Exclusive: Meet the 'new Nicole Kidman' – why all eyes are on Sydney teen Alyla Browne

EXCLUSIVE: Young Aussie actress Alyla Browne may be just 16-years-old, but she's already been dubbed the "new Nicole Kidman" ahead of her next big film.

It's the perfect title for the Sydney school teen who played Kidman's daughter in 2021 drama Nine Perfect Strangers, and young Furiosa alongside Chris Hemsworth in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024).

"It was really insane," she said about filming with Hemsworth. "He had his fake nose on and that's how I knew him."

Want the official inside scoop on MAFS, unfiltered and unseen? Watch After The Dinner Party here.

The role earned Browne an AACTA nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

"But Chris was really nice and he was really sweet to me on set," Browne recalled as she looked back on the "crazy" stunts she did for the blockbuster film.

Now Browne's swimming with whale sharks (and unexpectedly, tiger sharks) in new underwater Aussie adventure, Whale Shark Jack, on Whale Shark Jack.

The Stan Original Film Whale Shark Jack premieres April 2, only on Stan.

"It's almost like looking at the new Nicole Kidman!" Today host Karl Stefanovic reacted as he chatted with the rising star about her new movie.

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Browne was thrown in the deep end, quite literally, for the exciting role.

She took up a free-diving course, learned to hold her breath for two minutes static, and got her boat licence to play fearless 12-year-old Sarah, who was raised on the sea and off the remote coastal town of Exmouth, in Western Australia.

Catch a first look here:

On top of "wrangling emus" and multiple jellyfish stings, Browne recalled "beautiful encounters" with a real whale shark while filming, on top of one terrifying experience.

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"I was diving and getting some footage with our underwater cameraman and I was just minding my own business," she began.

"I got out, waited around for 10 minutes thinking maybe we can go find a whale shark and I found out there was actually a tiger shark within 100 metres of me while I was filming.

"Like a big tiger shark! So that was pretty tough," she laughed.

Filmed in the beautiful coastal town of Exmouth, with a population of about 3,195, the movie follows her character Sarah's new life on land after an unexpected tragedy, before embarking on a risky mission to find an endangered whale shark named Jack.

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The family film brings the magic of WA's Ningaloo Reef and Exmouth to life.

In real-life, the tourist town located about 1200 kilometres from Perth, bore the brunt of ex-tropical cyclone Narelle in the past week.

"It's so sad to see how [Exmouth] is in trouble right now," said Browne. The community is so strong and it's all bouncing back."

"It's my favourite place on earth now and it's got a really great community. Just the red desert meeting this beautiful Gatorade-blue ocean, it's something you never see anywhere else on this planet.

"I think that's a really special thing to be able to say about a place. It was really, really beautiful."

The Stan Original Film Whale Shark Jack premieres April 2, only on Stan.

Nine Entertainment Co (the publisher of this website) owns and operates the streaming service Stan

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