The making of Ruby Rose: How MTV VJ-turned-DJ became a Hollywood star after risking everything when she couldn't get an acting job in Australia

By Nic White For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 10:48 EST, 7 August 2016 | Updated: 02:40 EST, 8 August 2016

She's the Australian actress whose star is fast rising in Hollywood with a trio of blockbuster films due to hit cinemas.

And despite currently being stuck down by a bout of tonsillitis, Ruby Rose is generally speaking, the 'happiest and healthiest (she’s) ever been' - thanks to her intense training regimes for action films like xX:x: The Return of Xander Cage.

Off-screen, the 30-year-old even has a blissful relationship with model Harley Gusman and her fame has reached the stratospheric status where she can count Taylor Swift among her friends after making the cut for the singer's all-star squad.

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Rising star: Ruby Rose claims she could not find work as an actor because she was too well-established as a VJ on MTV Australia - and had to move to the US to get a start

Rising star: Ruby Rose claims she could not find work as an actor because she was too well-established as a VJ on MTV Australia - and had to move to the US to get a start

But just three years ago Ruby Rose could not find work as an actor because she was too well-established as a VJ on MTV Australia - and had to move to the US to get a start.

‘I couldn’t get an acting job in Australia because nobody was ever going to believe me as anything except Ruby Rose,’ she told the Daily Telegraph.

The heavily tattooed artist signed with MTV aged 21 and after a short stint as a singer, turned her hand at DJing with regular performer on the club circuit.

But secretly, Ruby wanted to swap spinning discs for the silver screen.

However, when she tried for a role she was turned down – even for the remake of Australian prison drama Wentworth, which is ironic given her eventual big break in Tinsletown came on Netflix's prison drama Orange Is The New Black.

Wrong profession? The heavily tattooed artist signed with MTV aged 21 and soon became a DJ on the club circuit, but secretly wanted to swap spinning discs for the silver screen

Wrong profession? The heavily tattooed artist signed with MTV aged 21 and soon became a DJ on the club circuit, but secretly wanted to swap spinning discs for the silver screen

Everything but acting: Ruby (left) even hosted the 2010 Winter Olympics despite not knowing anything about them and admits to fudging through her commentary

Everything but acting: Ruby (left) even hosted the 2010 Winter Olympics despite not knowing anything about them and admits to fudging through her commentary

Instead she got a radio show, a clothing brand, and even hosted the 2010 Winter Olympics, despite not knowing anything about them and admits to fudging through her commentary.

Fed up, the 30-year-old dropped everything and moved to Los Angeles in 2013, sleeping on a blow-up mattress in a rental with only her rescue dog Ru for company.

Still she ‘couldn’t get her foot in the door’ for the first year or two, until she decided to get some attention by making a short film with friends called Break Free.

Start: To get roles in the U.S. she made a short film with friends called Break Free that showed her transform from a blonde bombshell to resemble a heavily tattooed, short-haired man

Big break: Ruby caught the attention of OITNB creator Jenji Kohan, who cast her in nine episodes as Stella (pictured)

Big break: Ruby caught the attention of OITNB creator Jenji Kohan, who cast her in nine episodes as Stella (pictured)

Shot in front of a mirror, it showed her transform from a blonde bombshell to resemble a heavily tattooed, short-haired man by cutting her hair and stripping away her makeup.

It went viral with 20 million hits on YouTube and caught the attention of OITNB creator Jenji Kohan, who cast her in nine episodes as Stella.

Then work came thick and fast, and Ruby is soon to appear in xXx: The Return of Xander Cage with Vin Diesel; Resident Evil: The Final Chapter with Milla Jovovich; John Wick 2 with Keanu Reeves.

Just this past week another blockbuster role was announced for the Australian starlet, who is set to star opposite Jason Statham in Meg.

Career explosion: Then work came thick and fast, and Ruby is soon to appear in xXx: The Return of Xander Cage (pictured with co-star Toni Collette) and other big action flicks

Career explosion: Then work came thick and fast, and Ruby is soon to appear in xXx: The Return of Xander Cage (pictured with co-star Toni Collette) and other big action flicks

‘I literally had two and half years of tumbleweed, but now it’s the complete opposite,’ she told the publication, adding: ‘I don’t feel famous. None of the films are out yet, so it’s the calm before the storm. Nothing has really changed.’

But she has no regrets about not making the move earlier, saying if she had hit Hollywood earlier it may not have worked out as well as it is.

‘Working so hard for [success] again made me really care about it more and think about what I do and who I want to be. I don’t think I would have been able to do that at 23,’ she said.

Famous: Her fame has even reached the stratospheric status where she can count Taylor Swift (left) among her friends and is part of her all-star girl squad

Famous: Her fame has even reached the stratospheric status where she can count Taylor Swift (left) among her friends and is part of her all-star girl squad

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