Clara Voda – “Rada”

 

Having studied a Masters of Acting at Romania’s National University of Theatre and Film, Clara Voda has forged a distinguished career in European film and theatre. Her fluency in English, Spanish, French and Romanian has helped expand her career internationally.

 

Clara’s credits include If I Want to Whistle I Whistle (Winner of the Berlinale Silver Bear), The Death of Mister Lazarescu (awarded the Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival), Night Falls in India, and Pop-Up. She has received GOPO and UCN awards in Romania, and received a nomination for Best Actress at the Malaga Film Festival, Spain.

 

Clara has extensive experience in theatre, with roles in Master Class (Terrence McNally), and The Triumph of Love (Pierre de Marivaux). She also has toured to theatre festivals in Italy, France, Spain, Columbia, Canada and USA with productions of The Lesson (Eugene Lonesco) and De Pretore Vincenzo (Eduardo de Filippo).

 

Clara relocated to Sydney, Australia from Bucharest, Romania in 2013. Pop-Up is her first starring role in an Australian film.

 

 

Greg Powell - "Neil"

 

Pop-Up is Greg Powell's third leading role in a feature film. His debut in Jackson's Crew during his teenage years was followed by the lead role in Stuart McBratney's film Spudmonkey. Stuart and Greg later teamed up to make Pop-Up.

 

Over the years, Greg has become a familiar face on Australian television, with innumerable roles in high-profile tv commercials including Subway, Keno, The Courier Mail, Brisbane Airport Parking, and Telstra. People recognising him in the street often ask whether they went to school together.

 

Many of Greg's tv roles have been of the zany variety, portraying characters like nerdy driving instructor Gerald, and Bob The Courier Guy - a long-running character for tv network Southern Cross Ten.

 

Greg is also a professional musician. His first band Red Surrender was a regular in Brisbane's live music scene, and he now works tirelessly with his wife Rose in Chi-Chi, keeping crowds dancing around Australia.  Having played over a thousand gigs as singer, keyboardist, rapper, and eternal comedian, Greg is the consumate entertainer - a valuable asset when things get too serious on set.

 

 

Eugene Gilfedder - “Mick”

 

If you’ve seen Australian theatre in the last few decades it’s likely you’ll recognise Eugene, an actor with 30 years of experience as a performer, writer, director and composer.

 

Born into a family of 10 children, Eugene and his siblings were encouraged to perform and experiment by his “bohemian” parents. As a child he would act out silent films for the family, moving rapidly to emulate the sped-up black and white moving pictures, while a sister accompanied him on piano.

 

Moving from Melbourne to Queensland at age 12, Eugene went on to complete a Bachelor of Arts with honours at the University of Queensland, throwing himself into classics, ancient history, philosophy, music and literature.

 

Having won five Matilda Awards, Eugene is inarguably one of Australia’s most highly-regarded theatre performers, so he was a natural choice for the demanding role of Mick in Pop-Up. Since wrapping the shoot, he has performed in Death and The Maiden and The Stranger at the Sydney Theatre Company.

 

 

Brenton Prince – “Sam”

 

Brenton Prince was born in Newcastle, Australia, and grew up surfing the city's reef and beach breaks. He started playing rugby league at the age of 8 and would later become a junior Newcastle representative footballer with a promising future in the sport.

 

After a few setbacks which resulted in a "lack of passion" for the game, his mother suggested he should have a try at acting. After attending a NIDA workshop, he caught the acting bug and set out to pursue a career as a professional actor. He joined an amateur theatre group in Sydney and performed various plays in and around the city where his passion for performing grew.

 

Looking to further his training and enhance his craft, Brenton applied for a 2 year intense acting program at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York City and was accepted. After graduating in 2010 Brenton returned to Sydney and has been working as a professional actor since. His most noted roles to date include playing Jay Gatsby's head security guard in Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby, and playing Sam in Pop-Up.