Actor Chris Lilley won audiences with his comical take on school girl Ja’mie King in TV series Summer Heights High. Here, Time Out talks to Ja’mie about her new series.
On the back of the success of TV programmes We Can Be Heroes, Summer Heights High and Angry Boys, Aussie actor Chris Lilley is starring in a new series dedicated to his most notorious, self-entitled character, Ja’mie King. Taking obvious jibs at well-to-do rich school girls, Ja’mie: Private School Girl is as confronting as it is hilarious.
Your profile’s really rocketed since your TV documentaries – how has life changed for you? Is it hard to concentrate on the mundane things like school when you’re an in-demand celebrity?
I’m used to being the centre of attention at my school anyway. So having the cameras following me around 24-sev is not even that weird. But can I just say seeing your behind on TV is so weird? Because you never see it in real life. And it’s been good because it’s confirmed that I really do have a hot rear.
What can we expect from the new series? How will it differ from the past two?
The new show is all about me. So therefore it’s way better. The randoms they followed in the other shows are so boring. And they’re not even hot. So yeah, it’s just me and life and all the incredible things that happen.
You famously went to a Sydney public school in your last outing – how was that experience? What do you think would help the public school system here?
I kind of faked that I liked it but basically I was in hell the whole time. There’s so many weirdos and immigrants in public schools and it brings down the standard of education. Everyone should just get some money and go to private schools.
Graduation is coming up – how’s the study going?
I’m really smart so I don’t even have to study. And next year I’m taking my gap year to focus on modelling and I’m gonna do aid work in Africa. And like stop child slavery and stuff. And because it’s Africa there’s hardly any food so I’m gonna look so thin. I can’t wait!
Bullying is a big issue in schools right now. How can we stop people bullying others on the playground and in cyberspace?
It’s amazing. The best thing to do is be really mean and bully your enemies online, then when they bust you just say that your little sister hacked into your Facebook and it wasn’t you. They always fall for it. And then they bully your little sister, which works out really well.
We have to ask: can you twerk?
This is so annoying because I actually invented twerking in Year Ten. I started the craze at my school and it basically spread from there. I’m like the founding mother of twerking. But I never get any credit for it.
Ja’mie: Private School Girl, costs from Dhs13 per episode from www.apple.com/itunes.
