Ep 248: From Ohio to Netflix: Maria Timonina’s Breakout in “Gringo Hunters”

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
You are listening to the IFH podcast Network. For more
amazing filmmaking and screenwriting podcasts, just go to ifhpodcastnetwork dot com.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Welcome to Filmmaking Conversations with Me your host Damien Swaby.
The podcast will be dive deep into the world of
film and the creative minds shape in it. Today, I
sit down with the talented Maria Timarnina, an actress making
waves with her performance as Alice Wells in the hit

(00:33):
Netflix series Gringo. Hunters from her roots as a first
generation Russian American in rural Ohio to welcome with industry
giants like Adrian Grunberg and Ron Howard's team. Maria shares
her journey, the emotional depth she brings to her roles,
and practical advice for actors navigating today's ever change in industry.

(00:56):
This episode is packed with inspiration, rule time, and behind
the scenes look at what it takes to thrive in
the business. I started the podcast by asking Maria how
did she start her journey to become the inspirational creative
that she is today?

Speaker 1 (01:14):
What got me started in the first place? I went
to school. I went to a public school in rural
Ohio in the us, and I got into some little
skits and stuff they had kids doing, and there was
a program called Destination Imagination. It was like a theater
competition and like my very first acting role ever was

(01:37):
like playing Brazil. I was like an old lady and
I had a sugarcane, a cane with sugar packets on it, yeah,
and little things like that. It was really fun. I
felt like I really lit up every time I did it,
and then continued to do drama club and stuff in
high school, did some community theater and I won this

(01:58):
Best Actress award in high school and my parents sat
me down and they said, hey, you know, we think
you've got it and we would support you if you
want to do this in college and beyond, and which
is incredible. You know. I appreciate that, and everybody gets
that from their parents, especially because I'm first generation Russian
American and I think about immigrant parents. They tend to
want you to become a doctor or a lawyer. And

(02:19):
at the time, I was like, maybe I'll be a
lawyer or maybe I'll be an actor. Who's to say,
And they're like, actually, we're okay with either. So that
was very sweet. But that's how I got started basically
and then went to college for it.

Speaker 2 (02:31):
Excellent. So your parents decided that it would be fine
for you to be an actress. That's an amazing thing, because,
as you said, many immigrant parents do go down the
road of you've got to be a doctor, you've got
to be a lawyer. What did they work as and
what do you think influenced them to make the decision
to allow you to become an actress.

Speaker 1 (02:48):
That's a really great question. So my dad is my
I have a stepdad as well. He raised me. Basically,
he works in nuclear power, so he's an engineer, and
my mom did a lot of things, but mostly homemaker.
And I think for them, they've always had an appreciation
of the arts, even though neither one of them was
directly involved. I mean, my mom wanted to be a

(03:09):
journalist when she was younger and then pursued out of
other things in education. My stepdad also just kind of
saw what I was doing and thought that. I think
they both have an admiration for people who are interested
in the creative arts, and so once they saw that
I was getting recognition for this thing, I think, as
any parent does, they're like, well, I want to see

(03:29):
my kid follow that spark if they have the interest,
and the rest of the world seems to see it too,
like there might be something there. And I think in general,
the fact that they just felt like they wanted to
encourage anything that was positive and going well for me
and keep pushing me in that direction. So I think
I think that's a large basis of it. It's more
about like who they are than where they came from.

Speaker 2 (03:49):
So you certainly went in the direction of performing in
America as a US based artist. But I think I'm
right by saying I've read that you are your parents
of Russian are Yeah, So have you had any interest
or when you was younger, did you see any kind
of Russian films, television, theater or anything like that.

Speaker 1 (04:10):
Yeah, that's that's a good question too. So when my
first time visiting Russia and my mom made sure to
make sure I saw the Moscow Ballet, which is truly wonderful. Yeah,
that was really special. I knew that I always had
that cultural connection to the theater Russian is for Russian's
theater is a really big deal. There were plays that

(04:32):
my dad, my biological dad, would send me and have
me read as well, like the classics, and I think
those things definitely made me feel as if, how do
I put this, it was just part of who I
am to be involved in theater and the arts in
some way have a I have a degree from Boston
University in acting, but their program is actually primarily theater.

(04:55):
So that's I think why initially I felt best going
to a theat based school. It felt like part of
that identity I had already cultivated culturally and like through
the art I experience growing up. But now I do
TV and film as far as like movies that like
Russian movies and things like that, there hasn't been like

(05:15):
a single influence, but you know, I love watching anything
in other languages. I think there's so much amazing art
happening all over the world all the time.

Speaker 2 (05:24):
So yeah, and in university, did you enjoy that experience?
What was it like for you?

