If you haven’t started binging on Netflix’s Pieces of Her, buckle up, settle in and meet the latest breakthrough star from the twisty thriller, Bella Heathcote. The 34-year-old Australian actress plays daughter Andy Oliver opposite Toni Collette and, as she recently shared with us, that suspenseful feeling—no spoilers, but there’s a few—isn’t just reserved for those watching. “I loved this job, but at the same time, it was very rare that I’d have a day where I’d be like, “Ah, this is super chill.'”
The show is pretty heavy. What was that process like for you?
“It’s funny because, Toni and I did a junket a while back talking about the show, and it’s one of those bizarre things. I loved going to work every day. I loved this job. At the same time, the scenes were pretty tough, but what makes it all better is the people; I just loved everyone on the crew. And I certainly feel that way after seeing the show.”
When you’re in a situation like that, do you do certain self-care rituals at the end of the day?
“Yes, I do. I usually meditate at the end of the day, or I’ll take a bath. I’ve spoken to so many people about this—actors, therapists, whoever—how you have to find a way to ritualize the end of the day so you are separating work from life or whatever. You don’t want to carry it with you. Yes, sometimes a glass of wine helps, but you also can’t fall down that slope every time…or else it’s a lot of glasses of wine.”
And, you’re from Australia. What are some beauty or wellness products you love from your country?
“My husband and I joke about this a lot—we seem to have an obsession with sun smartness. Right now, we’re on this epic hike and we always say that we can pick out the Americans on the trail because they’re the ones wearing caps and we have these wide-brimmed straw hats on. In terms of products, that’s a really good question…I can say we always used a lot of sunscreen. And Papaw. Papaw was big and it still is.
In terms of facial products, they change all the time for me. There was a period where I was into all the serums and using all the fancy things. Then, I’ll just strip it right back and go back to something like La Roche-Posay or Weleda’s Skin Food. I went through a long period where I was basically just using that and sunscreen. I guess it depends; I cycle through things because I feel like my skin adapts.”
What did you pack for the hike?
“Skin Food. The night before we left, I laid out everything I’m was going to pack and my husband was like, ‘Do you need face and body cream?’ I was willing to lose one, but not both, so I’ve been traveling with Skin Food and then sunscreen. I love a good stick sunscreen—Badger makes a really good one and then Salt + Stone has a nice one, too. Basically, I took whatever was the lightest and smallest thing that I could pack in my bag without my husband noticing.”
What was the biggest beauty change that you experienced when you moved to the states?
“More products! I used to just use Nivea or some other kind of face cream and sunscreen, but I learned a lot about serums and eye creams when I got to LA. Also, it’s such a different climate. Los Angeles is super dry; I’ve definitely learned that. The hike that we’re doing at the moment is through California and my skin just drinks everything up.”
What are you looking forward to next?
“Oh man, beyond this hike, there’s a couple of films that I’m attached to—little indies that’ll hopefully be able to get up. One of them was meant to go last year, but was a COVID victim. I’m hopeful that they will go, and, besides that, we’ve been renovating this house in LA for what feels like eons. I’m really excited that I might actually be able to live in a home in LA that I actually own after 12 years of being there, which is pretty exciting in itself.”
