood yet?
I don’t think I’ll ever really get used to it. It’s very intense. When I was working in Australia, I very much enjoyed having a shared green room and a shared trailer where we’d all congregate and greet each other. So I am not used to having my own trailer. But I am super appreciative of all the work and all the roles that I’ve gotten to play out here over these last 10 years and I am hoping to get more used to it.
She might be best known as the frontwoman of ’90s pop-rock staple Killing Heidi, but Ella Hooper’s second solo studio album, Small Town Temple, again proves she’s de nitely a standout on her own. Hailed as a new beginning for the singer-songwriter, the album is a love letter to her home town, Victoria’s Violet Town, and an exploration of family, friendship, community and childhood memories.
“I’m nding myself again and again,”she tells. “I was feeling a bit apprehensive about putting out a new record and taking up space in the industry when I’ve been here so long … but then I started to ght the voices and say, ‘Why can’t I contribute and keep contributing when I have things to say?’ I think I will always have things to say.”
In a deeply personal touch, the album features Hooper’s parents – who both passed away in 2022 – with the 39-year-old’s mum, Helen, singing on the album, while her dad, Jeremy, plays the alto recorder. “I had no idea when I started making this album how things would turn out,” Hooper explains. “It’s been a very strange time, to say the least. But I’m so grateful that something told me to include Mum and Dad. It seems so appropriate that they open and close the album.”
After a multitude of gold and platinum records, and four ARIA Awards, Hooper remains committed to her craft and exploring the possibilities music has to o er. “Experimenting with music is my joy in life so I have to let myself,” she adds. (Available Jan. 20 at Reckless
Records)