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Geraldine Viswanathan

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Geraldine Viswanathan
Viswanathan in 2018
Born (1995-06-20) 20 June 1995 (age 29)
Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
OccupationActress
Years active2014–present

Geraldine Indira Viswanathan (/ˌvɪswəˈnɑːθən/ VISS-wə-NAH-thən;[1][2] born 20 June 1995)[3] is an Australian actress, comedian, writer and producer. She gained attention in the role of Kayla in the 2018 film Blockers,[4] for which Refinery29 referred to her as "the film's breakout star".[5] Viswanathan starred in the 2019 coming-of-age film Hala,[6] as well as Bad Education.[7] She also played a recurring role in the Australian series Janet King, and stars in the TBS comedy anthology Miracle Workers (2019–2023).[8][9]

Early life

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Viswanathan's father, Suresh Viswanathan, is a doctor who works in nuclear medicine and is of Indian Tamil descent.[10] Her mother, Anja Raith, is from Switzerland[11] and was raised by a father who was a filmmaker and ballet dancer.[12][13][14] Raith attended musical theatre school in London before getting married and settling down in Newcastle. She is an artist.

Viswanathan grew up with a younger sister and a deep love of horses and animals.[10][15] She attended the Hunter School of the Performing Arts, Newcastle, where she was in drama class.[10][15]

When she was fifteen, Viswanathan and her family spent some time in Los Angeles, California, where she went through the process of securing a manager with the hopes of obtaining Disney and Nickelodeon roles.[16]

In 2015, Viswanathan was shortlisted for the Heath Ledger Scholarship.[10] While studying International Studies and Journalism, she did stand up and sketch comedy in Sydney. [16]

Career

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At the age of four, Viswanathan appeared in a Kodak television commercial.[10] In 2016, she appeared in Emo the Musical and went to Los Angeles for her first pilot season.[10][17] In 2017, Viswanathan joined the cast of ABC's drama series Janet King in the role of Bonnie.

Viswanathan was once a reader in casting rooms, and was the reader for the Australian casting process for Crazy Rich Asians.[10]

Her big break came in 2018, when she was cast in the movie Blockers. In the same year, she was cast in the Netflix film The Package and the drama film Hala which went to Sundance Film Festival. The Hollywood Reporter included her in its "Next Gen Talent" list as one of "20 rising stars among the blockbuster breakouts and small-screen discoveries who are shaking up the industry".[10]

In 2019, Viswanathan was cast in the anthology series Miracle Workers.[18][19] In 2019, Viswanathan played Rachel in the film Bad Education, which is based on a true story of an embezzlement scandal. She received critical acclaim at the Toronto International Film Festival for the film, which received two Emmy nominations.[10][15]

Viswanathan starred in The Broken Hearts Gallery (2020). The film was due to be released in the summer of 2020, but was postponed to September due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[15] In the film, she stars as the heroine Lucy, a gallery assistant who struggles to give up items from past relationships.[10][15][20] About the film, she noted that she feels fortunate to represent brown girls on screen, and appreciated that her mother in the film is blonde and looks a lot like her real mother.[15]

Viswanathan provided the voice of Tawnie in season six of BoJack Horseman.[16]

In October 2021, she was cast in the psychological thriller film Cat Person, based on the short story by Kristen Roupenian published in 2017 in The New Yorker.[21]

In January 2022, Viswanathan was cast in the film The Beanie Bubble, co-directed by Kristin Gore and Damian Kulash.[22]

In January 2024, Viswanathan was cast in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Thunderbolts*, replacing the role previously held by Ayo Edebiri. The film is scheduled to be released on 5 May 2025.[23]

Filmography

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Key
† Denotes films that have not yet been released
Film work by Geraldine Viswanathan
Year Title Role Notes
2016 Emo the Musical Jamali
All Out Dysfunktion! Vizzie
2018 Blockers Kayla Mannes
The Package Becky Abelar
2019 Hala Hala Masood
Bad Education Rachel Bhargava
2020 The Broken Hearts Gallery Lucy Gulliver
2021 7 Days[24] Rita Also executive producer
Rumble Winnie Coyle (voice)
2023 Cat Person Taylor
The Beanie Bubble Maya
2024 Drive-Away Dolls Marian
2025 Oh, Hi[25] Post-production
You're Cordially Invited † Jenni Post-production[26]
Thunderbolts* † Mel Post-production
Television work by Geraldine Viswanathan
Year Title Role Notes
2015 Lost Angels Sarah
2017 The Y2K Bug Addison Episode: "High School River"
Janet King Bonnie Mahesh Recurring role (series 3), 8 episodes
2018 Nippers of Dead Bird Bay Episode: "The Riff Raff"
2019–2023 Miracle Workers Eliza Hunter (season 1)
Alexandra "Allie" Shitshoveler (season 2)
Prudence Aberdeen (season 3)
Freya Exaltada (season 4) 		Main cast
2019–2020 BoJack Horseman Tawnie (voice) Recurring role (season 6), 3 episodes
2021 Saturday Morning All Star Hits! Lottie Wolfe 3 episodes
2022 Three Busy Debras Narrator (voice) 8 episodes

