Emily Browning

The love interest is not a role Emily Browning ever hopes to land. “It’s just so boring—it kind of makes me feel a bit ill,” says the 22-year-old Australian actress, who’s best known for her performance as Violet in 2004’s Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. Browning gets her way in a pair of upcoming movies—even if they’re destined to make her parents feel a bit ill themselves. First, there’s Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch (March), an anime-inspired fantasy in which she plays a teenager whose wicked stepfather has her committed to an insane asylum. To escape her torment, she dreams up a world of brothels (much better!), samurai fighting, dragon slaying, and even song and dance. One week after wrapping Sucker Punch, Browning began filming Sleeping Beauty—not to be confused with the Disney classic. This version is about a creepy form of prostitution, in which women are drugged and unconscious while clients do things to them they won’t remember. “Everyone said, ‘You have to be naked,’” Browning recalls. “It was terrifying, but being able to push myself was really cool.” Now she just needs to win over Mom and Dad.