australian television information archive

Actor swaps books for horseback

BUDDING Brisbane actor Jovita Lee Shaw was in the middle of her final school exams when she had to swap her textbooks for a TV script.

The 19-year-old was taking her exams at Toowong College when she was offered an audition for the city-meets-country show McLeod's Daughters after having landed a few roles on children's TV shows.

"Somehow I made it through everything and I got to my final exam and that's when I got the call," she said.

The Paddington actor will hit our screens on Wednesday in her first appearance over four episodes of the popular Nine Network drama series.

She plays Kylie Buchanon, the sister of Becky's deceased boyfriend Brick Buchanon, who arrives to meet her brother's love.

"She's a bit of a lost soul I think," Shaw said.

She spent nearly two months in Adelaide filming her part on the series, which involved some stunt work on horseback.

Although she had never been taught to ride a horse, after two weeks training with animal handlers, Shaw was cantering and trotting along with the rest of the cast.

"So I was a little bit nervous but everyone was really welcoming and a lot of fun," she said.

Shaw plans to move to Sydney in the next few weeks to pursue her dream of working in television and film and she hopes to audition for drama academy NIDA.

By Emma Chalmers
Picture: Anthony Weate
April 19, 2003
The Courier Mail