Megan Smart is a brilliant Australian actress and filmmaker who knew she wanted to act from the grand old age of five. She landed her first film - Simon Baker’s Breath - from her very first audition before she’d even graduated drama school, and since then, she’s starred in Wakefield, Amazon Prime’s wonderfully unhinged Class of ’07 and Black Snow opposite Travis Fimmel. She currently stars alongside Sex Education’s Asa Butterfield in the hilarious comedy-horror Gnomes on Disney+

Megan and I met at a very glamorous event and immediately bonded over our beloved “old lady” hobbies and how making real things with our actual hands made us feel fulfilled outside of the make-believe world of filmmaking.

In this episode, we chat about the extreme highs and lows of the film industry, how discipline is the only thing you have control over, and why impatience can be an asset. We also delve into her journey of self-discovery when she moved from Australia to London, and the exhilarating moment she found she’d been chosen for an acting job - but had just four hours to get to the airport!

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Intro

01:50 - Rosie’ choice of tea for Megan: Queen Anne

02:27 - Megan’s tea memories: her father and British family roots

03:44 - Meeting her fiancé Sam in a London bar - “so old fashioned”

04:51 - Drama school as Megan’s “wonderland”

05:42 - Why her new TV show Gnomes immediately appealed to her - “Hot fuzz meets Gremlins”

07:31 - The worst advice Megan has received: be patient and wait

08:49 - Learning not to make herself smaller for other people

11:20 - The one thing actors can control: how hard they work

15:08 - Her setbacks getting into drama school

17:40 - Voiceover work on [GAME] and the unexpected accent pivot

19:20 - Saying no can matter as much as saying yes

20:48 - The “dark person” she once thought she was

21:53 - A fresh start in London and choosing her own story

23:21 - Knowing she was born to tell stories

24:10 - Exploring directing and building projects of her own

24:53 - The uncertainty and exhilaration of acting work

26:20 - What she does when nobody is watching

27:04 - Quickfire tea etiquette

LINKS & MENTIONS

Find Megan on IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6024352/

Follow Megan on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thesmartmegan/

CONNECT

Website: https://www.teawithrosieconversations.com/

Substack: https://teawithrosieconversations.substack.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teawithrosieconversations/ | https://www.instagram.com/rosiefellner/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@teawithrosieconversation

CREDITS

Host & Producer: Rosie Fellner

Guest: Megan Smart

Director: Gillian MacGregor

Writer: Neil K Lory

Music: James Edward Barker

Stills Photographer: Bob Foster

CONVERSATION

Director of Photography: Conor Boru

Camera Operator: Dom Lenoir

TITLE SEQUENCE & SPONSOR CREDITS

Director of Photography: Willow Bidwell

Camera Assistant: Alex Hageman

Hair & Make Up: Jolanda Coetzer

Producer's Assistant: Robin Stewart

Filming Location: The Portobello Hotel

Episode Sponsor: Mackenzie-Childs

With thanks to Fortnum & Mason https://www.fortnumandmason.com/