Speaker 1 (05:30):
Yeah, art school is a mixed bag. I don't know
if you yourself happened to go to art school, but yeah,
I feel like I didn't feel as if I fit
in especially well. But I also was like an awkward
kid coming into a big school after growing up in
the middle kind of the middle of nowhere Ohio, and

(05:50):
it was just a lot of change, and I really
love the fact that I got to focus on the
art for so long. I mean, it really was an
intense program. Had regular full schedule during the day of
all the artistic classes. Plus we had like five to
eight hours of rehearsal every night, with a ten hour
rehearsal every Saturday. So it was like, yeah, and you

(06:12):
have to figure out your school work otherwise, right, So
I think it was a really challenging experience in like
the best ways, both in terms of the art and
the culture of it. And I really do think, you know,
some people can come straight out of high school to
Los Angeles or New York and do the acting thing,
and I think, you know, if that works for you,

(06:34):
and that makes sense, especially with the price of college
these days, I think, like, if that feels right to you,
should do it for me. Though I did feel after
graduating from BU that I don't know if I would
have gone as far as I have so far without
having like a stable training because I didn't know what

(06:55):
I was doing. I was really winging it back in
Ohio with my high school plays and commune theater. I
had a drama teacher. But you know, it wasn't I
didn't even learn about certain techniques until, of course, I
got to college. And I think all those things kind
of create like a melting pot of acting knowledge I
now have, and it becomes less about knowledge and more
about instinct. So all that to say, I think, I

(07:18):
think going to school for it gave me a set
of instincts that are more often right than wrong. And
I really appreciate that.

Speaker 2 (07:25):
What did you do to overcome the challenges at university
to become the actress that you are today?

Speaker 1 (07:30):
Yeah, Well, during university I crad a lot. I was
very tired, I was working a lot. But I think
that a big part of it has been twofold. It's
been you know, knowing that, like I was still enjoying
the experience, don't get me wrong, but knowing that, like

(07:51):
school is just one part of a career, and for
a lot of people, it's not even the beginning of
the career. It's just the prelude. I also after school,
you know, I've reconnected with the alumni association for my university,
and the people I've met through that have been just
like incredible. They're incredibly talented, They're incredibly kind, just really

(08:13):
wonderful people. I feel like I've gained even more from
school after than I did during, if that makes sense,
Like I can appreciate everything so much more from this
vantage point now that I'm using it.

Speaker 2 (08:26):
You know, Oh, I've definitely understand that. I'm sure many
of the listeners do too. But after you left university,
what was some of the first type of roles you've got.

Speaker 1 (08:36):
Yeah, when I first left school, so I got involved
with UCB, which is an Upright Citizens Brigade here in
Los Angeles. It's an improv school, and I was doing
a lot of comedy. So I booked a lot of shorts,
I did a lot of student films, I did some theater,
and I was just trying to figure out, Okay, how

(08:57):
do I parlay this into on camera acting, both so
I can get roles and so I can adjust my technique,
because I do feel like acting technique on stage is
different from on camera, and some actors can switch back
and forth. For me, I like to be very laser
focused with what I'm doing with my craft in any
given moment.

Speaker 2 (09:17):
Just in techniques. What type of techniques do you have
to adjust in particular?

Speaker 1 (09:22):
It's two things, mostly physical really and on stage. You
know you mentioned that you have also done some acting,
so you're familiar. It's you know, on stage you are
projecting to a larger, small amount of people, but you're
projecting outward. It's big gestures, it's big emotions. And that's

(09:44):
not to say there aren't big emotions on TV and film,
obviously there are, but the way that those are carried
in your physicality has to be so much different. I
think the power, the more powerful acting on stage has
to do with having a large presence. I think the
most powerful act acting on screen has to do with
having a concentrated presence. I'm in a really wonderful acting

(10:05):
class if I can plug it really quick. It's called
the Norris Studio in North Hollywood, California. My friend and mentor,
Brian Norris is the owner and he's my teacher, really wonderful,
best teacher I've ever had, truly, And something we talk
about a lot in class is bringing the camera to you.
And you think it's more about the thoughts you have

(10:28):
while acting on camera rather than on stage. It's about like,
how do I make this picture to show this relationship
with my physical body and the rest of the scenery
on camera. So much of my favorite moments I see
in TV and film on actors is that like internal
almost to themselves. It's the private moments.

Speaker 2 (10:49):
Right Yeah, yeah, that is amazing. I like that. And
the school does it let anybody go? Do you have
to have a certain amount of training before you can
get in?

Speaker 1 (10:58):
No, anybody can go. It's a scene study class. There's
like different classes different days of the week. He teaches
in person and online. They have some other coaches as well.
They do like audition taping. It's like kind of the
full service type of acting school that we have in
Los Angeles. That's pretty common, so they do all those things.

Speaker 2 (11:17):
Alice Welsey is described as a strong and driven by justice.
What emotional groundwork did you lay to tap into such
a layered character? And in your own words, am I
correct by saying that?

Speaker 1 (11:28):
Yeah, I'd say so, yeah, absolutely.

Speaker 3 (11:32):
So.

