Miranda & Thomasin Their Daring New Roles

Letting her daughter go is not an easy act

- Cloe Willetts

Thomasin McKenzie is used to walking red carpets in glamorous gowns and starring beside Hollywood greats like Scarlett Johansson, but it’s the simple pleasures in life, like lemony chickpea soup, that keep the young Kiwi actress happy.

Chatting from her family home in Wellington, beside her acting coach mother Miranda Harcourt, 58, Thomasin credits home-made comfort food for getting her through some big days on set.

“For a while, it’s all I wanted, lemony chickpea soup,” grins the blue-eyed beauty, 20, who wowed audiences with her performance as Jewish teen Elsa Korr on Taika Waititi’s satire film Jojo Rabbit.

Soup, the mother-daughter duo agree, really is good for the soul. “As an actress, you tell stories, whether they’re harrowing or comedic, and you’re constantly giving out all this emotion, so at the end of the day, I’m a bit like a zombie,” Thomasin admits. “Coming home to a favourite dinner and support system around me who understand is all I really want.”

Over the past couple of years, former Gloss actress Miranda and her filmmaker husband Stuart McKenzie have accompanied their daughter to London, continuing their own projects and exploring art galleries while Thomasin worked.