​Freya Tingley

At 14 I decided I was going to be an actress and within a few months I had landed my first professional role at the Playhouse Theatre in Perth. This was followed by a short film. Since then I have been in four short films, a feature film and the TV miniseries Cloudstreet.

From day one, my goal was to go to Los Angeles and I have never waivered from that position. In 2010 I went to LA and secured an agent and at the beginning of 2012 I returned to LA for the pilot season and was booked for a lead role in the new TV series Hemlock Grove. Filming started in July 2012 and the series will air in January 2013.

In the short film Beneath the Waves, I played a deaf girl which meant I had to learn sign language.

In Year 10 I was interviewed by the school counsellor who asked me what I was going to do with my life. I said, "I am an actor." When the counsellor asked me what was plan B, I said there was no plan B, plan B is a plan to fail. My manager has described me as freakishly talented.

MLC gave me a high standard and a strong sense of self worth. My parents have supported me every step of the way. I think this helped me to secure the lead role in Hemlock Grove directed by Eli Roth in the USA. I was competing against 16,000 other young hopefuls for the part. There are only a few mini-series being made each year and only a handful of actors land a lead role and this has been my greatest professional achievement to date.

I also played the role of Wendy in the TV series Once Upon a Time. And I recently made the feature film, Swelter, with Jean-Claude Van Damme and Alfred Molina.

The most important piece of advice I would provide others striving to achieve their goals is stay focused, keep your eyes on the target, don't compromise, don't have a back up plan and don't let anyone deter you; know what you want to achieve and go out and get it.

On MLC: Some of my fondest memories at MLC include 'Red Faces' at the 2009 school play camp, singing in the locker room with my friends the songs we had learned in chorale and the Europe Tour 2008, and having fun in art class with great peers.