Natalie Bassingthwaighte, actor, author, dancer, singer, songwriter and host of Network Ten's reality show So You Think You Can Dance, explains to Larry Writer why she was born to perform.
No one who's been up until 2.30am has any right to be this bouncy. Yet now, just seven hours after finishing a promo for So You Think You Can Dance, Natalie Bassingthwaighte bustles in, a diminutive black-clad dynamo clutching a soy
latte and a piece of wholemeal toast.
She executes a balletic high kick, lets out a "Whooo!", and tells her manager, Mark Byrne, that, of course, she would be honoured to present the Best Television Drama award at Saturday night’s AFI Awards and hopes there can be a ticket for her boyfriend, Cameron McGlinchey. "My day," the 33-year-old assures The Weekly, as Mark runs through her schedule, "will only get busier."
When Natalie met ace US pop producer Jimmy Harry last year to plan her new solo album, he asked her which recording star she wanted to emulate. "I said, 'Emulate? I don't want to emulate anybody. I want to be me.' 'Okay,' he said, 'then who are you?' "
Good question. Natalie wasn’t exactly sure then and, today, chatting about her myriad brilliant careers, she still ponders the conundrum. "The best I can come up with is I'm hardworking, lucky, ambitious and have the resilience to bounce back from rejection." Typically, she fails to mention her prodigious talent.
Natalie's done — and is doing — it all. She is the bubbly, heart-on-the-sleeve host of Network Ten's reality show So You Think You Can Dance, is releasing her first solo album this month, is ambassador for Garnier hair products ("I'm like the Australian Sarah Jessica Parker!") and is about to be seen in
the Australian horror movie, Prey.
She was Izzy Hoyland, the schemer you love to hate, in Neighbours, has starred in hit musicals, was the frontwoman for APRA-winning dance/pop act Rogue Traders, last year sang the national anthem at the Beijing Olympics, football
grand finals and cricket internationals, and co-wrote a book
of advice for teenage girls. Some CV.
"All my wildest dreams have come true," Natalie bubbles, then, tucking her Bikram yoga-toned legs underneath her on the lounge, grows a little pensive. "Maybe I do spread myself too thin," she admits. "I'm my own worst enemy. I can't say no to a new challenge and, suddenly, I'm doing 10 things at once and that means pressure because I'm a perfectionist. Trouble is, I
love it all. Performing gives me such joy."
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