Bojana Novakovic (, sr-Latn, Bojana Novaković) is a Serbian-Australian actress. She is best known for her role as Det. Lizzie Needham on the drama television series '' Instinct'' (2017–2018). Novakovic's film roles include ''

Drag Me to Hell ''Drag Me to Hell'' is a 2009 American supernatural horror film directed and co-written by Sam Raimi. It stars Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Lorna Raver, Dileep Rao, David Paymer, and Adriana Barraza. The plot, written with his older brother Ivan, ...

'' (2009), ''

Edge of Darkness ''Edge of Darkness'' is a British television drama serial produced by BBC Television in association with Lionheart Television International and originally broadcast in six 55-minute episodes in late 1985. A mixture of crime drama and politica ...

'' (2010), ''

Devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of ...

'' (2010), '' Generation Um...'' (2012), '' The Little Death'' (2014), ''

I, Tonya ''I, Tonya'' is a 2017 American biographical film directed by Craig Gillespie and written by Steven Rogers. It follows the life and career of the American figure skater Tonya Harding and her connection with the 1994 attack on her rival Nancy ...

'' (2017), and ''

Birds of Prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and other smaller birds). In addition to speed and strength, these predat ...

'' (2020).

Early life

Novakovic was born in Belgrade,

SR Serbia , life_span = 1944–1992 , status = Constituent state of Yugoslavia , p1 = Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia , flag_p1 = Flag of German Reich (1935–1945).svg , p2 ...

, SFR Yugoslavia, to Serbian parents. Her younger sister, Valentina Novakovic, is also an actress. She moved to Australia in 1988, at the age of seven, and was initially interested in becoming a social worker or doctor, but she changed her mind and decided to pursue performing arts. Novakovic studied at The McDonald College in Sydney (where she was

dux ''Dux'' (; plural: ''ducēs'') is Latin for "leader" (from the noun ''dux, ducis'', "leader, general") and later for duke and its variant forms (doge, duce, etc.). During the Roman Republic and for the first centuries of the Roman Empire, '' ...

of 1999) and graduated from the

National Institute of Dramatic Art The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is an Australian educational institution for the performing arts is based in Sydney, New South Wales. Founded in 1958, many of Australia's leading actors and directors trained at NIDA, including Cat ...

with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in dramatic arts in 2002.

Career

In 2003, Novakovic played Randa in the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

mini-series ''

Marking Time ''Marking Time'' was an Australian television mini-series, consisting of four one-hour episodes. It first aired on 9 and 10 November 2003 on ABC-TV. Directed by Cherie Nowlan and written by John Doyle, it was the first mainstream television/f ...

'', a role which won her an

AFI Award The Australian Film Institute (AFI) was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Australian film industry. It is responsi ...

for "Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Television Drama or Comedy". As an actress, Novakovic's film credits in Australia include ''

Blackrock BlackRock, Inc. is an American multi-national investment company based in New York City. Founded in 1988, initially as a risk management and fixed income institutional asset manager, BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager, with trill ...

'' (1996), ''Strange Fits of Passion'' (1998), ''

The Monkey's Mask ''The Monkey's Mask'' is an international co-production 2000 thriller film directed by Samantha Lang. It stars Susie Porter and Kelly McGillis. Porter plays a lesbian private detective who falls in love with a suspect (McGillis) in the disappeara ...

'' (1999), '' Thunderstruck'' (2004), ''

Solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series * Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''S ...

'' (2005) and the Serbian films '' The Optimists'' (2005) and ''

Skinning Skinning is the act of skin removal. The process is done by humans to animals, mainly as a means to prepare the meat beneath for cooking and consumption, or to harvest the skin for making fur clothing or tanning it to make leather. The sk ...

'' (2010). From 2007 to 2009, she played Tippi in TV series '' Satisfaction'' for

Showtime Australia Showtime Movie Channels is a group of Australian pay-TV movie channels, available on the Foxtel, Optus and Austar TV platforms. The service consisted of five original channels (showtime premiere, showcase, showtime action, showtime comedy, showt ...

