Hollywood opens its door for Indiana Evans

Starlet on the rise: Indiana Evans.

Former Home and Away poppet Indiana Evans, who also starred in the remake of Blue Lagoon and ABC1 series Janet King, which is currently on air, has been cast opposite Hollywood stars Juliette Lewis and Ryan Phillippe in the US pilot series Secrets and Lies.

S can reveal the Aussie actress spent 48 hours after signing the contract waiting to get her passport back from the US consulate for her three-month visa on Thursday, so she could get on her flight in the afternoon to get on set in time.

She is due on the set of the US ABC-commissioned 10-part drama series tomorrow in North Carolina. The show is about a family man who finds the body of a young boy and quickly becomes the prime murder suspect, then has to clear his name.

Natasha Bassett.

The 23-year-old actress, fast gaining a reputation for maturity beyond her years, was calm and cool-headed and clearly not interested in feeding into starlet-style hoopla when S caught her ahead of the flight she was hoping to make.

''The whole thing is very exciting - I won't have been on something with a budget like that and I've always thought Juliette Lewis was great. It's a little intimidating when I found out who was cast!'' Evans told S.

''It is daunting [going to a foreign city alone] but I've done it before. To be truthful, it helps you focus. You have your hotel to yourself. You have to remember I've been working with adults since I was 12 - they were my peers and it has an effect, for sure.''

Meanwhile, another up-and-coming Sydneysider, Natasha Bassett, has scored a role in Fox network comedy pilot No Place Like Home. Much softer than its original title, Here's Your Damn Family, it is produced by the same people as Big Bang Theory.

The eastern suburbs girl, who studied at the Australian Theatre For Young People and NIDA, and appeared in Rake and Wild Boys, packed her life into her Ford and headed for the pilot season this year after last year when she couldn't get a visa, despite interest from Hollywood.

''My car, which is about as a big a commitment as one can make to this place, has basically become my home. I have some good aircon and some good music! You spend a lot of time in here.''

Bassett will play a ''snarky teenager'' upset when her dad remarries after her mother dies. The audition process has been ''gruelling and competitive'' and she is looking forward to the live element of sitcom. ''Like theatre with cameras!''