Watching Sophie Lowe on screen is mesmerising. Whether as a calculating teen (Beautiful Kate), a manipulative schoolgirl (Blame), or a delinquent daughter (Blessed), she effortlessly balances the youthful innocence of her often complex characters with a contrasting maturity. And lurking beneath is always a gravelly tension.

Lowe in person is something different entirely, all sweetness and light. Charmingly honest, she giggles often, mostly from nerves. She’s quick to clarify her comments, on the off chance she may have said the wrong thing or unwittingly upset someone, which would be entirely against her nature.

So, how then to explain the skilful insight and gripping frisson that underpins the 21-year-old’s performances? Call it raw talent. Lowe may blush at the suggestion (“I love challenging myself,” she offers, instead), but those who have worked with her happily confirm it. “She is magnetic,” says Miranda Otto, her co-star in 2009′s Blessed. “She has a fresh, young quality that is both fearless and unselfconscious.”

This month, we get another slice of Lowe’s beguiling repertoire, in the TV adaptation of The Slap (premiering on ABC1 in September). Based on the award-winning Christos Tsiolkas novel, the story is a snapshot of modern Australian life, centering around the fallout among a group of friends after one man reprimands someone else’s badly behaved toddler with a slap. Lowe plays Connie, a 16-year-old having an ambiguous affair with one of the adults in the group, a man more than twice her age.

For Lowe, the attraction was Connie—”she is a great character”—but also the “amazing” ensemble cast, which includes Jonathan LaPaglia, Melissa George, Alex Dimitriades, Essie Davis and British actress Sophie Okonedo. Lowe admits she was hungry for a part in the high-profile project.

“I really wanted it. I’ve never been that nervous for an audition! It seems since I’ve been doing more work, the more nervous I get; maybe it’s because of the expectations I feel now.”

Those expectations likely began in 2009, when, straight off the mark, Lowe was nominated for a Best Actress AFI Award; it was for her first role in a feature film, Beautiful Kate. She’s sustained that hype because, it’s said, she’s worth it. Matthew Saville, one of the directors of The Slap, says, “Sophie lights up the screen, but does so with such ease and such a lack of vanity that it is sometimes hard to discern which of the extraordinarily expressive moments she conjures are hers, and which belong to her character.” Her co-stars from the series are equally blown away: Davis calls her “unadulterated by ego and intriguing to watch.” Adds George, “Sophie is such a talented actress. When I glance at her I see a young girl and, at the same time, a leading lady—she can play both. She has a massive career ahead of her.”

Pick up the latest issue of InStyle, starring Katie Holmes on the cover, to read more of our interview with Sophie Lowe and check out our photo shoot with the home-grown hero. 

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PS. Sorry for not updating the gallery, but I´ve been experiencing some problems with uploading new pics..