A South African-born actress has much to celebrate after landing her a lead role in an upcoming Hollywood film, opposite Avatar hunk and actor, Sam Worthington.

Cape Town-born actress Lesley-Ann Brandt, who emigrated to New Zealand during her teen years, has bagged the lead female role opposite Worthington in the Australian surfing film, Drift.

Brandt is expected to the play the role of a Hawaiian surfer girl Lani, the object of affection in a love triangle, in Drift. The movie, which is set 1972, tells the story of the Fisher brothers as they start a new life in a remote Australian coastal town. Here the Fisher brothers come up against suspicious locals, killer waves and ruthless bikers as they struggle to kick-start a new business based on surfing.

This is the first lead role in a Hollywood film for Brandt, who has been in LA for the past few years. 

Currently, Brandt is busy shooting a shooting a television movie, The Last Stand opposite Mission Impossible actor, Ving Rhames. 

Speaking to me exclusively from LA, Brandt said she's excited to commence filming alongside Worthington. "I am currently learning how to surf and it's been a lot of fun. I am having such a great time preparing for the role and I can't wait to work with Sam," she said.

But before she heads out to Perth, Australia in a few weeks, she must still complete her current production alongside, Rhames and Taryn Manning (Hustle & Flo). 

“In The Last Stand, I play Cassie, she's a bit of a bad ass with a Katana sword, and I am putting my gladiator boot camp training to  in this movie."

Brandt, grew up in Greenhaven in Athlone, Cape Town before moving to Auckland in New Zealand in 1999 with her parents and brother. In Cape Town, Brandt attended Pinelands High School and Gardens Commercial High. Once in New Zealand, Brandt pursued a career in modelling before she got bitten by the acting bug!

Lesley-Ann with R&B singer Ne-Yo behind the scenes on CSI:NY

In 2009, she bagged her first role in the TV series Diplomatic Immunity before landing her first huge role in Spartacus: Blood and Sand. Last year, Brandt decided to move to Los Angeles to pursue a career in Hollywood and it's paid off in a big way.

"I first came to Los Angeles just as Spartacus Blood and Sand was about to air on Starz. I took a bunch of meetings with managers, agents, casting directors etc. I then went back to NZ as I was offered a guest role on Legend of the Seeker and then returned to Los Angeles as I was offered a supporting role in an independent feature "Insight" starring Christopher Lloyd (Doc from Back to the Future) and Natalie Zea (Justified), and ended up getting my visa this way. I was due to return to Spartacus for the prequel season Gods of the Arena and completed that in November 2010. The second season had not been green lit, so I basically had no job and on that basis I decided to move out to Los Angeles permanently.

While her role alongside Worthington in Drift, which is currently in pre-production, may be her big break in Hollywood, Brandt has already been making waves on the Hollywood TV scene. She's already bagged roles in Legend of the Seeker and Chuck and has a recurring role in the current season of CSI: NY. She said, working on these show was "a dream come true".

"I booked Chuck the second week I arrived in Los Angeles and auditioned for CSI:NY while I was filming Chuck. I booked CSI:NY and in order to make the schedule work, I had to film both show's on one of the days so in the morning I played a kidnapped victim in CSI and then in the afternoon I morphed into a Moroccan rebel with an army of hot babes.....I love my job."

Harper Hill and Lesley-Ann on the set of CSI:NY

If that's not all, Brandt's also just completed a guest role on Memphis Beat which is Jason Lee's (the lead actor from my name is Earl) new show as well as two feature films, Duke starring Carmine Giovinazzo from CSI: NY and A Beautiful Soul starring Harry Linnex from the Matrix.

Living in Hollywood has allowed Brandt to reminisce about South Africa. “The weather reminds me so much of Cape Town in summer. I think the key to surviving LA in my line of work is to make sure you have good friends around you and I really do. It can be tough at times and I think any foreigner will take some time getting acclimated, but I really love my life here.”

Brandt, whose last visit to SA was in 2007, still has a lot of family in Cape Town and is keen to return to visit, once her busy schedule permits her to do so. “I have all my extended family back home and tons of friends. I miss them all dearly. "

Follow Lesley-Ann Brandt on Twitter 

Visit her IMDB page

PHOTO CREDITS: LAURA BYRNES at PINUP GIRL AND SUPPLIED.

- This article was also published on Channel 24.