Speaker 1 (11:32):
You know, getting the audition for Alice was really interesting
in terms of the groundwork I laid before that audition.
It was both understanding myself within the business better and
understanding what I bring uniquely as an actor to the
camera and from a business perspective, like I mentioned when
I first came to Los Angeles, I was so focused

(11:54):
on doing comedy, and while I do love comedy and
I am good at it, I learned that I'm most
castable in drama currently. It was an easier foot in
the door for me. And some of my superpowers on camera,
which I learned through being in class for so long
and having such a great coach, has been that people
love seeing me think on camera, like if I'm solving

(12:17):
a puzzle in my mind and not saying anything, those
are some of my most powerful moments I'd say, and
I already kind of knew those things about myself. I
also know that I bring a sense of power but
also groundedness to the roles I tend to be cast in,
and that's something that is true to who I am

(12:38):
as a person. When people experience me. It's not necessarily
something that can be taught, but it's something about yourself
you can learn, and you can use that as a
tool when you do get auditions like the one I
got for Alice, and once I got that audition, like
everything about this experience in this booking has been so special,
and the first being when I got that those sides

(13:01):
it was one of those things where I knew in
my heart and soul, I know what this is. I
feel so deeply emotionally connected to this person. I thought
the story was really beautiful. It's of a woman who,
you know, her sister has been exploited by these bad guys,
and you know, her mom tries to avenge her and

(13:25):
instead ends up committing murder. And here Alice is stuck
in that where her sister's in a coma after everything
that happened, and her mom's on the run in Mexico,
and Alice is actually online trying to create a community
for other survivors of what her sister had experienced. And
just like reading those sides and like understanding what that

(13:48):
story was, it just made me think about, like what
an incredible person Alice has to be in order to,
like in the midst of some of the biggest trauma.
I can imagine a young person having she's reaching out
and creating community for others. Like even now, that jerks
me up because I think that's I think that's just
so beautiful. That's like the kind of person I aspire
to be. And I thought about what it takes the

(14:11):
strength that it takes and delivering the lines. I mean,
it was genuinely so well written. Jorge Derntease is one
of the primary writers and wrote the pilot and I think,
you know, we meet Alice in her YouTube video and
that got shortened a lot in the final product, But
that was actually a giant one page audition monologue I had.

(14:35):
I had that, Yeah, I had that and one other scene.
It actually ended up being a scene that was mostly
texting later in the show, but they had you do
it on camera for the audition, and the big monologue
was the thing I immediately just felt so connected to.
Like I've said this before and I'll say it again,
it didn't feel like acting. It felt like remembering. And yeah,

(14:58):
and I feel like I got to that point because
as I had spent so long training and training and training,
so I knew inherently like what felt right for it.
But it also, just like I said, I just felt
so deeply for this person and connected with it upon
reading it. And when I get that feeling, which for me,

(15:18):
I'm spiritual, I do believe in like gut feelings being real.
We also know from science that gut feelings are a
legitimate thing. There are brain cells in our gut microboto. Yeah,
and so gut feelings, never ignore them, if that's your
one takeaway from hearing me talk today. But I just knew,

(15:38):
I just knew it was something I connected with. And
I don't feel that way all the time, and I
don't need to feel that way too book a job,
but in this case, it just felt so right.

Speaker 2 (15:49):
So if you were somewhat connected to the character in
the role, how do you balance the emotional weight of
the performance in your own personal life?

Speaker 1 (15:57):
Okay, so for this one, I felt like it was
pretty cathartic to feel those feelings. So and that way,
that was nice. I feel like, you know, some actors
and I do this sometimes as well, depending on the role,
have like a kind of like a cool down they
have for themselves, Like I always reco if I'd like
a little ritual, like something that's grounding and private and

(16:21):
just for you, And it doesn't have to make sense,
doesn't have to be big either. It could be like, Okay,
once it's cut and we're moving on and it's time
for me to go back to my trailer, I'm going
to make sure that I drink a healthy amount of water.
I'm going to sit and take three deep breaths, and
I'm going to check in with myself. How do I feel.
Am I ready to leave my trailer? Like what what

(16:43):
do I need most right now? Do a physical scan,
do an emotional scan, and go from there. And I
feel like that is something that I utilize sometimes. But
also I give myself when I'm on set permission to
do what I need to do to accomplish what I

(17:03):
want in that scene. Right So, before starting, Alice has
a scene where she's running into the hospital. She's just
found out that her mom was like kidnapped and about
to be murdered. But I won't spoil it. Her mom
is in the hospital now, so she's running in and
trying to get answers about that. And before that scene started,

(17:26):
I had a hard time like making conversation with anyone
because I was like, I am one of those people
I like to have like a little bit of like
in the zone considering what I'm doing. I also had
the freedom working on set with everyone. I had the
freedom to bring my own tear sick and I knew
I wanted to do some takes with and some takes without.

(17:46):
Since I knew I'd get like a few cracks at
it based on how the director works. And so I
also had my moments of like, Okay, i think I'm
ready to transition to using the tearstick and having that
time to mentally prepare was important for me. So take
the time you need, and as long as you're in
a professional onset, you can do what you need to
do for yourself to make sure you're taking care of

(18:07):
emotionally and taking care of what you need to do
in the moment.

