Kellie Blizard
Eating a bowl of soup opposite Martin Henderson and Jenna Ortega, actress Bryony Skillington had to pinch herself. She and her Hollywood co-stars were road-tripping from Wellington to Whanganui to start filming the 2022 horror flick X when they stopped for lunch.
From Manchester to musical theatre
Bryony recalls, “We sat around a big table in this cute café and I thought, ‘What on Earth is my life right now? I’m sitting with Brittany Snow, Mia Goth, Jenna Ortega and Martin Henderson eating seafood chowder!’ It was insane.”
It’s a fun memory British-born Bryony, 42, would never have experienced if a move to New Zealand hadn’t drastically altered her career path. She grew up in Manchester, where her dad Bryan and her late mum Irene, also an actress, encouraged her to get an academic degree, so she studied science and planned to pursue forensics.
But at 19, she joined her folks when they moved to Tauranga to be with her grandparents. As she struggled to make friends, Bryony’s grandma Pauline suggested joining the local musical theatre troupe, which led her to audition for The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas.
Finding power in performance
“I asked what parts were available and they said, ‘Mainly whores.’ I was like, ‘Cool! Why not?’” She landed a role and soon found herself dancing on stage in her knickers.
“It gave me so much confidence because I was bullied for being a bigger kid,” says Bryony, whose only prior acting experience was playing the daughter of her mum’s character in UK drama Cardiac Arrest. “But this is what I was blessed with. I was born big – nine pounds, nine ounces [4.34kg]. I embraced it and played rugby, but singing and dancing in my underwear was extra-empowering!”
Showing up and standing out
Bryony studied performing arts in Palmerston North, then attended Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School. After graduating, she started a drag variety show, where she continued celebrating her body.
“Women have told me they’ve brought their daughters to shows because they’re struggling with body image,” she explains.
“If I can show a young girl it’s OK to have a muffin top, I’m doing the right thing.”
Bryony landed the role of a psychiatric nurse on Shortland Street, then joined Wellington’s Bats Theatre, where she worked the bar while pursuing more stage work, including playing another sex worker in West End Girls. While she’s played security guards and cops, Bryony particularly loves portraying “ladies of the night”, so she didn’t hesitate when offered another such role in Dame Jane Campion’s The Power Of The Dog.
“Jane was wonderful,” enthuses Bryony.
From Shortland Street to the silver screen
“She treated us like mates and created such a beautiful environment. Seeing her brain work on set was a gift.”
Bryony also appeared in Netflix drama Sweet Tooth and worked with the “wonderful” Robyn Malcolm in Far North. She then underwent hours of prosthetics to portray cavewoman Kaga in Time Bandits. It was an extra-special project because her mum, who was known for her roles on Coronation Street and Emmerdale Farm, also filmed a part before her 2024 passing.
Bryony smiles, “She shot her scenes after me, but I stayed in Wellington so we could go to set and go shopping together. It was lovely.”
Also starring Lisa Kudrow and Rachel House, Time Bandits was directed by Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi, whom Bryony first worked with in theatre. More recently, Taika directed her in a Sephora ad. “He went, ‘Bryony, you’ve based most of your comedic acting on being grumpy, but today we need more light.’ I was like, ‘I feel seen. You know me well!’”
No picket fence required
Bryony’s now returning to screens in Aussie series Strife, inspired by former magazine editor Mia Freedman, who founded popular women’s website Mamamia. She plays parenting journalist Penny, who has a love-hate relationship with her toddler. Lacking maternal instinct was a characteristic Bryony suggested for Penny, given she doesn’t personally want kids. “It helped me get the job,” she laughs.
Bryony loved working with Offspring actress Asher Keddie. “My favourite thing was trying to make her laugh mid-scene,” tells Bryony. “At one point, she was jokingly like, ‘Stop it! I hate you!’”
For season two, writers asked Bryony if she was comfortable with Penny coming out as gay. “There’s a punch of heart in episode three where she’s like, ‘I wasn’t sure if I could be myself in this workplace, but you’ve opened that up for me.’ It’s especially poignant as it’s set in 2012, when marriage equality was still coming up in Australia.”
Bryony herself identifies as part of the LGBTQIA+ community but says marriage isn’t a priority.
Living life her way
“I’ve never wanted a white picket fence, marriage or children,” she says. “It’s weird, though, because when you don’t have kids or a marriage, it’s like you remain 25. You don’t know what you’re striving for and feel in limbo, but it’s also incredibly freeing. “And I might change my mind. People have kids to look after them when they’re old, but I could have one that puts me in a home or becomes a murderer – it’s a gamble!”
