Andrea Solonge on winning Heath Ledger Scholarship: ‘Walking in the footsteps of an Australian icon’

Australian actor Andrea Solonge had only spent seven days in Los Angeles before this week, but she’s about to know it a whole lot better.

Solonge is this year’s winner of the Heath Ledger Scholarship, which was awarded today at Soho House in West Hollywood during a glitzy ceremony that was attended by Rose Byrne, Melanie Lynskey and Phillip Noyce.

“This is a real eye-opening experience for me,” Solonge told The Nightly not long after her win. “With the scholarship, the goal is to set up in LA as an Australian artist with international aspirations. That has been on my goal list for the past 10 or 12 years.”

The Sydney-based Solonge, who was previously a finalist in 2021, was most recently in two episodes of the Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement-created series Time Bandits and was also in the ensemble cast of the Australian series Prosper, as well as the comedy Class of ’07.

Those projects are stepping stones to make the transition to a bigger market thanks to their international streaming distribution deals. Class of ’07 was an Amazon Prime Video project, Stan’s Prosper had an overseas partner in Roku while Time Bandits was on Apple TV+.

Her roles in Time Bandits gave Solonge, born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a taste of what’s possible overseas. In the series, one of her characters was a woman from 1600s Benin while another was a real-life mafia boss.

“As a dark-skinned woman in this entertainment industry, there is a plethora of narratives that I want to be in service of and be able to tell,” she said.

“Being part of the African diaspora, the international appeal is linked to the variety of characters I’d want to play and want to try my hand at.”

But the idea is to bring that experience back home to Australia. She added, “I love Australian television, I love Australian film, and I love Australian actors. So, that is definitely the goal to be able to come home and collaborate and tell the stories that are personal to my experience as an African-Australia or a person living in Australia who has a different heritage.”

While she’s feeling “overwhelmed” by the win, Solonge wants to make the move to Los Angeles as soon as possible.

The Heath Ledger Scholarship, run through Australians in Film, was established in 2012, as an education and development program to help young Australian actors get a foothold in LA.

“You’re walking in the footsteps of an Australian icon and legend, one of the most regarded actors of our generation and remembered among his community.

“To have that direct connection to Heath in that way, you walk into a room and you mention Heath and whether it’s an actor or veteran who used to know him, he’s spoken of so positively.

“To lead first with, ‘I’m under the guide of Australians in Film and the Heath Ledger Scholarship’, that’s something that I couldn’t do on my own. That does some of the talking for you.”

The prize package is worth $60,000 as well as year-long mentorship from former recipient Bella Heathcote (The Neon Demon, The Man in the High Castle).

This year’s judging panel consisted of Sarah Snook, Charlie Hunnam, Melanie Lynskey, Simone Kessell, Gabrielle Union, Cleopatra Coleman and casting director Terri Taylor.

Previous winners have included Ryan Corr, Charmaine Bingwa, Rahel Romahn, Ashleigh Cummings while this year’s finalists were Charles Wu, Taj Aldeeb, Will McDonald, Kartanya Maynard and Ezekiel Simat.