Speaker 2 (18:11):
And what was it like working with Adrian Gronberg and
Ron Howard's team on such a high profile project.

Speaker 1 (18:17):
It was incredible. Yeah, Adrian is a really fantastic director.
So he directs television similar to films, which I'm so
grateful for because so I've done a lot of cool projects.
I've been very fortunate. I've been very lucky, and I'm
so grateful. This one was one of like the biggest.
It's the shiniest, it has had the most prestige so

(18:38):
far in my career, and like that was just so incredible,
Like I still jump for joy sometimes even though the
show's already out. It's truly was like, oh my god,
this is what it was for so just really incredible.
I mean, I love the way Adrian works. He was
really kind in our callback process. Our callback was over zoom,

(19:00):
we work. It was like a work session. It was
a straight like I knew I was scheduled at this
time and I figured based on other callbacks I've had
to re zoom. Oh okay, it'll be ten minutes. It
was a solid like thirty minutes of like, let's do
it there, so I do it this way. I know
we didn't ask you to prepare scene too, but do
you have it in your back pocket? Great, let's do
a couple of redirects. And I felt like that was

(19:20):
the same way it was like on set, Like he
trusts me to bring my own ideas, and as as
an actor, you know, you're the head of your character's department, right,
I'm the head of at the als Wells department. So
I have to do the due diligence of like this
is what I think it should be and presenting that
and then he gets to like tweak it and work
with it. And he really did give me so much

(19:40):
agency and also the adjustments he did make made so
much sense and like brought even more clarity and gelled
with like because the other thing too is he's the
Adrian Greenberg is the showrunner as well on Grngle Hunters,
so he's directing me in the pilot. He's also got
that you know, high level view of like what it
is we're trying to do with the guest stars throughout

(20:02):
the series, and so like that was very insightful too,
to be like, Okay, on the page, I think it's this, Okay,
this is what we're doing with the character big picture.
Oh okay, I'm right on the money. Great, my emotional
truth aligns with like what the story is as written.
So that's really nice working with him. I felt like
everything was clear. Also, I want to say, you know,

(20:23):
so with three production companies on that, including Ron Howard's
Imagine Entertainment, we also had WU Films, and we had
red Rum. Adrian is also one of the co owners
of red Rum. And when I tell you that everything
about this job I manifested, I really did, because not
only did I want, like my first big TV job
to be a guest star rather than a co star.

(20:44):
Nothing Rob Costars, I'll take a ghostar, you know what
I mean. But I was like if I can dream big.
I love my foot in the door to be like
a juicy guest star that just feels really right, and
I want it to be working with people that are awesome,
like creative, cool kind makes me feel so welcome on set,

(21:04):
and that is exactly what I experience working in Mexico
City with red Rum. They were the boots on the
ground production co. And like, you know, people say, oh,
we're one big family here, and you know, sometimes we
I roll and be like, oh, okay, sure they are
one big family there. They are truly so they go
to bat for each other creatively. They make you feel

(21:25):
so welcome. They're so warm, they're so genuine, Like it
could not dam it, it could not have been a
better experience. And I'm so lucky. I'm so lucky because
you know, this is something I talk about with with
my mentor Brian a lot. But you know, there are
different levels to wins as actors, like I believe getting
an audition is a win. I believe getting the callback

(21:48):
is a win. I believe the whole the booking is
a win. Filming it is a win because, as I'm
sure listeners are aware, sometimes an actor will book a
job and then the job doesn't go or the pilot
doesn't go, and you don't get to be the series
regular first season. There's all these factors, and then the
next level of win for me is like and also
the people I'm working with are awesome. You don't always

(22:09):
get the benefit of that, and that's okay, it's still
a job. But I did really want that for my
first credit. It was on my vision board, and I
got that with red Rum and Adrian and the stars
as well. Oh my god, they're so humble and so
incredibly talented and like generous. Like I said, I got
very lucky. I'm so grateful. One last thing on that,

(22:32):
I had also said to myself because I've been I've
been working so hard towards this for so long, right,
I think all filmmakers can identify with the fact that
a lot of this is a slog and a lot
it's not very glamorous at all, and I've been spending
an undisclosed number of years doing it. So I was
a little bit tired, and I was at the point
where I was like, well, I know, I enjoy the

(22:54):
experiences I've had, but what of working on like a
big deal union set isn't fun for me? What if
I don't enjoy it. I certainly have actor friends who
told me that their first credit, they were so happy
to get it, They're so grateful, but then when they
were on set, something bad happened and it was a
bad experience. We all have bad set stories, right, Yeah.

(23:17):
It was just like, Man, if my first big one
is a bad experience, I'm going to take that as
a sign from the universe. You know what, girl, you
did it. You can move on. You don't have to
keep doing this. And instead, it was incredible. It was
better than I could have even imagined. So I was like, darn,
I think maybe I am supposed to do this. That's

(23:40):
really cool.

