Seventeen-year-old Angourie Rice knows all about handling multiple lives.
For the past five years, the Aussie actress has been juggling a full-time, high-school course load in Melbourne with her acting career in Hollywood. No doubt her multitasking persona helped her deliver a breakthrough performance in “Every Day,” opening Friday. In it, she plays a precocious 16-year-old, Rhiannon, who falls in love with a spirit that wakes up every day in a new stranger’s body.
“It was challenging,” Rice tells The Post. “Usually in a film you’ll have your main co-star, but with this, I was acting opposite 15 different people playing the same person, so it was a bit bizarre to wrap your head around.”
She says she tackled the role by researching as much as possible. Not only did she read David Levithan’s young adult novel from which the film was adapted, but she pored over the screenplay from the perspective of the spirit (named A) to develop chemistry with her multiple co-stars.
“At the beginning of the film, [Rhiannon] settles for things that make her unhappy because she feels like she doesn’t have the power to change that,” Rice says. “I would hope that I’m someone who … can say no to things and I can create a happier life for myself.”
Growing up, Rice always knew what she wanted. She started acting at 6 when she was scouted by an agent in her hometown of Perth, Australia. Her parents — a playwright mom and director dad — were always supportive.
“Because they’re in theater and they really understand what my career is and what I go through, and so that’s really helpful,” Rice says. She’s gone on to have supporting roles in films like “Spider-Man: Homecoming” and Sofia Coppola’s “The Beguiled.”
But her career isn’t all glitz and glamour. She’s had to make sacrifices at school for her latest film.
“It was really difficult because previously I’ve had breaks or I’ve had scenes off, but with ‘Every Day’ I’m in almost every scene,” says Rice, now a high-school senior. “I did have to drop a couple subjects [in school] because of the film, which made me really upset. But you can’t do everything, it’s all about making a compromise. It’s tough but you’ve got to maintain a healthy balance.”
She says her role made the sacrifices worthwhile. It also taught her how to enjoy the present.
“Because all [Rhiannon and A] have is this very second, she has to let go of the past and think about the moment, and I think that’s a great message to take away,” Rice says. “I’m constantly distracted by my phone and I think it’s good to remember to be here in the present.”
The actress also hopes the film’s unconventional love story — in which A occupies both male and female bodies — will encourage young people to be more accepting of differences and see love as something more than skin deep.
“It’s not about being attracted to a physical type of person,” says Rice, a petite blond beauty. “It’s being attracted to how someone makes you feel, if they make you feel free or safe and happy or content with yourself. I think that’s the most important thing.”