The remake of the 1987 futuristic sci-fi thriller RoboCop features several recognizable stars such as Gary Oldman, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Keaton and Jay Baruchel. One name, however, deserves to be added to that list and her name is Abbie Cornish.
Cornish grew up on a 170-acre farm in Lochinvar, Australia. At age 13, she won a modeling contest through the Aussie magazine Dolly, which eventually led to her obtaining an agent and thus started her journey to becoming a star. When she was 15, she scored her first acting gig as a quadriplegic on the Australian Broadcasting Commission series Children’s Hospital. She starred in several Aussie television shows and made-for-television movies, but her lead role in the 2004 romantic drama Somersault made some heads turn. Cornish proved to be a relatively unpredictable actress, taking many different kinds of roles and making them her own. She made the transition from playing Bess in the historical film Elizabeth: The Golden Age to playing Bradley Cooper’s wife in the thriller Limitless to playing the dangerous hostage Sweat Pea in the action fantasy Sucker Punch without even batting an eye.
Set in 2028 Detroit, officer Alex Murphy, played by Joel Kinnaman, is severely injured and is turned into a part-man, part-cop crime fighter. Cornish plays his wife Clara who reluctantly agrees with the decision in order to save the life of her husband. OmniCorp, the corporation who turns Kinnaman into the machine, hopes to eventually start a nationwide movement, providing a RoboCop in every city. Unfortunately, they forget that there is still a man inside that machine and he has a different plan in mind. Robocop is in theaters now.
Sammi Brennan can be reached at samantha.brennan@spartans.ut.edu