Speaker 2 (23:41):
You certainly are, and I'm so happy for you because
a lot of people say the complete opposite, and a
lot of people have an okay time, or they say,
well the director was okay, but you know that one
of the producers was a pain, one member of the
cast was brilliant. You have one had a big ego,
but it sounds like you had a complete opposite experience.
Then a lot of other people I've spoken to and
really enjoyed it. Going forward, if you were to be

(24:03):
on a set that was completely different. How do you
think you would understand? How do you think you would
cope with that? And what would be some of the
things you would do to potentially speak to others or
tell the direct Well you can't really tell the director,
can you? But what would you do in that situation?
Do you think?

Speaker 1 (24:19):
Yeah? I think you know. My motto on set as
an actor is I'm happy to be here and I'm
easy to work with. And if I were to encounter
a set that is, you know and understandably. You know,
some sets have different cultures because of the nature of
the show, right or the production team or production schedule
more like, and you know, sometimes you're meeting people after

(24:40):
they're incredibly sleep deprived for many, many, many weeks and
they're terrified of losing their job. I go in knowing
all of that, and in my trailer it is a
lot of self talk overminding myself. It's not about you,
It really isn't. We're here to work and we're going
to create a cool thing. It's bonus if you feel

(25:01):
like you are friendly and can have real connections with
people on set. It's a bonus if we go out
for drinks after that's all just kind of the extra stuff.
The real work of it is the work. And you know,
of course, if you have any kind of like truly
negative experience that's worth talking about with your union, use

(25:23):
your union. You know, you can always give them a ring,
and you don't have to make it someone else's. You
don't even have to like tell anybody else. If you
have like a question on set about how things are going,
you can always vibe check. So that's no power of unions.
I do believe in their usefulness. But other than that,
I think what for me would transition in the next Well,
first of all, I've already had some good experienced friends

(25:46):
say this was a unicorn, Marie, you really hit the
hold big a card, and I'm like, no, I know,
I know, I'm not my expectations. I will keep them
at an appropriate level for future bookings. That's fine and great,
I'm happy, But I think what that's going to look
like is I'm going to be very conscious about what

(26:06):
I do the you know, depending on the time of
day of the shoot, like the evening after the shoot
or the morning after the shoot, I'm going to be
very conscious of what I do in that time and
I'm going to think about who I want to do
that thing I want to do with with that time.
Like so, for example, I'm a big believer in celebrating
wins and and and to celebrate a win, I also

(26:31):
got this from Brian. To celebrate a win, it's important
to choose, like you know, very precisely choose the thing
you want to do to celebrate. It can be big
or small, whatever feels right to you. But while you're
doing the thing, take like a second to acknowledge in
your head to yourself, I'm doing this this thing because
I'm celebrating this thing. Right, So for me, like that

(26:55):
could look like if I'm if I'm filming something at
one of my home, it could look like, Okay, when
I get off set, I'm going to have like a
couple friends on backup who I know are always down
to like grab a beer and even if I get
upset at like midnight or one like, I know they're
going to be down to like come meet me in
cheers with me. And that'll be like the community I

(27:15):
get to tap into if I feel like I need that.
And also whether I do the celebration with other people
or just myself it's just making sure to do it
and do it as close to the thing as possible.
I've noticed for myself. I'll speak for myself because I'm
practiced in celebrating the winds. If I wait even like
two days to kind of acknowledge the wind for myself,

(27:39):
I get caught up in other things and I start
to feel like the wind was pretty regular because now
it's day two or three, and you know, I've got
to take out the trash and I've got some other
auditions for things that aren't as shiny and glamorous. It's like, well,
you gotta really take take the bull by the horns
with that moment and do it as close as you
can if you can. But make sure you celebrate. That's

(28:01):
the biggest one.

Speaker 2 (28:02):
You sound like someone who's constantly prepared and very thoughtful.
Where do you think that comes from?

Speaker 1 (28:09):
In you my anxiety disorder? No? I uh, I uh yeah,
I think it is. It's it is a large part
of my personality. I'd say it's it's also part of
like growing up as a first generation American immigrant parents.
It's definitely like I think everything through as far as

(28:29):
like wanting to be prepared too. You know, I acknowledge
that this industry can can be very tough. That's a
truth that I believe words or spells, so that that's
a that's a truth I don't want to own, but
it's something that I've heard about and have seen. Right So,
and I think like giving yourself the best opportunity, it's

(28:52):
that preparation creates luck mentality, right yeah, being ready for
the opportunity for when it comes up. I think a
caveat to that. I've been thinking about this a lot
is not having fear if you do get an opportunity
you don't feel prepared for. I can't tell you the
number of times an actor friend has been like, God, like,
I got this thing and I wish I had I

(29:14):
don't know, seen that show more or had more time
with the sides or whatever, and they've still booked it,
you know. Yeah, And I feel like, prepare as much
as you can use what you have to prepare. You
don't need to spend a lot of money. You don't
need to get a degree, we all know this, but

