Australians in Film Name 7th Annual Heath Ledger Scholarship Finalists

Rose Byrne, Ben Mendelsohn, Vince Vaughn are among judges for this year’s awards

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Australians in Film has announced the 2015 finalists for the Heath Ledger Scholarship, which fosters the education and career development of emerging Australian actors within the U.S.

The recipients of the seventh annual scholarship, including a main prize winner and two runners up, will be announced on Monday, June 1 at the Sunset Marquis Hotel in West Hollywood, California.

Rose Byrne, Ben Mendelsohn and Vince Vaughn are among the judges of this year’s scholarship, along with executive producer Adam Schroeder (“Zoolander,” “Sleepy Hollow,” “Clueless”), directors Kieran Darcy-Smith (“Wish You Were Here,” “By Way of Helena”) and Gregor Jordan (“Ned Kelly,” “Two Hands”), Australian-based casting director Ann Fay, and Emmy award winning casting director Laray Mayfield.

“This is the seventh remarkable year of the Australians in Film Heath Ledger Scholarship and as with every year, the entries have been extraordinary,” Heath’s father, Kim Ledger said. “I want to personally wish everyone who has been selected as a finalist the very best of luck in the lead up to the awards.”

The Heath Ledger Scholarship was founded in 2008 to honor the “Dark Knight” actor, who died in January of that year, and has since emerged as an important tool for highlighting Australian talent.

The primary recipient will receive two return flights to Los Angeles on Virgin Australia; including attendance at the announcement ceremony and a second flight when they are ready to break the market in LA, a two year scholarship at Stella Adler Academy of Acting and Theatre in Los Angeles, a 7-day California trip from Visit California, $5,000 worth of Visa and Immigration services from Raynor & Associates, a complimentary lifetime membership to StarNow and $10,000 cash, affording the winner the opportunity to establish themselves in the heart of the entertainment industry.

The 2015 finalists are:

Mojean Aria (“Hybrids”)

David Berry (“A Place to Call Home”)

Shareena Clanton (“Wentworth”)

Emilie Cocquerel (“An Accidental Soldier”)

Ashleigh Cummings (“Puberty Blues,” “Gallipoli,” “Galore”)

Taylor Ferguson (“The Turning,” “Strangerland”)

James Fraser (“Devil’s Playground,” “Deadline Gallipoli,” “The Water Diviner”)

Reef Ireland (“Puberty Blues,” “Wentworth”), Joel Jackson (“Deadline Gallipoli,” “Peter Allen: Not the Boy Next Door”)

Travis Jeffrey (“Unbroken,” “Gallipoli”)

Matt Levett (“A Place to Call Home,” “Devil’s Playground”

Brandon McClelland (“Anzac Girls”)

Arianwen Parkes-Lockwood (“A Place to Call Home”)

Jordan Patrick Smith (“Neighbours,” “Unbroken,” “Banished”

Adele Perovic (“The Code”)

TJ Power (“Underbelly,” “The Sapphires,” “The Little Death”)

Harry Richardson (“Looking for Grace”)

Millie Samuels (“The Gods of Wheat Street,” “Around the Block”)

Lily Sullivan (“Mental,” “Puberty Blues,” “Galore”)

Geraldine Viswanathan (“Dysfunktion”)

Reef Ireland, Ashleigh Cummings, Millie Samuels, James Fraser and TJ Power have all been Heath Ledger Scholarship finalists in previous years.

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