. She also appeared in ''

'' (2009), ''

'' (2010), '' Burning Man'' (2011), and '' Generation Um...'' (2012). Her theatre credits in Australia include ''These People'', '' Away'' and ''Strange Fruit'' at the Sydney Theatre Company; '' The Female of the Species'' at the

Melbourne Theatre Company The Melbourne Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1953 as the Union Theatre Repertory Company at the Union Theatre at the University of Melbourne, it is the oldest professional theatre com ...

; ''

Woyzeck ''Woyzeck'' () is a stage play written by Georg Büchner. Büchner wrote the play between July and October 1836, yet left it incomplete at his death in February 1837. The play first appeared in 1877 in a heavily edited version by Karl Emil Fr ...

'' ( Helpmann award nomination for best supporting actress in 2009), ''Criminology'' (

Green Room award The Green Room Awards are peer awards which recognise excellence in cabaret, dance, drama, fringe theatre, musical theatre and opera in Melbourne. The awards were started in 1982 when Blair Edgar and Steven Tandy formed the Green Room Awards A ...

nomination for best actress 2007), ''Eldorado'' (Helpmann nomination for best supporting actress, 2006) and ''Necessary Targets'' at the

Malthouse Theatre Malthouse Theatre is the resident theatre company of The Malthouse building in Southbank, part of the Melbourne Arts Precinct. In the 1980s it was known as the Playbox Theatre Company and was housed in the Playbox Theatre in Melbourne's CBD. A ...

in Melbourne, ''Death Variations and Loveplay'' (Ride On) for B Sharp, '' Romeo and Juliet'' with

Bell Shakespeare Bell Shakespeare is an Australian theatre company specialising in the works of William Shakespeare, his contemporaries and other classics. It is based in Sydney. The Bell Shakespeare vision is to create theatre that allows audiences of all wa ...

company and ''Debris'' for Ride on Theatre (which received a Green Room nomination for best Independent production and best actress in 2006). Novakovic runs her own independent theatre company, Ride On Theatre (Sydney and Melbourne) with co-director Tanya Goldberg. She was a producer and performer for the 2004 Ride on Theatre sell out season of ''LOVEPLAY'' at the Downstairs

Belvoir Street Theatre Belvoir is an Australian theatre company based at the Belvoir St Theatre in Sydney, Australia, originally known as Company B. Since 2016 and its artistic director is Eamon Flack. The theatre contains a 330-seat Upstairs Theatre and a 80-seat ...

, and the 2006 Green Room nominated production of ''Debris'' (in which she was also nominated for best actress). In 2008, she translated, adapted and directed ''Fake Porno'' in Melbourne, which was invited to be part of the Powerhouse season in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

in 2009, and also received three Green Room nominations including best production. Outside of Ride On, she wrote and directed with Melbourne's Black Lung Theatre for the critically acclaimed production of ''Sugar'' at the 2007

Adelaide Fringe The Adelaide Fringe, formerly Adelaide Fringe Festival, is the world's second-largest annual arts festival (after the Edinburgh Festival Fringe), held in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Between mid-February and mid-March each year, ...

festival. In 2010, Novakovic received an AFI nomination for International Award for Best Actress for her role in ''

''. She is currently starring in an improvised theatrical production called ''The Blind Date project'' for the Sydney Festival. From 2013 to 2014, Novakovic starred on the comedy-drama television series '' Rake'', which was cancelled after one season. In 2015, she portrayed Clare Hitchens in '' The Hallow'', a horror film set in Ireland and directed by Corin Hardy. She had a recurring role on the fifth season of '' Shameless''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Novakovic, Bojana 20th-century Australian actresses 21st-century Australian actresses AACTA Award winners Actresses from Belgrade Australian film actresses Australian people of Serbian descent Australian stage actresses Australian television actresses Living people National Institute of Dramatic Art alumni Serbian emigrants to Australia Year of birth missing (living people)