Tanzyn Crawford had never planned to go to acting school. “I only ever auditioned for WAAPA [Western Australia Academy of Performing Arts], because one of my friends was auditioning and didn’t want to do it alone,” she tells me.
“We had shot one short film together – it’s how we met – so, I obviously had a love for acting, but I was studying wildlife biology and conservation at a different university at the time, and truthfully, was really quite happy with that path.”
It wasn’t until Crawford received the news of her successful application, that she found herself at a crossroads. At the time, the switch to acting school felt like a temporary pursuit of a passion that would likely never eventuate to a career, leaving her ‘serious job’ behind to “play around and be a kid again”.
“I went from studying chemistry to pretending to be a pelican and crawling on the floor imitating bugs, just having fun. At no point did I actually consider acting would be my future.” Theatre and dance had always been a part of Crawford’s life. In primary school, she was the first to put her hand up for the school play, and danced and performed in ballets her dance studio had produced. In all facets, storytelling was present; but it wasn’t until the end of 2021, when the Perth-born-and-raised actor was well into her degree that she had her lightbulb moment.
“I remember doing this one scene where it became a bit more real to me… This is actually something I really, really enjoy. That I love, even. And I actually think I have a shot at making this a career.”
Like all good artists, Crawford followed that gut instinct and thank goodness she did. Just this year, the actor made her debut 'starring' role, as she likes to call it, in the Australian series Swift Street, and successfully auditioned for, and filmed, the newest addition to the Game of Thrones universe, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. In more ways than one, 2024 has been a year of creative fruition.
“The first Zoom meeting I had with Tig [Terera], I could feel his creative passion through the screen. He presented me with so much information about my character, Elsie, [in Swift Street], from the very beginning. It was like a 10-page look book about what she looks like, her past, how she presents herself…” Crawford shared.
“Was it difficult,” I ask her, “to allow for your own creative contributions when a character has already been so carefully crafted?” “I can understand how it can feel restrictive for some actors, but he [Tig] gave me so much creative liberty with it. He wasn’t rigid about what I could or couldn’t change, and he had such an incredible and diverse production team on set with all different experiences that there was such varied input in every character,” she continued. “It was truly, authentically collaborative.”
Knowing what we know about the timelines that often come with a series like Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, I’m more than surprised when Crawford tells me that it was only a six-month window between her booking the role and finalising all filming and production for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. In the series, the actor plays the character Tanselle, a Dornish puppeteer during the reign of King Daeron II Targaryen (I apologise for the lore you might need to understand that sentence). But for anyone who might feel intimidated by the expansiveness of Game of Thrones, and the wealth of world building that comes with it, Crawford assures me that, unlike the existing series’, you don’t need a Masters in George R. R. Martin and high Valyrian to follow along.
“A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is really fun because it’s like a little side quest you can just hop into,” Crawford shares. “It’s six episodes, and sure, there’s a little bit of lore from the other seasons, but it’s mostly a standalone story.”
“Knowing what you know now,” I ask, “what would you tell a young Tanzyn?” “I would say, ‘don’t be afraid to wear your hair down,’ and I mean that literally. I was so embarrassed about having an afro and having big hair, that it was always in a bun or a ponytail.”
“Oh, and don’t pretend to have a boyfriend. You don’t need to do that. Stop getting boyfriends.
To experience the Legacy issue in its entirety, the November edition of RUSSH is available on newsstands from 14 November and through our shop online. Read more about the inspiration behind the issue in Jess Blanch's editor's letter.
