High on Sierra! Meet Dichen Lachman

Ah yes, it’s that time of the week/month/and even day I guess when I decide to share a little bit of info on a not-so-well-known (yet) female star. Okay, in the past I haven’t really profiled “stars” but I like to think I can spot talent when I see it. In the last few months I’ve profiled people like Deborah Ann Woll, Naya Rivera and recently Courtney Ford. Today’s profile focuses on Dichen Lachman. According to the phonetics department over at Wikipedia (alright they probably don’t have a phonetics department, but I’ve got this imaginative picture of Wikipedia being a bunch of elves that patrol the Internet… different post for later) Dichan’s name is pronounced:

Deechen

The 27 year old actress currently starring as Sierra on the now defunct Joss Whedon show Dollhouse actually comes from Australia. Sort of. Here’s where things get interesting. Dichen’s mother is Tibetan and her father is Australian but she was born in Japan. When she was young she picked up and moved from Nepal to Australia where she got the performance bug. After high school Dichen did a bit of the college thing (we all have that bug at some point or another) but soon picked up and left for Syndey to pursue acting for the screen.

It was in Sydney where she landed her huge break. Dichen played Katya Kinski on one of Australia’s longest running soap operas Neighbors. Her stint on daytime Australian TV also landed her a small role on a terrible North American movie called Aquamarine. I’m sure at this point in her career, Dichen would rather not remember her role in the film that starred one-hit-wonder Jo Jo.

But in 2009 Dichen landed her first big North American role as Sierra on Dollhouse. Sierra is one of the Dolls that the show focuses on along with Eliza Dushku‘s Echo. Because of the nature of the show, Dichen has played Sierra as everything from an ass-kicking FBI agent to a screaming pop music fan and she pulls them all off surprisingly well. But like all Joss Whedon shows, Dollhouse is in the process of being canceled. I don’t think this has anything to do with Dichen’s performance. In fact, I have a feeling if there were a few more episodes that focused on her specifically, the show might have gutted it out for another season.

In any case, Dichen Lachman is a face to watch – oh, and I forgot to mention that she’s got this super exotic Aussie accent.