‘Prosper’ & ‘Time Bandits’ Actress Andrea Solonge Named 12th Heath Ledger Scholarship Recipient

Australian actress Andrea Solonge has become the twelfth recipient of the Heath Ledger Scholarship.

Solonge was announced as recipient of the prestigious award at an Australians in Film event held last night at Soho House in West Hollywood attended by the likes of Yellowjackets actors Melanie Lynskey and Simone Kessell, The Bear co-showrunner Joanna Calo and Rabbit Proof Fence director Phillip Noyce.

The award was established in 2012 after Batman Returns actor Ledger had tragically passed away. It has broadly become the key barometer and platform for new talent coming out of Hollywood, with previous recipients including American Horror Story: Apocalypse actor Cody Fern, Mojean Aria (Reminiscence), Ashleigh Cummings (Citadel), Charmaine Bingwa (Emancipation) and Rahel Romahn (A Mad Max Saga).

Solonge will receive a $10,000 living allowance, rent and transport assistance in LA, plus several other prizes aimed at building her career in Hollywood, such as private coaching, tax advice and headshot and publicity aid.

She’ll also get mentorship from Bella Heathcote. Judge and fellow Australian actress Sarah Snook said: “I loved getting to watch fresh faces showcase their talents and passion for acting. It was a tough decision, as all the finalists were brilliant, but one stood out with a captivating depth and strength. I’m very excited for Andrea to be this year’s 2024 Heath Ledger Scholarship recipient.”

Lynskey, another antipodean actor in Hollywood, told Deadline: “Andrea is stunningly beautiful and absolutely has star quality. Her work was very, very rich and there was a big variety in the themes she tried to show the judges. She is right on the verge and this little push will get her where she deserves to be. She deserves superstardom and I really hope this scholarship does that for her.”

Solonge’s credits include recurring roles in Taika Waititi’s Apple TV+ series Time Bandits and Stan and Roku megachurch drama Prosper. We understand she has landed roles in upcoming network shows and an animated production. In an interview with Deadline, she said: “Given what the past recipients have gone on to do, with the Heath Ledger Scholarship backing me, I’m excited to do this.”

Solonge won ahead of Charles Wu (Doctor Doctor, Harrow), Taj Aldeeb (Four Years Later, The Fall), Kartanya Maynard (Heartbreak High, Deadloch), Will McDonald (Home and Away, Heartbreak High) and Ezekiel Simat (The Artful Dodger, Beneath the Storm).

The Sydney-based actress said that young overseas talent could see Hollywood as “a foreign landscape, which makes it scary and daunting,” but that the support of the scholarship “and the path Heath laid out” gave her the courage to push ahead. She paid tribute to fellow Australian actress Margot Robbie and her LuckyChap production label, saying she had been “such a pioneer for stories she wants to get off the ground, and such an inspiration for me.”

Solonge, who is of African heritage, said: “When I think of my own experience as a Congolese-Nigerian-Australian, there are such specific stories to me that I would like to be in service to and bring back to my community, the African diaspora in Australia. I love Australian stories, I love filmmaking and being in service to those narratives and however I can bring that back I hope to do.”