Sonia Kruger pays tribute to her breakout role in Baz Luhrmann’s Strictly Ballroom as the iconic film celebrates its 32nd anniversary
Sonia Kruger reminisced on Tuesday as she paid tribute to her breakthrough role in Strictly Ballroom.
The TV host played Tina Sparkle in the 1992 romantic comedy directed by Baz Luhrmann, which celebrated its 32nd anniversary this week.
When Sonia posted some photos from the film on her Instagram, she found herself in tears thinking about the iconic movie.
“It was the film the whole world danced to! Happy 32nd Birthday Strictly Ballroom!” she wrote.
“It’s where his career started,” the 58-year-old previously told Ben O’Shea on The West is alive Luhrmann’s podcast.
“And the same goes for mine. If it wasn’t for that movie, I probably wouldn’t be on TV right now,” she added.
Sonia explained how she landed a speaking role in the film after initially being cast as an extra due to her background in ballroom dancing.
“I had heard from a friend that there was a campaign going on about ballroom dancing,” she said.
Sonia Kruger (pictured) took a stroll down memory lane on Tuesday as she paid tribute to her breakthrough role in Strictly Ballroom
“And because I was a professional dancer at that point, I thought they were going to use me as an extra, but I really wanted a role. So I went and found out who would cast the role.”
Sonia found out that Faith Martin was the casting agent and knocked on her door.
‘I said, “Hi, I’m Sonia, I’d really like a role!” And she said, “Well, there’s this character, Tina Sparkle, but we’re not going to cast him for another year.
“A year went by and I got a call to audition for Baz. So they kept their word.”
The TV host played Tina Sparkle in the 1992 romantic comedy directed by Baz Luhrmann – and the film celebrated its 32nd anniversary this week. Pictured in the film
“It was the film the whole world danced to! Happy 32nd Birthday Strictly Ballroom!” she wrote
The Dancing With The Stars host said that when she spoke to Baz he told her she was ‘perfect’ for the role of the clueless Tina Sparkle.
“And yet I only had six lines in the film,” Sonia said, laughing.
She explained that Baz replied: ‘Think about it, Brad Pitt only had six lines in Thelma and Louise and look what happened to him!’
The comedy stars Paul Mercurio as Scott Hastings, an Australian ballroom dancer who teams up with aspiring dancer Fran (Tara Morice) after his idiosyncratic style earns him the scorn of his conservative colleagues.
Together they wanted to win the national championship dance title and prove the Ballroom Confederation wrong when they say, “There are no new dance steps!”
Sonia also served as a ballroom advisor in the film, helping her fellow cast members learn to dance.