Behind the Breakout: Shannon Berry
The world may know her best as fan-favourite Dot Campbell from Prime Video's The Wilds, but Shannon Berry had already graced Aussie screens in Offspring and Romper Stomper long before her character embarked on that ill-fated flight.
Y'all know we talk a shed-tonne about putting in the work and persevering. Shannon is someone who epitomises these two qualities, so we're stoked she took the time to jam with us.
Here we speak to Shannon about being fuelled by joy, 05:00 shifts at McDonald's, and the reality of life in the public eye.
Important first question – if every film was to be erased from history
and you were responsible for preserving just three, which would you choose?
Shannon Berry: HARD! It would have to be The Truman Show, About Time, and The Lobster. The Truman Show is one of my comfort movies, and I remember trying to hide that I was crying after I first saw it in Year 9 English. About Time for how it breaks my heart and mends it back together, and The Lobster because, at the time, it was just the weirdest film I had ever seen, and I love its dry, dark humour.
Can you recall the moment you decided to be an actor? Did you ever consider alternate career paths?
SB: I've always known I wanted to tell stories – I used to force my brothers to dress up and act in my homemade "movies", and I was writing short stories and scripts at eight. After acting in my first primary school play, I begged my mum to let me take acting classes, and I knew that's all I wanted to do ever since.
Growing up in Perth [Western Australia], there weren't a lot of fantastic options out there for screen-acting training for children. Enrolling at Filmbites – created and run by my agent of forever, Hallie McKeig – changed my life completely. It's never crossed my mind to do anything else apart from this. I could never imagine a life where I'm not performing and telling stories. Acting is my greatest love.
In the vein of one of your film picks, would you course-correct your younger self if time travel was a thing?
SB: I'm a big believer in "everything happens for a reason". I'm really proud of how determined I was when I was younger. I think if I were to time travel, I would tell my younger self that she's enough as she is. It's still something I'm learning to this day.
#truth. How do you think about auditioning these days?
SB: My number one rule with auditioning is to do your homework! Preparation is the key to unlocking the truth of your character in an audition. It allows you to breathe in the scene and feel free and instinctive.
Auditions are an opportunity to learn more about myself and the craft – whenever I attend a workshop or masterclass, I'm so excited to practice what I've learnt in my next audition and see what works and what doesn't. That's the fun part!
Your career obviously skyrocketed when you booked The Wilds, but you'd been on the actor's path for some time by then. What kept you going?
SB: The love for it. My passion for it has always been incredibly motivating and kept me busy. For the periods [where] I wasn't working before The Wilds, I was always finding new opportunities to train – like participating in workshops and masterclasses – because my favourite part about acting is that you're forever learning new things about it. I would also participate in local community theatre and write and create my own short films. I always made sure it was an active part of my life because it brought me joy to just create.
Did you have any particularly memorable Muggle Jobs during this time?
SB: I've had many Muggle Jobs! Retail, barista, babysitting, a call centre – to name a few. I moved to Melbourne independently just after I turned 17 and worked a lot of odd jobs between acting opportunities to ensure I could stay.
I was working the 05:00 opens at McDonald's when I booked The Wilds. I remember having a surprise phone conversation with the writer, Sarah Streicher, before filming my callback in the changing rooms while on shift. I had to write all her notes down on a napkin. I actually continued to work there after filming the pilot because I wanted to spend my paycheck travelling to America for the first time and on acting workshops!
Do you have any non-acting related hobbies that help create space and balance in your life?
SB: I've been writing since I was a kid. It's something I've always loved doing. Listening to music in my room and writing anything at all has always been a big part of my life. Most of my work admittedly goes unfinished, but it's a huge goal of mine to write more seriously this year and find the fun in it again, like when I was younger. I can be too much of a perfectionist sometimes. I can get in my own way. I want to write for joy again.
LOVE! Is there anything you wish emerging actors knew about the reality of life after achieving external success?
SB: Don't let fickle internet opinions and popularity dictate your self-worth. Deleting most forms of social media changed my life for the better. Within the first two weeks of The Wilds airing, my Instagram went from 1,500 followers to 100,000. It was such a dramatic change in my life at 20. I became extremely anxious and consumed with what strangers thought about me, which wasn't always positive.
Social media can be such a fantastic tool, but don't let it run your life. The only thing that really matters is the love from your friends, your family, and yourself.
Big love to Shannon and her team at Creative Soul Management for their time. You can follow Shannon's journey over on Instagram. If you say hello, let her know you're a Dojo friend 👋
Thoughts / feedback / challenges for us? We'd genuinely love to hear.