"Danielle Macdonald: A Rising Star"

Danielle Macdonald, an Australian Actress, has become the subject of admiration among fans and critics. Recognized for her outstanding performance as “Patti” in Fox Searchlight’s Patti Cake$ and in Dumplin’ opposite Jennifer Aniston, she is lately featuring in The Tourist series' second season on Netflix. Danielle, 32 years old, who's fondly known as “Dani” in her everyday life, enjoys finding the best vegan food in L.A. with her friends as a hobby. As much as the admirations keep coming, no one is as surprised as she is.

It's a thrilling journey, though uncanny at times, comments Danielle. The first season of The Tourist was released a couple of years ago and it enjoyed immense success in the U.K. and in Australia. The second season was never expected to even have U.S. distribution, let alone be viewed in the United States.

Danielle sees it as an unexpected achievement that the show found an audience in the U.S, given its very Australian first season and British writers. She finds it wonderful when a show can reach America and people can understand, enjoy and appreciate it. The cultural barrier appears not to be an issue and that is fantastic. The attractive appeal this very Irish second season has for other countries is likewise exciting. The realization of a more global society is a lovely one as a result, with more works from various parts of the world being appreciated.

Danielle enjoys discussing shows, it's always a good time. In an interesting twist, she filmed another show concurrently with The Tourist. The demands of being engaged in two separate worlds mentally were high but manageable. She has recently wrapped up a show titled The Last Anniversary which was filmed in Australia and has an Australian storyline. This show is significant because it is the first Danielle has done which is solely Australian. This was quite an enjoyable experience for her.

Additionally, Danielle completed a movie named If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You last year. With the expected release of these two works at some point, last year was quite a busy one for her. Danielle got the wonderful opportunity of working around the world and now she looks forward to catching up on all she missed in her homeland over the last year.

Coming home from her travels, for Danielle, means having a routine that is entirely hers once more; the prospect of which is exciting. Filming schedules may be quite haphazard, making it impossible to personally plan ahead. Nevertheless, Danielle strives to maintain a routine in spite of working really long hours. A part of this is her commitment to doing some form of exercise daily to maintain mental clarity. Her fitness routine ranges from long walks to going for a class when she can, depending on her schedule.

Danielle also places a premium on maintaining a bedtime routine, chiefly involving washing her face, brushing her teeth and occasionally doing facial massages. She relishes the predictability of L.A. weather that allows her to regularly enjoy outdoor activities. Danielle enjoys being in nature as much as possible.

Occasionally, I’ll do a full-body massage. I feel like I don’t treat myself to massages enough though. Every time I go, I’m so relaxed and so happy…I should do it more. There is also a place near me that does ice baths. You go sit in a sauna for a bit and then you do an ice bath. It’s mentally challenging, and I love it.

What else do I do? I’m vegan and I really like organic products. So, I guess that puts me in the wellness scene by default in some ways!

I’m also a lot better with my skin-care routine when I’m home. There’s a Credo really close to where I live and it’s a really good skin-care store. I go there a lot. I use the same products over and over. Routine is nice and L.A. is very good about routines; I also find it to be a very chill city.

Yes, I use Saint Jane face oil ($125). I love Saint Jane. It’s one of the only products that my skin has never reacted to. I also use a lot of Evolve Organic. It’s another line that I have never reacted to. I use a lot of their products. I love their facial scrub ($32) and I like their oil ($30). I always use that for removing makeup along with their cleanser ($36). I also am a fan of their moisturizer ($47). I don’t use a moisturizer every day, though, because my skin just can’t handle it.

I also use a lot of a line called Mara. They have a retinol-oil ($120) that I use once a week as well. I’ve never reacted to that, either, which is huge! It’s the only retinol I found that isn’t too strong for my skin. Let’s just say I have very sensitive skin.

I think the best thing was that I didn’t have expectations when I came out here—and I still stand by that thinking in a weird way. It’s a lot harder if you think it’s going to be easy or it’s just “going to happen,” because it’s not. 

I genuinely came out to L.A., and I was like, “I may not book a job for 10 years, and that’s O.K.” If you have that expectation, it ends up being not as brutal of an industry. You know it’s going to take time, and you know it’s going to be a lot of rejection, and it’s good to tell yourself that and to remind yourself that.

I don’t say that in a pessimistic way…I more try to look at in a realistic way like, “Hey, it’s all going to be O.K. I’m going to be able to deal with rejection.” If I had any other advice for myself, I guess it would just be: “Don’t be afraid to be yourself and don’t be shy. Don’t hide yourself and don’t be afraid to make friends.”

I think it took me a little while when I first got out here because I was only 18. I was young and I was still quite shy. I was scared to do a lot of things that were outside what I knew. That would be the one thing I’d do differently. It’s O.K. to be yourself and it’s O.K. to let people see you, which I have obviously now done. Those first few years were daunting, absolutely daunting. But you learn and you grow. Coming out to L.A. was almost like my wonderful college experience in a weird way. I’ve been on the full rollercoaster.

Photographer: Martin Rusch; Hair: Dita Durga; Makeup: Andre Sarmiento; Location: Fair Park Studios

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