Courtney Eaton can suggest authority without making a vulnerable character suddenly seem fearless. Her early films are uneven guides to her abilities; Yellowjackets is a better place to see why she is worth following.
Fi1m perspective
Watch Courtney Eaton move between fear and authority in Yellowjackets (2021–): neither quality quite displaces the other. As the teenage Lottie Matthews, she can seem unassuming without seeming easy to dismiss. We find her interesting because the force of the performance does not require her to stop looking vulnerable.
Her acting debut was as Cheedo the Fragile in George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), the stronger of her two early spectacles. We were exhilarated by the desert chase because Miller lets us understand the action even at its most frantic. Eaton brings vulnerability to that ensemble, but our admiration for the film comes with a reservation: several supporting characters need more attention. Charlize Theron gives the pursuit its purpose, and Eaton has to work within a film whose principal dramatic weight falls elsewhere.
Alex Proyas’s Gods of Egypt (2016), with Eaton as Zaya, offers much less encouragement. The willing cast is saddled with thin characters and clumsy dialogue, while the fights become a chore. There is some pleasure in the excessive imagery, but little reason to recommend it as a place to discover an actor. We would not make Eaton answer for all of that, any more than we would credit her with Miller’s command of an action sequence.
The subsequent supporting roles in Newness (2017) and Status Update (2018) preceded the larger parts of Lottie and Riley Hart, the lead in Parachute (2023). Those are welcome opportunities for an actor whose work so often involves young women under severe strain. We would like to see more parts that ask for something besides distress; even an aptitude for emotional intensity can leave an actor repeating herself if the writing is not there. Start with Mad Max: Fury Road for Miller, then turn to Yellowjackets for a closer look at Eaton.
Biography
Courtney Eaton is an Australian actress. Born on 6 January 1996 in Bunbury, Western Australia, she began her career as a model after being scouted at the age of 11. She prepared for modelling at 16 and took part in an acting workshop with Myles Pollard as part of her development.
Eaton made her acting debut in the 2015 film Mad Max: Fury Road as Cheedo the Fragile. She subsequently appeared in Gods of Egypt (2016) as Zaya. Since 2021 she has played Teen Lottie Matthews in the series Yellowjackets. Other credits include Newness (2017), Status Update (2018), Line of Duty (2019) and Parachute (2023).
