'You Can't Be A Diva When You're On Set'

Actress and model Michaella Russell, 26, sits down with Julia Bain to talk about her big break, overcoming adversity, and the importance of giving back

Michaella grew up on a farm in north riding before going on to study towards a Ba degree, majoring in psychology and economics, at Monash South Africa. during her studies she landed her first acting role on SaBc3’s Isidingo, in 2013. Since then, she has appeared on the celebrity season of the Great South African Bake Off and is a freelance host for the morning Show on eTV. She is currently completing her Ba degree in clinical psychology through UnISa. When Michaella is not travelling locally and internationally for work, she lives on the farm where she grew up.

I got my first acting role at the age of eight when I played Hagrid from Harry Potter in a children’s theatre production.

I was the only one who could do a Welsh accent but since I was so tiny, they built me this crazy costume that I’d get strapped into. It was always a laugh when I walked out on stage at the curtain call without my enormous costume on and everyone saw how small (and female!) I really was. As a quirky and somewhat awkward kid, being on stage helped strip away my introversion and that’s where my love of performing started.

Although I loved performing, my mom wanted me to pursue a career in the sciences. She wished she had studied medicine and she wanted me to have a stable income, so I started studying a BSc, before changing to a BA in clinical psychology. I have always had an affinity for helping people and I’m fascinated by the human mind so it ticked all the right boxes for me. To make extra money, I did promotions and modelling. Through modelling I met an incredible girl who broke the model mould. After hours of chatting, I found out she was also an actor. I begged her to introduce me to her acting agent, who took a gamble on me and signed me on – I’m still with her!