Photography: Robert Trathen
She plays a prostitute alongside Florence Pugh in the Netflix western epic East Of Eden, but this big international break is far from Kiwi actress Amelia Reynolds’ first showbiz rodeo – she stepped into the spotlight as a World of WearableArt model for her fashionista mum at the tender age of six.
“The photographer who took the pictures must’ve seen something in me as they suggested Mum get me an agent,” recalls Amelia, 37, who was quickly signed by
the same talent manager who represented Anna Paquin when she won an Oscar for The Piano.
Upon landing a role in the cult sci-fi series The Tribe, Amelia moved from Nelson to Wellington by herself in 2000.
She recalls, “I was 10 and living in the cast house for five months, doing correspondence school with all the other kids. It was tricky returning to school afterwards as I couldn’t just fade into the background. I remember the other kids treating me differently.”
Since then, Amelia’s gone on to star in Netflix hit Sweet Tooth, Prime Video’s The Wilds and Disney Channel’s As The Bell Rings, plus movie A Mistake, as well as completing a Masters in nonfiction creative writing.
“I’ve always been a big advocate for having lots of strings to your bow because I believe it makes you a stronger artist,” explains Amelia, although she adds that being a self-employed creative made it a difficult decision when or even if to start a family.
“I had some anxiety about being a mum and what it might do to my career because I’d be sad if I wasn’t creative. I also worried if I could even have a child, so the road to parenthood was a slow-burn for me.”
Birth was beautiful
Luckily, in 2021, Amelia met Chilean industrial designer Emiliano, 35, on Tinder and quickly saw he’d be a “wonderful dad as he’s such a beautiful, loving, committed, sweet, hilarious guy”.
She continues, “After three years together, we started talking about trying for a baby, but we assumed we’d be trying for at least a year, so we made all these other plans.”
The couple conceived relatively easily, so they had to work their much-anticipated family holiday through the US, Mexico and the Caribbean around Amelia’s pregnancy.
“I’m nervous to share that part of our story as not only was conception and pregnancy uncomplicated, but the birth was also relatively easeful,” says Amelia.
“I know it’s not like this for everyone, but we did a hypno-birthing course, which really worked for me. “I wonder if it had something to do with the intensity of acting that I was able to surrender myself to a moment and almost enjoy it. Perhaps it’s good for people to hear positive stories about fertility and labour. For me, birth was beautiful. Yes, there was pain but with this really cool prize at the end!”
Learning what her mum really meant
Her daughter Alma is now five months old and “wonderful, very alert, social and chatty”, says a smitten Amelia. As to whether her little girl will follow in her mum’s famous footsteps, that remains to be seen.
“Now I have my own baby, I know exactly what my mum meant when she’d tell me she was proud of me for just being me,” she smiles. “She didn’t mind what I did, so long as I was happy.”
Incredibly, Amelia initially declined to audition for her role in East Of Eden as her Masters thesis was due in the first few weeks of filming. But when the casting team asked her to reconsider, the actress gave in because Ethel was such “a rich character – a full, complicated human, rather than just a prostitute”.
Learning lines while also finishing her thesis was a challenge, but Amelia says, “I’m at my best when I have many things on the go. I didn’t have the time to feel nervous. I was having two of the best creative experiences of my life happening at the same time and I feel really proud of both of them.”
East Of Eden is now streaming on Netflix.