(29:34):
tap into resources like filmmaking conversations where you're learning from
people who are doing it, and if you do get
an opportunity and you don't quite feel right or prepared enough.
Do not count yourself out because you truly never know.
And I say that both for auditions and you know,
for actors listening when you're doing a take. This is
a habit. I'm currently breaking myself up. I will sometimes

(29:57):
be close to the end of a take and I
will somehow feel like I've decided I didn't accomplish the
thing I wanted, not having watched playback still rolling, and
I cut myself off early. And I had an audition recently.
We had about like seven takes with my coach, and
I knew I was going to use the last last
two maybe, And then when I opened up the files,
I looked at the first one and I went, I

(30:19):
called cut on myself before the last Like it was
like two words was the last line for this character,
And I was like, ah, sorry, can we pause? That
was my favorite take of the whole bunch. So don't
count yourself out.

Speaker 2 (30:31):
How often do you have auditions in the room? Are
they always called back?

Speaker 1 (30:36):
So?

Speaker 2 (30:36):
Are they always via zoom now self tapes?

Speaker 1 (30:39):
Yeah? I can't remember the last time I had an
audition in person. Since the pandemic and even before the pandemic,
I was doing a lot of self tapes. I had
regional rep in like Atlanta and other cities, so it
was a big tape gal even before the pandemic. But now,
I mean I will help friends rehearse for callbacks for

(30:59):
like number ones on shows over zoom. That's crazy to me.

Speaker 2 (31:04):
Well, in terms of preparing infer an audition on which
will be a self tape, what's the difference between that
and going in the actual room.

Speaker 1 (31:13):
Sorry, yeah, yeah, that's a good question too. So the
work I do for a self tape is the same,
like the actual breaking down of the script is the same, right,
So for me, it's more about preparing for the environment.
So if I have a self tape audition, like right now,
I'm sitting at my desk in front of my beautiful
window with my natural light, this is where I will tape,

(31:35):
and I will prepare my environment physically. I'm someone who
does understand the power of the subconscious mind and how
clutter affects that, and I am someone who tends to
accumulate clutter in my taping space. So I will take
the time to like spend all right, I'm gonna spend
five minutes like cleaning it up, wiping down the desk,
like I want my space to feel fresh, because if

(31:57):
I have control of my environment, should take that control
and own it. So I count that as part of
my preparation. I also, when you're taping from home, you
know the site, the sounds you tend to hear, like
I don't know if it picked up picked a garbage
truck a little bit ago. I know that are oh fantastic,
thank you Matt books, or like I know, for example,

(32:21):
the neighbor UH has his leaf blower ort Tuesday mornings
nine to eleven am. All right, I can't tape then, right,
And I really love self taping for that aspect of
like I have the control of the environment now to
prepare for not having control over the environment in a

(32:42):
space that I have to physically go to. I'm fortunate
that like when I on the rare occasion, I do
have to physically go in, mostly for commercials. Commercials are
still actually more recently being back in person and in
Los Angeles and New York. And in that regard I
think of too, I think of, like what do I
need to do when upon arrival to feel comfortable in

(33:05):
the space, and so that often means, especially when you're
driving yourself, I'm going to get there early enough to
figure out the parking, and that might mean like getting
there absurdly early, But maybe I want to get there
absurdly early and take a five minute walk around the block.
Maybe get there absurdly early and like even an hour early,
grab a coffee, look over the sides again, and then

(33:25):
casually walk over Like it. It's taking ownership of like
what you need to perform at your best if you
have the luxury of time to do that. And it
is a luxury because some people are coming straight from
work or on their lunch break or whatever, right, so
I acknowledge that. But even if you just like enter
a physical space in an audition like last minute, if
you can even just like sit in your chair they've

(33:48):
provided and take one deep breath, maybe you know, figure
out where the bathroom is should you need it, just
like gentle observational things I think can settle you into
a other than that, I think the technique mostly remains
the same. There are things I do before I start
filming a self tape that I maybe can't do in

(34:09):
the room, Like sometimes I'll think of a key phrase
that gets me into my moment before for a character,
and I'll repeat that off to the side. Yeah, and
I'll repeat that off to the side before I press
you know, record on my camera. And if it's just
a self tape, I can do that. If I'm on
a zoom, I might have to take a little ownership
of the audition experience and be like, oh, ready for

(34:31):
me to start. Okay, great, thank you so much. One
moment please, and I will turn off my camera and
my mic, do my thing for like three seconds, right,
turn it back on, right into the character. Yeah, that's
a little that's another little trip, Brian Tommy so so Yeah.
I think it's the preparation of like, what what is
it you need in these environments, because the technique is
going to be the same, but it might be it

(34:53):
might feel like different stakes. Like if you're someone who
doesn't like to be on tape, let's find a way
to enjoy it. If there's some one who gets really nervous,
like having to go in a room they've never been
in with strangers they've never met in person, Okay, what
do you need to do to settle that's so much
of this is a mental game, whether you're an actor
or not. I really feel like filmmaking is so much

(35:14):
a mental game.

