It’s like doing a cinematic double-take. In this Romeo and Juliet setting, 13 year old Meika Woollard is reminiscent of a young Brooke Shields, conjuring up the spectre of Shields in Pretty Baby (the G-rated version) or Endless Love (ditto). With his brooding blonde looks, her partner-in-crime Texas Watterston is so much like a teenaged Leonardo DiCaprio that someone once approached him when he was in Los Angeles, claiming to be casting a movie for a younger version of Leo. (It didn’t seem legit; he said no.)
But, take the two away from the camera lens, and they morph into Meika and Texas, Melbourne schoolkids. Still dazzlingly beautiful, both, but without the “on” switch that the camera requires. She becomes chirpy, sweet and chatty, talking about the way modelling has enabled her to meet interesting people and travel. Not too long ago, she was in Los Angeles, for L’Officiel magazine’s “Top 100 Most Beautiful Children of the World” feature. He, meanwhile, is tunnel-visioned about his path ahead: nothing’s going to stop him from acting, and he’s already got his eye on the prize, being a movie buff who’d like nothing more than to work with director Quentin Tarantino. He’s on the way, since audiences will soon see him in Australian independent horror flick, The School – a movie that stalled until its director found Texas for one of his leads, so important was that casting.
And they’re alike, in certain respects. Friends in real life – despite the celluloid chemistry – they both share past experiences of being bullied in school, and finding refuge in their professional work. Meika, who started modelling as a two year old, admits that her family have supported her aspirations all along, and similarly keep her down to earth – when she’s not dreaming of doing Gucci campaigns, she’s playing centre in basketball. “The hardest thing about modelling? Doing summer clothes, freezing on the beach, in winter.”
For Texas, who has already done a short stint studying method acting at Stella Adler Academy of Acting in LA, getting into character in his work involves a good deal of commitment – for The School, he spent hours listening to heavy metal music to get into the right mindset. The best advice he’s received? “Don’t be too big-headed. I want to keep grounded, so I always tell myself that there are people that are better than me, and that I can work harder and harder.”
BEHIND THE SCENES VIDEO
Credits
Stylist: Dan Ryan
MUA: Sara Morrison assistant Melissa Oronica (using MAC makeup)
Designers: Jack London, Dior, Rick Owens, Calibre, Tom Ford, J’aton, Thurley
Lighting Assistant: Max D’orsigna
Models: Meika Woollard Texas Watterston
Agent: Giant Management
Location: Sherman Mansion Hennessy St Elwood
Photographer Rosanna Faraci
Video: Simon Heenan (Live Free)
Lighting: Sun studios Broncolor Siros
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