Vampire Diaries actress Phoebe Tonkin is featured in Harper’s Bazaar The Young Actor’s Portfolio. The magazine chatted with the actress on the characters she plays in TV and movies.

“I really love playing strong, ballsy characters, whether on television or film,” she says. “It’s strange, I used to only get cast as the naive girl next-door, but then something happened and now the only call-backs I get are, like, the vixen or the mistress … the ones that cause trouble. Something happened when I turned 21.” She lets out a laugh.

Tonkin lives in LA, but is keen to return to Australia for work: “Being US-based is great, and we have a bit of an Aussie crew,” she says of mates such as Teresa Palmer (with whom she started wellness website yourzenlife.com), “but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t come home. I would love to do more work in Australia there. I’d jump at the chance to come back.”

Buy the February issue of Harper’s BAZAAR to read the full Young Actor’s Portfolio. From bouts of Puberty Blues to joining Gatsby’s gang, Australia’s new wave of actors – Isabelle Cornish, Khan Chittenden, Sean Keenan, Sarah Snook, Callan McAuliffe and Phoebe Tonkin – is making its talents count.