A farmer’s daughter is having a good year

THOUGH she’s been acting in her native Australia for the last nine years, Abbie Cornish is just making her way to America. Earlier this year, her first starring vehicle, “Somersault,” for which she received awards for her luminous performance as an aimless teenager, had a brief release stateside.

And Friday, the 24-year-old farmer’s daughter stars in Ridley Scott’s romantic comedy “A Good Year,” which casts her opposite Russell Crowe. She also joins fellow Aussie Heath Ledger in the tragic love story “Candy,” which opens Dec. 1.

It was Crowe who recommended Cornish to Scott. “I met Russell a little while ago,” says Cornish. “I think he put in a good word for me.”

Her role as a Californian marks the first time she’s done an accent. “My voice for me is like a musical instrument, so to be able to exercise that with an accent was really enjoyable,” she says.

Cornish, who’ll be seen next year in “The Golden Age” and in an untitled Kimberly Peirce project, began acting at 15 after she won a modeling competition in her hometown of Newcastle. “Part of the prize was an interview with an agent,” she says.

Cornish got the first role for which she auditioned -- a quadriplegic in the TV series “Children’s Hospital.” “I fell in love with [acting],” she says. “Each job has led on to the next one. I’m lucky to be where I am, really.”

-- S.K.