\n<\/p>\n
Raised in Petersham, a middle-class suburb in west Sydney, by a single mother who worked as a nanny, Alcock idolized some of Australia\u2019s most successful exports: Cate Blanchett<\/a>, Rose Byrne<\/a>, Sarah Snook<\/a>, Heath Ledger<\/a>. But breaking into show business with no familial connections meant she had to hustle. At the age of 13, Alcock began cold-calling talent agencies. \u201cWe struggled financially, so it really pushed me to be assertive,\u201d she says. \u201cMy mother instilled this blind confidence within me: \u2018If those idiots can do it, why can\u2019t you?\u2019 Her words, not mine.\u201d Alcock laughs. \u201cIt just lit a fire under my arse.\u201d<\/p>\n During her senior year of high school, Alcock nabbed a role in the Australian series Upright.<\/em> Was quitting school for TV a tough sell for Alcock\u2019s mother? \u201cShe told me to do it,\u201d says Alcock. Her mother is dyslexic; Alcock, too, struggled academically. \u201cI was bad at school\u2014that was branded as naughty. We have this weird halo effect that if you\u2019re a clever kid academically, then therefore, you are good. Acting was the only thing that I was given that halo for, and it\u2019s intoxicating to be chosen like that.\u201d<\/p>\n