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 Instinct is the inherent inclination of a living organism towards a particular complex behaviour, containing both innate (inborn) and learned elements. The simplest example of an instinctive behaviour is a fixed action pattern (FAP), in which a v ...

'' (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'' (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 t ...

'' (2010), '' Generation Um...'' (2012), '' The Little Death'' (2014), '' I, Tonya'' (2017), and '' Birds of Prey'' (2020).

Early life

Novakovic was born in

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

, SR Serbia,

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...

, 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 The McDonald College is an independent co-educational specialist primary and secondary day and boarding school with speciality in the creative and performing arts, located in North Strathfield, an inner western suburb of Sydney, New South Wa ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

(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, ''dux' ...

of 1999) and graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art 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/fi ...

'', 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'' (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'' (2010). From 2007 to 2009, she played Tippi in TV series '' Satisfaction'' for Showtime Australia. She also appeared in ''

'' (2009), '' Edge of Darkness'' (2009), ''

'' (2010), ''

Burning Man Burning Man is an event focused on community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance held annually in the western United States. The name of the event comes from its culminating ceremony: the symbolic burning of a large wooden effigy, referred ...

'' (2011), and '' Generation Um...'' (2012). Her theatre credits in Australia include ''These People'', ''

Away Away may refer to: Film and television * ''Away'' (2016 film), a 2016 British film * ''Away'' (2019 film), a 2019 animated silent film * ''Away'' (TV series), a 2020 science fiction drama on Netflix Literature * ''Away'' (play), a 1986 play by M ...

'' and ''Strange Fruit'' at the

Sydney Theatre Company Sydney Theatre Company (STC) is an Australian theatre company based in Sydney, New South Wales. The company performs in The Wharf Theatre at Dawes Point in The Rocks area of Sydney, as well as the Roslyn Packer Theatre (formerly Sydney Thea ...

; '' The Female of the Species'' at the Melbourne Theatre Company; '' Woyzeck'' (

Helpmann award The Helpmann Awards are accolades for live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Live Performance Australia (LPA) since 2001. The annual awards recognise achievements in the disciplines of musical th ...

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

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

'' with Bell Shakespeare 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 D ...

, 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 states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

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, i ...

festival. In 2010, Novakovic received an AFI nomination for International Award for Best Actress for her role in '' Edge of Darkness''. 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 Rake may refer to: * Rake (stock character), a man habituated to immoral conduct * Rake (theatre), the artificial slope of a theatre stage Science and technology * Rake receiver, a radio receiver * Rake (geology), the angle between a feature on a ...

'', which was cancelled after one season. In 2015, she portrayed Clare Hitchens in ''

The Hallow ''The Hallow'' (originally titled ''The Woods'') is a 2015 horror film directed by Corin Hardy, written by Hardy and Felipe Marino, and starring Joseph Mawle, Bojana Novakovic, Michael McElhatton, and Michael Smiley. It is a British-Irish co-pro ...

'', 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)