“Intimidating” is how actress Lila McGuire describes preparing for the role of tennis legend, Evonne Goolagong Cawleyon screen.
“It was physically demanding, but I’ve never been fitter in my life,” she says of her preparation for Goolagong, the ABC iview series based on the true story of the world champion.
It’s not every day you get asked to take the place of a two-time Wimbledon champion, so the “netball girl”, who had never played tennis before, got to work.
There were training sessions with a tennis coach three times a week and numerous sessions with a personal trainer specializing in high-performance sport. A dietitian and a physiotherapist were also consulted.
But the Whadjuk and Ballardong Noongar actress found her experience as a Noongar dancer to be the best preparation of all, helping her “get into the physicality of Evonne”.
Lila McGuire says it was “incredibly surreal” to be offered the role of Evonne Goolagong Cawley. (ABC iView)
“(Noongar dancing) is very much about inhabiting the energy of the animal you are dancing for (and) paying close attention to how they move,” she says.
“It was a useful skill to translate how I move as Lila versus how I should move as Evonne.”
The pressure of playing a tennis legend
When McGuire first learned she would be playing Goolagong Cawley, she was “flooded with emotion” and immediately burst into tears.
“I felt like I was being offered the chance to make all my dreams come true,” she says.
Lila McGuire worked hard in the field to prepare for the role. (ABC iView)
But the pressure was not far away.
“For me, it was about remembering that she’s human, just like all of us. And not putting her on a pedestal,” McGuire said.
“She deserves to be on a pedestal, don’t get me wrong, but in order to connect with her journey and her story, I had to remember that she was just like me.
“She was a young black woman in her time.”
“I was always going to be an actor”
Much like Goolagong Cawley, McGuire grew up in regional Australia.
Too young to take the drama classes offered at her local high school, and without a dance school or local theater company to turn to, she spent her time watching films and cartoons while dreaming of becoming an actress.
“Mob dancing” as a child helped Lila McGuire embody the physique of the world champion. (ABC iView)
“When I was three, I was watching a movie – maybe it was Moulin Rouge – and I remember saying, ‘That’s what I want to do. I want to sing and I want to dance, and I want that to be my job. I want to play and I want to play,” McGuire recalled.
Further inspiration came from films like Bran Nue Dae and The Sapphires (also directed by Goolagong’s Wayne Blair).
“Seeing Jess Mauboy, Shari Sebbens, Miranda Tapsell and the OG – Deborah Mailman, who we love – on screen and being their excellent black selves was very important to me growing up, just because I didn’t have a lot of that representation on screen,” McGuire said.
“These films that showed the joy of black people, as well as the challenges we face in our daily lives, were extremely important to me.
“I think that plays a big role in my desire to become an actor, to be able to be that person for all the mob kids who need it.“
But that wasn’t enough to convince McGuire to immediately pursue an acting career. Instead, she worked odd jobs right out of high school.
“I didn’t believe in myself enough,” she says, until she enrolled in drama school.
“And that was it…I was always going to be an actor, and I just had to accept that for myself.”
Evonne Goolagong Cawley at Wimbledon in 1976. (Getty Images: Don Morley)
“Dream, believe, learn, achieve”
McGuire may have felt pressure stepping onto set for the first time, but for Goolagong Cawley it was just “weird.”
Despite the surreal feeling of having his life story immortalized on screen, the winner of seven Grand Slam titles says it’s also a “wonderful honour”.
Evonne Goolagong Cawley after winning the ladies’ singles final at Wimbledon in 1980. (Getty Images: Rob Taggart)
“It’s been nine years, but we’ve finally found all the right people to work on my life story and they’re doing a wonderful job,” says Goolagong Cawley.
“Throughout my tennis career, I’ve never really looked at myself. (This) will be the first time I’ll see myself. My doubles, anyway.”
Her biggest hope for Goolagong is that young audiences will be inspired by her story to pursue their own dreams.
“I started with an apple crate board (as a tennis racket) and banged for many hours against house walls, water tanks – any wall I could see,” says Goolagong Cawley.
“Throughout my life, my motto has been dream, believe, learn, achieve.”
“Stories that explore the beauty of our culture”
Like Goolagong Cawley, McGuire is excited to see the project come to life and reach audiences, especially the “young crowd.”
McGuire says the tennis legend’s story is one she would have loved to watch.
Lila McGuire fell in love with tennis while filming Goolagong. (Provided: Ben King)
“Stories that speak to the beauty of our culture, the hope we still have, our strength (and) the most beautiful and magical parts of our culture,” she says.
McGuire describes Goolagong Cawley as an incredible human forced to deal with the complexities of being the only Indigenous woman on the international tennis circuit at that time.
“What I want them to take away from this story is that you don’t have to do it alone… Lean on your people,” McGuire said.
“You can rely on your elders, you can find peace in your country, you can be vulnerable and honest with yourself while remaining true to yourself.”
Flow Goolagong free on ABC iview.