Speaker 2 (35:16):
Yeah, one hundred and ten percent right, it really is.
And going into the room or not, I can see
how that differs for different people in different ways. My
personality would be to go in the room, I'd feel
very conscious self taping myself in an audition. I don't
know why, but I just wouldn't be able to feel
like I can hit four corners in a room to

(35:40):
take ownership of this situation.

Speaker 1 (35:42):
But hey, you know, my question for you would be
is it would it be like the anxiety of like, oh,
I have to redirect myself, or like I only get
this one shot of getting it right?

Speaker 2 (35:52):
Oh, is that you completely hit the nail on the head.
I mean, I don't. I don't think this is just
my personal belief that actors should be directing themselves in
auditions and things like that. I think a casting director
who's probably going to be seated by the director is
probably best suited for those type of situations. But again,

(36:15):
you know this is something I'm over ten years out
of this type of situation, so you know, I admit
I could be completely wrong, but I don't quite I
personally would prefer to go in to the central London
and having my auditions there.

Speaker 1 (36:31):
Yeah, that's very legitimate. I also, you know, I think
that's like the blessing and the curse of the self
tape error. We're in because you kind of get one shot.
Some tricks. Though, if I can offer some practical tips
for actors and filmmakers listening if you ever, and for
you too, if you ever put yourself on camera for
something in the near future, choose wisely. But if an

(36:56):
office says one take only, and you truly feel like
I have a vision for two very different options for this, yeah,
you can do both, and you can send it. You
can just edit it right in one little file I
have have it like that cross dissolved really quickly into
the next one, so they don't even know to pause
before then ups popped up, you know, black you Yeah,

(37:19):
and it choose your moment's wisely, like I said, but
sometimes especially especially not a rule of thumb, but something
I try to do if it's my first time in
for that office, and I again, you do have to
genuinely believe in this second option as a viable like
this is how it could be on TV. Like, I
see maybe this first take is like, here's the good
student actor in me. I'm hitting everything. I know that

(37:42):
like you need, like if it's a co star, it's
like this this is this role is a talking scenery piece.
It is important to the function of story in this way, right.
And here is also a the same character embodying those
basic principles, but she has different ainions of what's going
on or her personality. Instead of being super flirty, she's

(38:06):
a little enamored by the persons who's speaking to and
feeling a little flustered. Still a different shade of the
same thing, but might be maybe more in line with
the casting. That feels most natural to me and is
something I think would also be a delightful color on
a show of this tone. So as long as you're
smart with the choices, I think it's acceptable to send

(38:27):
more than one take. But yeah, I do miss the
days of an active redirect. They say that casting if
they feel like they really really like you, they just
need you to do something different in your tape, they
will send you a note. And I like to believe
in good faith because casting directors associates assistance. They're there
to help you as an actor, and you know, some

(38:48):
people feel a little adversarial, like they're the gatekeepers, and
you know, from from the anti capitalist liberal standpoint, I
do like I see the gatekeeper conversation in Hollywood. Every
casting director that I've met and have experienced has been
such an advocate for actors. They want you to win

(39:09):
because they want the project to be the best it
can be. They want to make their client, who is
the producer director happy like it is they're your best friend.
And I do wish like if there was something that
I was like, I just know I was so right
for it. Why didn't I hear? Maybe they could have
given me a note. I just choose to believe, like
you know what, they know that what I delivered was great,

(39:33):
and if they did a readjustment, they knew it wouldn't
be the right fit for me as an actor. So
I do trust that they still know best and they
will help me. They want me to win, right, So
there is that in the callbacks, Like when I had
Adrianne in the callback for Alice, that was so nice
to be getting redirects. It wasn't entirely different. It kind

(39:54):
of is like I just explained, like it was different
shades of the same in the same worlds of what
I had built already, but it was like informative of like, oh,
this is where the story's going. They ended up adding
scenes for me, so like that callback helped inform scenes
that I shot like nine months later that were So
that was kind of fun.

Speaker 2 (40:13):
But typically what type of shows and potentially plays and
films are you submitting yourself tapes too?

Speaker 1 (40:22):
Yeah, so let's see. Lately, because Gringo Hunters just came out,
that show is like a crime thriller. It has a
procedural style to it, even though there is an overarching
season long mystery as well. So lately, because of the
show coming out, I have received opportunities for other shows
of that ilk, whether it's people who are making like

(40:43):
crime thrillers and were somehow involved with various people from
Gringo Hunters, or it's like a more standard network procedural
as like a similar sweet, strong type of girl, type
of young woman rather, and that's been that's been a
lot of it. It's also like what's trending in the industry,

(41:05):
Like I'm fascinated by like the types of things being made.
I'm pack eligible currently and that means that I get
to audition for both non union and union projects. My
next union project that I book will put me into
a must join for the union. So there, and you

(41:26):
see trends in both the non union side of casting
and the union side. Not to make it a whole discussion,
but there is something interesting going on in the US
and the non union side of foam production. They're called
verticals or micro dramas. I don't know if you've heard
of them. Okay, yeah, so they are. How do I

(41:47):
explain this? You might have seen them on TikTok or
Instagram reels, even YouTube shorts. Now they are soap operas
shot in vertical format. Oh okay, yes, So it's a
it's a really big business that's come out of China.
It's actually a multi billion dollar industry.

