'A lot of respect for Australia': Ivana Chubbuck on her Sydney workshop and teaching actors to transcend culture and politics - IF.COM.AU

by IF.com.au.· Sean Slatter · Film News · August 26, 2026

From Margot Robbie to Chris Hemsworth, there's nothing like a local acting export achieving global success.

US acting coach Ivana Chubbuck has encountered more than her share of Aussies plying their trade in Hollywood in her more than three decades in the industry, with Travis Fimmel, Isla Fisher, Lucy Fry and Cody Fern coming under her guidance.

As to whether any characteristics stood out among Australian actors, Chubbuck said her methods weren't conducive to cultural specifics.

"I make them come from not a cultural point of view – I make them come from a human point of view, and so there is no difference because the human animal exists as a scientific fact," she told IF.

However, she added that the importance Australians place on humour definitely didn't hurt their prospects.

"Humour seems to be a go-to, and I love that," she said.

"I love that I don't have to say, 'You've got to put humour in this' – they understand it right away.

"One of the things that I believe is why so many Australian actors are booking jobs over Americans is because of that."

Chubbuck brought her 12-step technique to Sydney earlier this month for a four-day masterclass with 32 actors and 180 observers.

The event – her first trip to Australia in more than a decade – was held under the newly formed Acting Mastery Academy via an invitation from founder Kate Jaggard, who trained directly with Chubbuck in Los Angeles. Jaggard has since gone on to become one of only a handful of Australian acting coaches officially certified to teach the 'Chubbuck Technique'.

Combining psychology, script analysis and emotional truth, Chubbuck's philosophy challenges performers to transform personal pain, setbacks and obstacles into fuel that drives compelling characters. Throughout the years, actors have carried her teachings onto productions including Monster, Monster's Ball, Wonder Woman, Creed, The White Lotus, Dreamgirls, Bones, The Vampire Diaries, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Law & Order, Training Day and Vikings.

As part of the Sydney workshop, actors were tasked with using the tools outlined in the acting coach's 2005 book The Power of the Actor to craft a performance-ready piece.

From there, they told their own stories to Chubbuck as part of a process designed to motivate them to understand who they really are, so they could inform their characters with authenticity and nuance. The cohort was then allowed to rehearse with what they learned before coming back for a reworked performance.

Chubbuck, who usually conducts two-day workshops, said the Sydney event was two years in the making, paying tribute to her hosts for helping to bring together all the moving parts for what ended up being "pretty spectacular and magical."

"It was very intensive, and a lot of thought went into giving out the scenes, making sure everybody had something that they needed to work on, based on their reels and all the different things.

"All the moving parts have made for a great event."

It follows the 20th anniversary re-release of The Power of the Actor last year, featuring new concepts and case studies taken from Hollywood productions, including approaches to emotional diaries, playing a killer and finding the dignity and purpose in being the victim, addiction, script analysis, creating organic chemistry, active listening, auditioning, and establishing true audience engagement.

The revised edition also introduces a philosophy of empowerment through the arts, which goes beyond acting to the power of each individual to change their life.

Chubbuck said her technique was about removing politics from the way people understood each other, something she noted was resonating more across different countries where "the moderate reality just doesn't exist anymore."

"I'm asking you how you felt about that character, how you felt about that storyline, how that affected you and how my technique does," she said.

"It's all about the human spirit and how the human spirit is all about overcoming, in the best possible way, the issues that are presented to us that are awful, whether it's because people are putting you down or because things have happened that are beyond your control."

She said operating from a "basic, primal-need point of view" was often needed for work to travel internationally, whether it be acting, writing, or directing, citing Bong Joon Ho's 2019 Academy Award-winning drama Parasite as a recent example.

When it comes to Australian content, Chubbuck described Netflix original Boy Swallows Universe as a "really beautiful piece," adding there was "a lot of respect for Australia" in LA.

"I think that's why it's important for people to have some version of a reel before they make the trip out here," she said.

"It'll make the trip more successful because people really do respond to the Australian background, right? Probably more than most countries."

She said if there was a common thread among her successful students, it's that they were "hyper studiers."

"Dreams can come true, but you have to help them come true," she said.

"You have to facilitate that by studying and studying really hard."

Photo credits: Anna Hempstead.