Since Mia is not that busy nowadays, I’ve decided to update the gallery with few photoshoots. Thanks Meli, Elke and Cam for the help.

WERE someone to write a how-to guide to becoming a star, they might base it on Mia Wasikowska’s story.

At 15, the disillusioned dancer from Canberra decided to hang up her ballet shoes and pursue acting. So, after googling some agents and hounding one into taking her on (because she’d heard you needed one to work in film and TV), she landed a role in the now-defunct hospital series All Saints.

So far, so predictable. But this young star was destined to shine brighter. After a few outings in local films such as Suburban Mayhem and Rogue, the schoolgirl was whisked off to LA.

One TV drama later (In Treatment with Gabriel Byrne), she found herself acting alongside a James Bond (Daniel Craig in Defiance) and a two-time Academy Award winner (Hilary Swank in Amelia).

However, that all seems small fry when you consider her next part – the title role in Tim Burton’s upcoming Alice in Wonderland, opposite the director’s long-time actor of choice, Johnny Depp.

The 20-year-old Aussie’s name may be on a lot more people’s lips now, yet she seems neither concerned nor even that excited about the prospect of worldwide fame.

“Fame is useful in certain ways, because it helps you get more roles,” she says. “But I don’t want to take on everything I can get. I want to be selective about what I do.”

Yes, Wasikowska (pronounced Vash-i-kov-ska) is a rare breed in these fame-obsessed times – a star in the making (US film bible Variety tipped her as one of the top 10 actors to watch in 2008), who’s not really interested in becoming famous.

She may stay in luxurious hotels, dress up for award ceremonies and fly first class (“Depending on who I’m working for,” she laughs), but it’s the work that truly floats her boat.

“Primarily, it’s about acting,” she says firmly. “I love starting projects and being on set and filming. The part I find strangest is the stuff that accompanies it. But it’s a small sacrifice to make in order to do something I love.”

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Are you ready for a trip down the rabbit hole? Tim Burton, Johnny Depp and Disney are adding a strange new chapter to the Lewis Carroll classic with “Alice in Wonderland,” a film that presents a young woman who finds herself in the world of the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat and the Red Queen. She is welcomed as a returning visitor — but is she in fact the same Alice who roamed the trippy realm as a child? Time will tell. Here at the Hero Complex we’re counting down to the film’s March 5 release with daily coverage. Today it’s a conversation with Mia Wasikowska, the 20-year-old Aussie newcomer who plays the title role.

Geoff Boucher: The film is called “Alice in Wonderland,” but really this is neither a pure adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s writings nor a remake of previous films. This is a whole new story, correct?

Mia Wasikowska: It’s a completely different and new story, but it has a lot of the same characters in it. It has the same feel of the original stories, but it’s really fun to explore a story that goes further and imagines what all these characters would be like several years down the tracks. Alice doesn’t have a recollection of her first visit there. She’s gone back and is discovering this world and finding herself again in this place that she doesn’t even remember.

GB: There are very few directors who have a style and vision that is instantly recognizable — perhaps Woody Allen and Quentin Tarantino are on that list among contemporary filmmakers — but there’s no question that Tim Burton is at the very top of that list. If you walk into a theater where a Burton movie is playing, you know it right away. That must make him an intriguing figure for actors.

MW: Absolutely. It is so cool to be part of his vision, to be able to start a project and see it all the way through to the end. It’s almost like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I was such a fan of his films growing up, movies like “Edward Scissorhands” and “Ed Wood.” He has such a distinct style and a distinct sense of humor. And working with him it’s been such an amazing thing to see something first on the page and then watch it become real as he brings it to life. He has such a cool energy too.

GB: This movie took you into the world of green-screen moviemaking. I visited the set and it was a little disorientating just walking around in there; it messes up your depth of perception. Was it a struggle for you in any way?

MW: It is really strange. But Wonderland itself is bizarre and weird and comical and confusing, so it’s appropriate that, as you say, we were in this green-screen environment where it doesn’t always make sense to you. Things were just really odd and weird, and I suppose that was suitable to what we were working on. It put you in the right frame of mind. And it made you rely on your imagination more.

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Thanks to our beloved partner site, we were able to add new outtake from Glamour November issue. Mia looks so pretty, isn’t she?