How a hallucination pushed Rebel Wilson into acting
Australian actor Rebel Wilson is well-known for her comedic roles and is recognisable for her performances in popular movies such as Bridesmaids and the Pitch Perfect series. Born in Sydney, the star began her career in Australia, starring in the television show Pizza.
It didn’t take Wilson long to start writing her own material, though, creating the 2008 show Bogan Pride. However, within a few years of beginning her tenure as an actor and writer, she decided to up sticks and move to the United States.
Talking to Vogue, she explained: “When I came to America, I was like, I’m going to be the female Jonah Hill and totally just crush it! But I actually started as a serious actress in Australia. I wanted to be the next Dame Judi Dench, but nobody in Hollywood really saw me for those roles.”
When Wilson arrived in Hollywood, she landed her iconic role in Bridesmaids, the Judd Apatow-produced comedy directed by Paul Feig. The actor initially auditioned for Melissa McCarthy’s role, becoming “second choice”, as she once told SiriusXM. Wilson was given the role of Brynn instead, revealing in the same interview that the character was created just for her.
The following year, she appeared in Pitch Perfect as ‘Fat Amy’, becoming a fan favourite and reprising the role in the subsequent sequels. Since then, she has also starred in How To Be Single, Jojo Rabbit, Isn’t It Romantic, The Hustle and Senior Year, acting as a producer on the latter three.
Recently, Wilson has attempted to transition into more dramatic roles, starring alongside Charlotte Gainsbourg in The Almond and the Seahorse in 2023. Wilson’s foray into more serious territory proves her skill as an actor, finally stepping out of the stereotypical comedic parts she has so often found herself in.
However, a strange hallucinatory incident was the reason for Wilson’s decision to turn to acting in the first place, and the story is rather amusing. After studying theatre as well as law, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws, she was unsure of what root to take. Thus, she took some time away while she tried to decide what career path to take. Wilson ended up in South Africa for a short while, but she unfortunately contracted malaria after refusing to take medication that helps prevent the disease.
On the Aussies in Hollywood podcast, she revealed: “They tried to give me pills, but I heard they can cause mental problems, so I ended up being the stupid person who got [malaria]”. However, while she was recovering from the illness, she ended up experiencing some strange hallucinations that encouraged her to pursue acting.
“I’m just lying there in hospital, can’t really hear, can’t really watch TV, and I was just hallucinating on the drugs that I was an actress,” she explained. “I was giving an acceptance speech… an acceptance rap, which seems so dorky now.”
Wilson continued: “When people have kind of near-death experiences, people can experience certain things that really change the course of their life.” For the star, the experience certainly did change everything, and she is now one of the most recognisable stars in Hollywood.
