What I've learnt is to be in the now. It's something my mum has always said to me, and when I read a book called 'The Power of Now' by Eckhart Tolle, I realised just how important it is.
I've always had a passion for dancing, and I wasn't lucky enough to go to stage school, so when I got onto the show, I was like a kid in a sweet shop. I went into it just to have fun. The support was overwhelming, to say the least. It wasn't until the end of the show that I realised how much I really wanted to win it.
I've realised that there is no magic trick to television; it just comes down to hard work and being prepared for every appearance and trying to get your point across as clearly as possible.
I never thought about writing a novel until I was 13, and that happened by chance. I was on school holidays, and I was bored, and I thought I just wanted to do something to occupy myself instead of asking, 'What can I do, mum? Entertain me.' I started, and it really just took over, and I realised, 'Wow, this is an amazing experience.'
I didn't know I had a fan base on the other side of the border. I thought that since actor Ali Zafar is from Pakistan, the fans might have mistaken me for him. Eventually, I realised that they have liked my work, and that feeling sunk in.
Hollywood has realised that we do have actors and are not just mad about song and dance.
I got a film fairly quickly and felt like I was on a roll. I would walk into auditions sounding like Crocodile Dundee, thinking, 'This is going to be a novelty for them.' Then I realised that there are a million other Australians here, and I should just shut up.