KATHERINE LANGFORD
- AUSSIE ACTRESS -
G'day folks,
Katherine
Langford is an Australian actress best known for her starring role in the
Netflix series '13 Reasons Why,' about a high school teen who commits suicide.
Who Is Katherine Langford?
Katherine
Langford was born in Perth, Australia, on April 29, 1996, but she became a star
in America playing a troubled high school teen named Hannah Baker in the
critically acclaimed Netflix series 13 Reasons Why starting in 2017.
A Golden Globe Nom For Her Very First Acting Job
Except
for a few student films she describes as “horrendous,” Langford had never acted
professionally at all until she won the role in 13 Reasons Why when she
was barely 20.
And yet,
the role of Hannah earned her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by
an Actress in a Television Series - Drama (she lost to Elisabeth Moss, who won for The Handmaid’s
Tale on Hulu, at the 2018 Golden Globes in January 2018).
‘13 Reasons Why’
Adapted
from a 2007 novel of the same name by Jay Asher, 13 Reasons Why is about
a high school teen who commits suicide – what led up to it, and what happened
afterward. Like the book, the TV show is centered on a collection of
audiocassettes the dead girl left behind on which she recorded an “audio diary”
detailing 13 reasons why she killed herself.
The
show’s episodes were each based on a single side of a cassette. For example,
Episode One was titled “Tape 1, Side A.”
13 Reasons Why Ignites Conversation, Controversy
About Teen Suicide
13
Reasons Why became a
sensation and so did Langford. It has been referred to as the “most
tweeted-about show of 2017” – a milestone it reportedly earned within a month
of its premiere in March 2017.
“When you make a show like this, we expected controversy,” Langford said in an interview with Variety. “Overall, I think it was a good thing. You need there to be opinions in order for there to be discussions, and that’s really what the show is about — talking about issues that are taboo or that people wouldn’t usually discuss with parents or teachers.”
At least one distraught father blamed 13 Reasons Why for the suicide of his 15-year-old daughter. He said his daughter binge-watched the show just before killing herself.
Langford Pursues Acting After Lady Gaga Concert
Langford,
formerly a high school swimmer, said she was inspired at age 16 to take up
acting after seeing Lady Gaga in concert. “It was like a spiritual
experience,” Langford told Entertainment Weekly. “I was so moved by her
performance that I went home and that week I taught myself how to play piano.”
Langford
took her first acting classes in Perth when she was 17. She concentrated on
acting classes in her senior year in high school, after which she went on
auditions (including auditions for parts in two network pilots that she didn’t
get).
A Successful Audition for ’13 Reasons Why’ Via Videotape and Skype
Living in
Perth and unemployed, she then heard about auditions for 13 Reasons Why
and sent a videotape (something actors from abroad sometimes do when they
cannot audition in person). She had a follow-up audition via Skype and won the
part.
“It was
tricky and very, very challenging casting Hannah,” said the show’s creator,
Brian Yorkey. “We saw many talented, wonderful actresses, but we just needed
the person that brought that very special luminosity. We needed that, and that
came via a self-tape from Perth, Australia, in the form of Katherine Langford.”
Selena Gomez Persuades Langford to Go on Instagram
As of
January 2018, Langford had 8.2 million followers on Instagram
(@KatherineLangford).
In the
wake of the first season of 13 Reasons Why, Langford was reluctant at
first to put herself out there on social media. But it was Selena Gomez who persuaded Langford to make
her Instagram account public. Gomez is one of the executive producers on 13
Reasons Why.
“It was a
bit of a big decision for me actually, because I wanted to be an actor purely
for the acting work,” Langford said in an interview with TheLast-magazine.com.
“I have never been attracted to increasing my popularity or hireability by
being on Instagram.
“I didn’t
want to make myself a consumable product. I just wanted to be able to do my job
and then disappear. Selena pointed out that the show is targeting young adults
like me and that [social media] is a good medium to talk directly with those
who relate to my character, Hannah.”
Langford and Co-star Dylan Minette are NOT Dating
Though
rumors have persisted that Langford is dating (or has dated) Dylan Minette, her
co-star and on-screen boyfriend on 13 Reasons Why, the rumors are not
true (or at least they have been denied by both Langford and Minette). As of
January 2018, she was not reportedly dating anyone.
Two New Movies in 2018
Langford’s
newfound fame earned her roles in at least three new movies. Two of them – The
Misguided and Love, Simon – were due to be released in 2018. A third
movie, Spontaneous, is in pre-production. The second season of 13
Reasons Why is also expected to premiere in 2018.
Clancy's comment: I have not seen the film in question, but I ask why was the subject within the film considered controversial. Youth suicide should be on everyone's lips.
I'm ...
