An act of rebellion: How Rebel Wilson took Hollywood by storm

With a name like Rebel, you’d expect the Sydney-born actor and comedian to be a fighter. And so it has proved. Her first US movie part was in Bridesmaids (2011). She turned up at director Paul Feig’s audition as a no-hoper and parlayed an hour’s worth of wacky improv into a role for herself. “Rebel’s energy was so funny and odd,” said Feig. “We kept thinking, ‘What can we do with her?’” What he did was to create a role just for her. On set, Feig knew he’d done the right thing; “She was just going for it.”

Bridesmaids proved Hollywood naysayers wrong by showing a female-led movie could laugh its way to international success – and eventually, a franchise. In the film, Wilson’s customised role was that of Brynn, sister to Little Briton Matt Lucas’ Gil, roles they took to heart when they moved in together in West Hollywood. Best buddies, they’d share washing up duties and annoy neighbours by singing show tunes very loudly. Wilson even made an uncredited appearance as Little Britain loudmouth Vicky Pollard in Lucas’ TV series Pompidou. So close were they that chat show host David Letterman once confused her with Lucas during an on-air interview.

Now on directors’ casting lists, Wilson soon fetched up with Kirsten Dunst, Lizzy Caplan and Isla Fisher in the rom com Batchelorette (2012). But it was with another Bechdel-busting movie, Pitch Perfect (2012) that she really began to hit the high notes. A post-Glee, all-female singalong comedy which was unafraid to go rogue and rude, Pitch Perfect (2012) took a cappella group ‘The Barden Bellas’ from regional heats to the big time with a breakout performance by Wilson as Fat Amy, “the best singer in Tasmania. With teeth”.

Wilson had arrived. No question. Never scared to lob a feisty or humorous quote to journalists, in 2015 she found herself on the sharp end of a Bauer Media published Australian magazine called Woman’s Day, who accused her of being dishonest about her age, that she wasn’t related to Walt Disney and suggested that Rebel wasn’t even her real name. As the story spread, Wilson claimed portraying her as a liar began to put a drag on her career, even causing her to lose parts. She decided to draw a line and sued for defamation. In 2017 a judge at the Melbourne supreme court awarded her £2.7m in damages. Said Wilson: "I had to stand up to a bully, a huge media organisation, Bauer Media, who maliciously took me down in 2015 with a series of grubby and completely false articles”.

Now with the release of Pitch Perfect 3 and the forthcoming Nasty Women, a gender-flipping remake of Michael Caine and Steve Martin’s Dirty Rotten Scoundrels with Wilson and Anne Hathaway taking the role of the con men, no one would bet against the 37 year old now. Said chat show host Conan O’Brien; “She’s authentic … In her quiet way, you can’t believe the balls on this girl. She has an incredible will”.