Speaker 2 (42:06):
Wow.

Speaker 1 (42:06):
Now, the they tend to hook customers by putting out
like one to five episodes or whatever on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube,
and then once you get to the six, there's like
a giant cliffhanger and they want you to pay thirty
dollars for the app per month to then like finish
watching it and these This this type has been very

(42:28):
controversial in the US this year because it pays actors
really well, and it's non union. It's also non union.
It's also it's a brand new type of production. And
I think it's kosher to say this. There is a
there is a range of quality, like any type of project,

(42:51):
there is a vast range of quality for this thing,
right And you know, as I've observed and friends have observed,
on the lower end of the quality spectrum, it may
include scripts that have things that aren't so great, I
think is the most political way to say, aren't so great,
things that like I, as an artist, don't necessarily feel

(43:13):
comfortable putting my stamp on. And then there's the higher
end of the quality where I do have some like
successful actor friends we're still non union, who are being
stars in these things and their acting is great. Their
acting is really great. It hits that like classic soap opera. Note,
it's interesting to see where it goes, simply because there's rumors.

(43:34):
I don't know how substantiated they are, but there are
rumors that SAG might be open to or one of
these production. Chinese production companies have reached out to SAG
to say, hey, what if we did union instead of
non union. There's also talks about I don't know if
listeners will remember Quibi, which was the yeah, the doomed

(43:54):
vertical platform, the first to do it ahead of its time.
You know, people are like, what about Quibbi too? What's
I mean? If young people are watching these videos, and
apparently they are, especially in China, then like how do
we use that? So there's like that trend in the
non union side and the union side. I'm very lucky
to be reading for like really cool procedurals and TV

(44:15):
shows and dramas and things like that. But I'm open
to like any kind of project that like has a
cool vision and has something to say. And I love
collaborating with people of all like story genres and types
of projects, whether that's like a play or even a
voiceover thing. I just wrapped a lead in my first

(44:38):
ever video game as a voice actress. That was so fun.

Speaker 3 (44:42):
Yeah, and I was just like, man, I want to
do more of that. I like voiceover so much, so
like it's just I'm just open, like I'm down to
do a fun project with fun people anytime, you know.

Speaker 1 (44:52):
But that's that seems to be like the two kind
of weird trends we're in in the non union and
union side of things in America right now?

Speaker 2 (44:59):
Oh great?

Speaker 3 (45:00):
Right?

Speaker 2 (45:00):
And lastly, is there one actress that you are often
compared to, and if so, was she someone who inspired you?

Speaker 1 (45:09):
I feel shy like saying it, but I have received
the compliment of like Jodie Foster Vibes before, which is
like huge, She's a legend, right, like how can you?
I mean, truly, like god, I feel starstruck just talking
about her, you know what I mean. I think she's
so incredible, and like every if I get a compliment

(45:31):
like that, I'm always just like, oh, oh my gosh,
thank you. Yeah, she's really wonderful. I think, like I
do feel, I do feel really inspired by her. And
as as someone who you know, like I started this conversation,
I started out in comedy. It's still like something like
I'd love to be a series regular on like a
half hour, and I do feel I'm most castable and
still excited about like stories in the dramatic space, like

(45:53):
I just I guess I keep saying, I love it all.
And I think something that's so cool about Jodi is
like she's known for or like some of the best
dramatic films ever made, and she's also done like great
comedies as well, and I like her multifacetedness is something
that really inspires me in addition to like her technique
and how she shows up on screen is just incredible. Like,

(46:15):
I do want to sit down. It's a project I've
been meaning to do for a while and I need
to finally do it now that I'm saying this, Damn,
you're gonna hold me accountable, Okay, you want to look,
We're gonna like come back to Maria to do it.
I want to sit down and like go through some
of my favorite Jodi films and pick scenes to like
study and figure out like how to get in her
brain a little bit. How did she make those choices?

(46:37):
I think that you know, but yeah, very flatteringly. So
I've heard a couple different people say that to me now.
And so if you needed a young Jodie Foster type,
hit me up.

Speaker 2 (46:47):
Definitely, And I agree. I think you are amazing and
Jody Foster is amazing too, So I'm looking forward to
seeing so much more from you. So, Maria, thank you
so much for coming on the podcast and sharing your insights,
thoughts and how a lot of actors listening about the
prep situation and being on set with such an amazing director,
crew and cast on such an important show which is

(47:08):
a juggernaut right now on Netflix. So thank you again
and I hope to speak to you soon.

Speaker 1 (47:13):
It was such a pleasure and an honor. Thank you,
Damien

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