Tammin Sursok ‘blew up’ her successful career for a shot in Hollywood. She was met with a brutal reality

Exclusive: The moment she found musical success in Australia, Tammin Sursok “blew it up” for a chance to become a Hollywood star. She never expected what would happen next. 

In 2005, the lead single from the actress’s debut album, Whatever Will Be, surged to platinum status locally. Yet just as she was about to release her second single, Sursok, who was 21 at the time, abruptly quit.

“I had this massive moment of, ‘What am I doing? I need to be in America right now making movies or TV shows’,” the 42-year-old explained in an exclusive chat with nine.com.au.

“I literally blew up my music career, just like that, and I went to the States.”

Sursok had enjoyed a successful stint as Dani Sutherland on Home and Away from 2000 to 2004, but she left for Los Angeles at age 21 in the hopes of landing even bigger roles. 

Although she thought it would be a dream come true, she instead found an industry that was brutal, toxic, and almost left her broke. 

“Artists every month are thinking, ‘OK, this is the month that I’m going to have no money,’ she said. 

“To be able to make money doing art is so rare; there’s less than one per cent [of actors] that work just doing their art, so you are always constantly thinking, ‘This will be my last thing.’

“You’re always one gig away from not knowing what you’re going to do.” 

Sursok said although many thought Hollywood was full of creative projects and constant opportunities, the reality was far more volatile. 

“You’re hot for a second, and then you’re not,” she said.

Sursok, who is a mum to Phoenix, 12, and Lennox, seven, said that having children added an extra layer of financial and mental stress as she tried to crack into the film industry. 

“Was I ever on the street? No, but there were definitely tough times. There was a period of my life when my kids were younger… that was really tough.

“I was figuring out what it’s like to be a mum and an artist and a woman.

“When you have kids, you kind of have to take a step back.

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“I was still really trying to be a career woman, I didn’t know how I was going to be able to do both and do both well.

“Now I realise that you can have everything you want… you just can’t have it at the same time.”

Los Angeles is a city full of glitz and glamour, but budding actors and entertainers often refer to the industry’s “dark side” when they move there.

Sursok told nine.com.au even though she was never a participant, she saw some crazy things during her time in LA that left her with a sour taste in her mouth. 

“I was never a party girl; I never tried drugs, because I was worried – what if something happened?” she explained.

“But I will say, I knew it was going on. I had seen parties where there were drugs on platters in America and Australia,” she said.

While Hollywood was the opposite of what she’d expected, Sursok eventually carved herself a highly successful TV career.

She notably played Jenna Marshall in Pretty Little Liars and fun-loving bikini model Sienna in Hannah Montana. 

Yet, securing those breakthrough roles required surviving a brutal audition process.

In fact, Sursok reveals her initial reading for Pretty Little Liars was nothing short of a disaster. 

“It was the worst audition I’ve ever done in my entire career,” she said.

“It was bad to the point where I called my husband, who was my boyfriend at the time, and I said, ‘I’m done, I’m not acting any more’.

“It was so bad that I said in the [audition] room, ‘That was so bad, I’m gonna leave right now’, they laughed and probably thought, ‘Oh my god, she’s so funny,’ but I left.” 

“To this day, it was the worst audition I’ve ever done.”

Sursok ended up handing TV bosses a show reel tape after the pilot episode was shot, and was eventually offered the role of Jenna.

Even with major global titles under her belt, Sursok recently reminded fans that Hollywood heartbreak is a constant.

In April this year, she shared a tearful video on social media about being rejected from an acting job, saying it “never gets easier”. 

The video blew up, with dozens of famous actors commenting messages of support including Jennifer Garner, Kerry Washington, Jennifer Lopez and Kristin Chenoweth. 

Nowadays, Sursok has largely  transitioned behind the camera. 

Alongside her husband, Sean McEwen, she is now producing independent films under their banner, Charlie Baby Productions.

The pair recently wrapped up their latest project, featuring mega-stars James Franco and Cara Delevingne, which Sursok said was “ten years in the making”. 

“I think it almost killed my husband,” she said.

“It was so hard, indie filmmaking is not with a production…you’re the person who’s bringing in the financing, and if anything goes wrong, it’s on your head.

“One day, it was really hot, about 42 degrees Celsius… people were passing out.

“There was just a lot going on…that project was really difficult. No one sees that, they just see the finished product.” 

Now, nearly two decades after stepping out of the recording booth, Sursok is finally ready to reclaim her musical roots, revealing a big career change to nine.com.au.

She’s coming back to where it all started − a return to music. 

“I have an entire new album that’s already written,” she revealed.

“I wrote it all in Nashville,” she revealed. 

“All the songs are written, it’s all done!”

Sursok says the album is in the singer-songwriter genre with “a bit of country twang,” as the double-threat takes inspiration from her new home city, Nashville.  

“I do think that that’s why I end up in Nashville,” she added with a smile.