"Working with Laura on Ten Faces of Anna has been by far the most valuable experience I have had in my career to date.
My entrance to the industry was pretty
standard and began back in 2009 after graduating from a very intense 3 year
acting diploma course at the Oxford School of Drama. I got a great agent and
went forth into the world of auditions and copious amounts of rejection J
I had always had a very clear idea in my
head of the kind of work and characters that interested me and never lost sight
of this along my journey. Making this a reality seemed less and less certain as
the years progressed, however. The roles on offer, I felt to be quite one
dimensional for female actors and found myself longing to be a man, just so I
could sink my teeth into a really nitty, gritty, dirty character. The chance to get behind the mask
of Hitler, perhaps, and explore the human beneath the beast. These roles never
popped up. For obvious reasons.
Three years on, I eventually decided to
conquer the industry alone and start up my own film company, leaving the
commercial world of agents and casting directors behind me. It was about one
month into this process, that I got a lovely email from Laura Hypponen asking
me if I would be interested in collaborating with her on this project. The
timing was perfect.
I had met Laura once many moons ago at an
audition for a film she had written and was directing. She cast me in the
leading role of the film but, alas, it never got financed, so life went on as
usual! It was incredible to hear from her two years later and to know she had
thought of me for such an interesting and unique piece of work. I hope other
actors who feel a little lost at times, may find this encouraging. It is all
about timing and circumstance. Nobody is forgotten.
Ten Faces of Anna is every Character
Actor’s dream. (In my humble opinion). An opportunity to explore an enriched
variety of different people from different ages, backgrounds, moral standings,
sexual orientation. Every single person on this weird and wacky planet has a
story to tell, and I am so lucky that my job allows me to tell them.
A great actor/director relationship is key
to creating a great piece of art and Laura and I really ‘’get’’ one another,
which is amazing when working on such intimate stories. Until starting Ten
Faces, I didn’t realise how little I was actually putting into my character
building process. She has taught me so many priceless tools and techniques for
my work. She is very much in control of what she seeks from the outcome of each
character, but her complete open mindedness and BELIEF in my abilities as a
performer, allows me to fail as many times as I possibly can, before being
gently pushed in the right direction. I’ve gained an enormous amount of
courage, self-worth and compassion from working on Ten Faces of Anna with such
an incredible director and cannot wait to crack on with the Third Face.
I hope that every performer out there will
have the opportunity to work with such an insightful mentor, but I really do
think they are few and far between, and if you are lucky enough to be sought
out by one, grab the opportunity with both hands and never let go!"
Love,
Annarose X
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