Alumni Spotlight: Q & A with Shalom Brune-Franklin

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Alumni Spotlight: Q & A with Shalom Brune-Franklin

Monday, 31 May 2021

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Before actress Shalom Brune-Franklin wowed Line of Duty fans with her incredible performance as DC Chloe Bishop, she cut her teeth studying acting at WAAPA.

It has been an astounding rise for the 26-year old, who was born in the United Kingdom to a Mauritian mother Ingrid Brune and Thai-English father, Phillip Franklin.

In 2018, she was awarded the Chris Edmund Scholarship while in her third year at WAAPA. The award was named in honour of Chris Edmund; a director, teacher, writer and painter. Chris was Head of Directing, then Head of the Acting Department at WAAPA for 30 years and trained the likes of Hugh Jackman, Frances O’Connor and Jai Courtney.

The award was a catalyst in helping to launch Shalom’s international acting career. Since then, she has gone on to play an extra in the film Thor: Ragnarok, starred in Australian drama Doctor, Doctor and British TV dramas Our Girl and Roadkill.

We caught up with Shalom in between a heavy schedule of filming.

Continued from Alumni News...

What made you choose ECU/WAAPA and your particular course/study area?

Although I had recently fallen in love with drama class at high school in my final year, I hadn’t ever considered ‘Acting’ as a career I could pursue. I initially joined ECU for Broadcasting and Journalism. An Administrative error occurred, and I had to leave University a couple of weeks into the course. In this time WAAPA had been brought to my attention, I found out it was one of the top acting schools in the country. The possibility of doing something I enjoyed so much in high school as a university degree seemed to make sense. To be really honest, I never really gave it any more thought than that when I decided to audition. Looking back, I was really naive to the audition process, the course itself, and what kind of career I could pursue after it.

What is your fondest memory of ECU?

I think the experience of performing in shows with my classmates were some of the most special memories. The dedication, talent, and passion each person displayed to create these productions is something I will always feel so proud to have been a part of. That and receiving the Chris Edmund Performing Arts Scholarship are my fondest memories.

How did receiving the Chris Edmund Performing Arts Scholarship help you launch your acting career?

I used this support to initially move to the eastern states and then overseas to pursue work. Without it, I just wouldn’t have had the freedom to move around and chase opportunities down.

Do you have a message to anyone who has donated to an ECU scholarship or is considering doing so in the future?

Just a massive thank you. The kindness of Chris Edmund, Hugh Jackman and Mastercard to create an opportunity for a student to have that extra bit of help upon graduating is something I will forever be grateful for.

If you could go back to when you graduated from university, what advice would you give yourself?

I don’t know what I would say to be honest, have fun and trust yourself.

Shalom after receiving the Chris Edmund Scholarship.

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