References

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  1. ^ "John Legend; April Ryan; and Geraldine Viswanathan. Also: Jon Epcar sits-in with the 8G Band". Late Night with Seth Meyers. NBC. 26 February 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  2. ^ "Dacre Montgomery & Geraldine Viswanathan Teach You Australian Slang". Vanity Fair. YouTube. 5 August 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  3. ^ "Blockers Star Geraldine Viswanathan On The Crucial Scene That Nearly Didn't Happen". MTV. Archived from the original on 10 April 2018.
  4. ^ Schwartz, Dana (5 April 2018). "'Blockers' star Geraldine Viswanathan learned how to act drunk from Anne Hathaway". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  5. ^ "Introducing Geraldine Viswanathan, Blockers' Breakout Star". Refinery29.
  6. ^ Catsoulis, Jeannette (21 November 2019). "'Hala' Review: Girl, Disrupted". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  7. ^ Kroll, Justin (10 July 2018). "Hugh Jackman's 'Bad Education' Adds 'Blockers' Star Geraldine Viswanathan (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  8. ^ Coleman, Nancy (16 September 2020). "Geraldine Viswanathan on Karaoke and Lizzo Dance Breaks". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  9. ^ N'Duka, Amanda (24 April 2017). "'Big Little Lies' Kathryn Newton, Gideon Adlon & Geraldine Viswanathan Make 'ThPact'". Deadline. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rockman, Lisa (6 July 2019). "Geraldine Viswanathan is making waves in Hollywood". Newcastle Herald. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  11. ^ "The 14 most talked-about international actors of South Asian origin we saw on our screens in 2020". Vogue. 17 December 2020. Archived from the original on 3 November 2021. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  12. ^ Jones, Isabel (22 April 2020). "Bad Education Transported Geraldine Viswanathan Back to the "Most Unflattering Fashion Period"". InStyle. Archived from the original on 25 October 2021. Retrieved 27 January 2021. Some people think I'm Malaysian and Swedish, but I'm Indian and Swiss and born in Australia.
  13. ^ Kannan, Indira (27 September 2019). "Crossover star: Hala actor Geraldine Viswanathan is making waves at TIFF". Business Standard India. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  14. ^ "Ashanti Omkar - Geraldine Viswanathan - BBC Sounds". BBC Asian Network. 10 January 2021.
  15. ^ a b c d e f "Meet Geraldine Viswanathan, a Leading Lady With Perfect Comic Timing". W. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  16. ^ a b c Guerrasio, Jason. "How Geraldine Viswanathan went from a scene stealer in 'Blockers' to rom-com queen in 'The Broken Hearts Gallery'". Business Insider. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  17. ^ "Jamali". Emo The Musical. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  18. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (14 November 2017). "Geraldine Viswanathan, Jon Bass, Karan Soni Join TBS Comedy 'Miracle Workers'". Deadline.
  19. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (14 November 2017). "Geraldine Viswanathan, Jon Bass, Karan Soni Join TBS Comedy 'Miracle Workers'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  20. ^ "Breaking Big: Why you'll fall in love with 'Broken Hearts Gallery' star Geraldine Viswanathan". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  21. ^ "Geraldine Viswanathan Joins Studiocanal and New Yorker Studios' 'Cat Person'".
  22. ^ Kroll, Justin (11 January 2022). "Apple Lands Feature Film 'The Beanie Bubble' Starring Zach Galifianakis, Elizabeth Banks, Sarah Snook And Geraldine Viswanathan". Deadline Hollywood.
  23. ^ Kroll, Justin (29 January 2024). "'Thunderbolts': Geraldine Viswanathan Joins Marvel Studios Pic Stepping In For Ayo Edebiri Who Departs Project Due To Scheduling". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 29 January 2024. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  24. ^ '7 Days': Film Review | Tribeca 2021
  25. ^ Sundance Film Festival Lineup 2025 Movies
  26. ^ Grobar, Matt (6 July 2022). "Will Ferrell-Reese Witherspoon Wedding Comedy From 'Bros' Director Nick Stoller Lands At Amazon". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 6 July 2022. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
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