Courtney Eaton just might be the girl of your dreams. OK, well maybe not the girl of your dreams exactly, but she certainly has a knack for invading the dreams of others— even before they meet her. Such was the case when George Miller, the legendary film director who created the Mad Max/ Road Warrior franchise, cast Eaton in his highly anticipated 21st-century reboot: Mad Max: Fury Road. “His ideas and his film and his characters come through in dreams, so he’s very specific on the look of the character, and the vibe and the feeling,” explains the 19-year-old Eaton from a couch buried deep in The Redbury hotel
in Los Angeles. Apparently, Miller saw the face he was looking for in a dream, and then scoured Australian modeling agencies to find the exact match. “[Fellow actress] Abbey Lee and I both got cast last, but obviously we had the vibe he was looking for.” There are worse places to launch an acting career than the dreams of Miller, a man whose cinematic vision pretty much changed the action game forever with 1979’s Mad Max. When it was announced that Miller was working on a sequel, film nerds worldwide went into hyperventilation. Did Eaton share their enthusiasm? “No—I didn’t know what it was. When I was asked to audition, I thought it
was Mad Men!” she says and bursts out laughing. “But my dad is a massive fan. He was like, ‘No! It’s like a massive cult film. It’s huge!’” Given that Eaton was born 17 years after the original first hit theaters, being somewhat oblivious to just how lucky she scored is understandable. And things haven’t gotten much more difficult for the up-and-coming actress either, as her next film, Gods of Egypt, was booked after only meeting with its director once, via Skype. Being in her company, witnessing the ease of her grace and relaxed charm, it’s obvious why. Eaton verifiably glows with the youthful zeal of a girl on the cusp of a dream. But this time it’s not somebody else’s dream, it’s hers.
Off camera, Eaton shares one pastime with the petrol-thirsty outlaws in Mad Max: homemade tattoos. Here she shares the secrets of a proper “stick ’n’ poke”: GET THE RIGHT SUPPLIES You’ll need a sewing needle—preferably a thin, sharp one—a bottle of calligraphy ink, and your little tiny pattern. ALWAYS DISINFECT! You can either put a lighter over the needle, or just leave it in hot water. CHOOSE SOMETHING PERSONAL If you don’t know what to get, don’t get a tattoo. It doesn’t always have to mean something, like I have plenty that mean nothing. But get something that inspires you. GO FOR IT Get your needle, dip it in the ink, and just keep poking little dots until it forms a line. It takes forever. LEAVE PLENTY OF TIME I was supposed to give Abbey a cross, but we ran out of time so all I gave her was a “T”! But she loves it. WHAT NOT TO DO Don’t use a rusty needle! Also, for Australians, don’t get the Southern Cross, ’cause that comes across as dodgy.
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