Bojana Novakovic

Bojana Novakovic
Novakovic in 2012
Born	Belgrade, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia
Nationality	Australian
Education	National Institute of Dramatic Art (BFA)
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1994–present

Bojana Novakovic (Serbian Cyrillic: Бојана Новаковић, Serbian: Bojana Novaković) is an Australian actress. She is known for starring in the police procedural television series Instinct (2018–2019).

In film, she has appeared in Drag Me to Hell (2009), Edge of Darkness (2010), Devil (2010), Generation Um... (2012), The Little Death (2014), I, Tonya (2017) and Birds of Prey (2020).

Early life

Novakovic was born in Belgrade, SR Serbia, 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 in 1999) and graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art with a bachelor's degree in dramatic arts in 2002.

Career

In 2003, Novakovic played Randa in the ABC mini-series Marking Time, a role which won her an AFI Award 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 (1999), Thunderstruck (2004), Solo (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 Drag Me to Hell (2009), Edge of Darkness (2009), Devil (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; Woyzeck (Helpmann award nomination for best supporting actress in 2009), Criminology (Green Room award 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 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, 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 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 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, 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

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1997	Blackrock	Tracy Warner
1999	Strange Fits of Passion	Jaya
2000	The Monkey's Mask	Tianna
2004	Thunderstruck	Anna
2006	Solo	Billie Finn
2006	The Optimists	Marina
2008	Seven Pounds	Julie
2009	Drag Me to Hell	Ilenka Ganush
2010	Edge of Darkness	Emma Craven
2010	Devil	Sarah Caraway
2010	Skinning	Mina
2011	Burning Man	Sarah
2012	Not Suitable for Children	Ava
2013	Charlie's Country	Parole Officer
2012	The King Is Dead!	Therese
2012	Generation Um...	Violet
2014	The Little Death	Maeve
2015	The Hallow	Clare Hitchens
2017	I, Tonya	Dody Teachman
2017	Beyond Skyline	Audrey
2018	Malicious	Lisa
2020	Birds of Prey	Erika Manson

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1997	Heartbreak High	Tasha	Episode: "6.29"
1998–1999	Wildside	Vildana Asimovic	Episodes: "1.29", "2.19"
1999	Big Sky	Leisa	Episode: "Desperate Measures"
1999	Murder Call	Sophie Misfud	Episode: "Bad Business"
1999	All Saints	Rachel Carpenter	Episode: "Ghosts of Christmas Past"
2000	Water Rats	Sarah Schreiber	Episode: "A Day to Remember (Break Your Heart)"
2003	Marking Time	Randa	TV miniseries
2004–2005	The Cooks	Raffa	Main role
2006	BlackJack: At the Gates	Nikki	TV film
2007–2009	Satisfaction	Tippi	Main role (seasons 1–2)
2014	Rake	Michaela 'Mikki' Partridge	Main role
2015	Casanova	Madame de Pompadour	TV film
2015	Agatha	Agatha	TV film
2015–2016	Shameless	Bianca Samson	Recurring role (season 5)
2016	Westworld	Marti	Episode: "The Stray"
2018–2019	Instinct	Det. Lizzie Needham	Main role, 24 episodes
2020	Operation Buffalo	Molly	Recurring role, 5 episodes
2021	MacGyver	Anya Vitez	Episode: "Jack + Kinematics + Safe Cracker + MgKNO3 + GTO"
2021	Love Me	Clara Mathieson	Main role
2024	Chicago P.D.	Josephine Petrovic	Episodes: "The Living and the Dead", "On Paper"

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
2004	Australian Film Institute	Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Television Drama or Comedy	Marking Time	Won
2008	ASTRA Awards	Most Outstanding Performance by an Actor – Female	Satisfaction	Nominated
2010	Australian Film Institute	Best Actress	Edge of Darkness	Nominated
2012	Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards	Best Actress – Leading Role	Burning Man	Nominated

External links

• Bojana Novakovic at IMDb