Some people can point to a moment when the stars aligned, their hard work paid off and they realised the siren song of the spotlight had become a viable career option. Georgia Flood had none of that – she knew she wanted to act and perform and sing, and so it always has been.
“I think my love of performing literally happened when I was born,” she says, proceeding to rattle off early memories of music and dance classes and impersonations of classmates that went down a treat.
The latter was the result of time spent at an international school in Dubai between the ages of six and 12, the hubbub of accents providing much opportunity for someone keen on stagecraft. While Flood was there, a conversation with her mother led to her signing with an agency and gaining valuable on-camera experience from advertisements.
Born on Phillip Island, Flood attended Methodist Ladies’ College after moving back to Melbourne at the age of 12. Now 21, she has been steadily carving her way onto screens and stages – you might have seen her on Tangle and Wentworth, as well as the now-airing third series of House Husbands.
She next stars in ANZAC Girls, a new ABC series based on the lives of five nurses who served in World War I. The six-episode series is being broadcast in conjunction with the centenary of the conflict, and follows its protagonists from Cairo to Gallipoli and the Western Front.
Flood plays Sister Alice Ross King, who spent five years abroad caring for wounded soldiers. She was awarded a Military Medal and, later, the Florence Nightingale Medal for her services; the show is partly based on the diaries Sister King kept during this time, as well as the book The Other ANZACs by Peter Rees.
One of King’s diary entries – dated January 9, 1917 – brings home the grim realities of life on the front in France.
“Still on night duty. Hosp very busy. Amp leg last night. Have had ops nearly every night and some very anxious cases … One old Aust boy with two eyes blown out + face badly cut … He went quite cheerful + said ‘Will you give me a drop of cheer up fluid after this is done’. They are all very brave.”
But shining through the words is King’s indefatigable spirit and courage. “What attracted me to Alice was her boldness, her passion for love and adventure, and her charm and great courage,” says Flood. “What makes her attractive is that she knows who she is and she has a strong point of view.
“I’m drawn to that kind of strength, and it’s what the soldiers would have drawn on in WWI. She had an unwavering commitment to developing a point of view that is less about us or me – she’s got bigger-picture thoughts, big dreams and ideas. She’s a go-getter, and I identified with that.”
Also mixed in are affairs of the heart. In one instance, King details having to juggle the attentions of multiple men, her regret at cancelling plans set against the encroaching horrors of war – a juxtaposition ANZAC Girls uses well. King writes:
“I’m sorry now because they may be going away to fight any day and goodness knows who will come back again. The nearer it comes the less I can bear to think of our boys being wounded. They are such dear things. Of course we see the best of them because they are always so pleased to see us. Already they are tired of the French Girls.”
Flood carried King’s diary with her on set, and was grateful to have access to “the truth of what she was thinking and feeling”. She speaks of the friendships she forged with the other actors, referring to them as “bridesmaid material” – a closeness that is visible in the finished product.
“When I think back on the time in Adelaide when we were filming, and the bond I shared with the other actors who played the nurses and the soldiers, it didn’t feel like an acting experience – it kind of felt like a spiritual experience,” she says.
Flood has the laudable habit of taking her time to consider her responses. She’s matter-of-fact about her career trajectory, repeats how lucky it is that her parents were endlessly supportive of the arts and her ambitions, and sums up a stint at L’École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq – the prestigious Paris school of physical theatre – with a quick, “C’est très difficile pour moi”.
“It was really, really difficult – well, challenging – because my French wasn’t completely perfect,’’ she says. “The whole course was in French, and they have a different way of thinking and teaching. It’s about how you as the performer are a conduit to the message of the playwright. You’re the instrument to tell a story.”
Flood is doing the audition rounds – including one for a new film from Sofia Coppola, one of her favourite directors – and has a manager in Los Angeles, where she plans to head next month. She’s no stranger to the difficulties of auditioning; she was originally told she was too young for ANZAC Girls, but loved the script enough to fight for the role. If the first two episodes are anything to go by, Flood will be a perfect fit.
“I think we all felt that we had this massive responsibility to tell the story,” she says. It was such an important story for Australian history, this unique group of amazing women in WWI, and the fact that it has been largely untold for 100 years is a testament to their modesty.”
» ANZAC Girls: Sunday, August 10, 8.30pm, ABC1
