News broke earlier today that Australian stunner Gemma Ward is the newest member of the modeling world to make the jump to the silver screen. Ward is the most recent addition to the cast of Baz Luhrmann’s film adaptation of the classic F. Scott Fitzgerald novel The Great Gatsby which has already confirmed Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan in the lead roles. According to The Herald Sun Ward has been given a “significant” role in the film, though the specific part has not been confirmed at this time.
Catwalk strutters turned Hollywood starlets is certainly a common theme in the news this summer. The most recent announcements have revealed that Sasha Pivovarova will be starring alongside Amanda Seyfried and Justin Timberlake in In Time which is due to hit theaters this fall and then there is the news that Natalia Vodianova will play Jonathan Rhys Meyers love interest in the upcoming Belle du Seigneur. However unlike Pivovarova and Vodianova Ms. Ward has already collected some acting chops, playing the role of Tamara the Mermaid Queen in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, the most recent addition to Disney’s powerhouse franchise.
What should really set Gemma apart from the crowd when it comes to this latest trend is that she seems to be treating this as the natural progression of her career rather then just an extension of her modeling aspirations. As far back as 2006 Ms. Ward has given interviews where she expressed a sincere desire to pursue acting. Yet after the death of her friend and fellow Australian Heath Ledger back in 2008 many in both the film and fashion industries wondered if Gemma would call it quits. While she has admittedly, in her own words “taken a break from the media spotlight for the past few years,” a decision that was “spurred by Heath’s death,” it is now certain that she has no plans to leave it altogether anytime soon.
Ward should be a perfect fit when it comes to achieving the 1920’s flapper look that has made past adaptations of The Great Gatsby so noteworthy, and there is no doubt that she will add some serious style to the picture once the red carpets roll out. For now it would seem that her role in the film will most likely be that of Catherine, who is one of the more prominent female characters after Daisy Buchanan, to be played by Carey Mulligan. As long as Ward’s acting talent is on par with her ambitions this film should provide a perfect chance to prove herself to the movie-going public.
The Great Gatsby begins filming next week in Sydney.
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