Soundtrack Of My Life: ‘Dumplin’ star Danielle Macdonald

The first song I fell in love with

Linkin Park – ‘In The End’

“I’m sure there were many, but this was my greatest love for a while when I was younger. During high school, I became really obsessed with this song to the point that I listened to it 50 times in a row. I still know every lyric, to this day.”

The first gig I ever went to

The Offspring – Sydney Entertainment Centre, 1999

“My parents took me because I was 10 and couldn’t go alone. I loved it. I had this dark blue, crushed-velvet top and pants. We were sitting up in the chairs, because obviously my parents weren’t going to let me go in a mosh pit. I was standing up dancing the whole time and being like: ‘Velvet is really hot for a concert!’”

The song that reminds me of home

 Peter Allen – ‘I Still Call Australia Home’

“The song from the Qantas advert, ‘I Still Call Australia Home’, always reminds me of home. It’s funny because growing up you’d see those adverts all the time and they’d have the full Australian choir doing the song all around the world. I travelled a lot as a kid – my parents are big travellers and my mum’s Italian. We’d always go to visit her family. And this was always the song we heard when we were coming back, so that really truly does remind me of home to an extreme degree. Commercials, it’s what they do to you!”

The song I do at karaoke

Elton John – ‘Tiny Dancer’

“I very occasionally do karaoke, my voice is just a little too terrible! But the most fun I’ve had doing a karaoke song is ‘Tiny Dancer’. I remember when we were doing the Sundance Labs workshop with Patti Cake$ [Macdonald’s 2017 drama] in 2014, and we did karaoke one night at the end of it and we all sang ‘Tiny Dancer’. And then, at our wrap party we did it again, so I really associate karaoke with that film!”

The song I can’t get out of my head

Baby Shark Dance

“You know what’s really annoying – about four days ago when I was walking my dog, someone rode by on their bicycle and they were singing that baby shark song to their kid on the back seat. It has been in my head ever since.”

The album I’ve been listening to during lockdown

Machine Gun Kelly – ‘Tickets to My Downfall’

“The thing that I came back to in lockdown was pop rock. I was obsessed with it in high school – and it’s been so fun. Sum 41 has been popping up a lot, so has My Chemical Romance and The Used, and honestly the one new one I’ve added is Machine Gun Kelly’s ‘Tickets to My Downfall‘. I didn’t really know his music before, but I worked with him on a film and got to know him. He’s a very cool, sweet guy. I obviously followed him on Instagram, and then he started posting some of his music and I was like, ‘Wait it’s actually exactly what I would have rocked out to during high school!’”

The song I can no longer listen to

Kelis – ‘Milkshake’

“I truly do not know why, but I cannot listen to this song. What happened when I heard it? Why do I have such a weird association with it? Who knows. But when it comes on my whole body is like: ‘Turn it off!’

The song that makes me want to dance

Whitney Houston – ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’

“I’ve had so many good nights dancing to this song. I don’t have any bad associations with it. Every time I hear it it’s good vibes only!”

The song that reminds me of filming ‘I Am Woman’

Helen Reddy – ‘I Am Woman’

“It’s so cheesy, but we honestly played it on set, and the crew would be singing along. It became the anthem for the movie – and it’s really beautiful.”

‘I Am Woman’ is in cinemas and on digital platforms now