Roxbury Actor’s Truth, Vulnerability and Innate Sense of Character

By Jillian Risberg

For Hally Smith acting tells a story, increases awareness for different modes of existence, helps one grieve or celebrate and feel less alone. She says it’s why she does this.

While under lockdown in 2020, Smith created a period thriller, Fior Di Fossa with an NYU classmate from Basking Ridge.

“It was a demanding part, plus the (additional) work I put into it outside of acting would have been easy for us to give up but we kept going, and that’s what I’m proudest of. Now we get to show it at a Film Festival in our home state of New Jersey.”

It is exciting to create and construct all the gowns, corsets, doublets and overcoats for the project. “Costuming has been an on-again/off-again love for me,” says Smith.

You may have spotted the actor in the background of Gossip Girl, Evil or The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. She sings in The Swing Tones (jazz band) and sometimes posts those videos on YouTube.

Being an empathetic person Smith says is her greatest strength as an actor. She steps into her character’s life, their relationships, explores herself as the character and the world she exists in.

“It allows me to feel deeply and authentically as a character, and what I say and do comes from a place of truth,” she says.

In that vein, many causes are close to Smith’s heart; including LGBTQ+ rights, suicide prevention, ending dog and cat euthanasia, Angels City Pit Bulls and the Trevor Project.

According to Smith, her acting process is immersive and an authentic performance means you give life to the circumstances of your character.

“I study my lines, but what’s important is believing everything is real and happening to me,” Smith says right before a take she gives herself a moment to soak it all in.

“Where I am, who am I with, how do I deal with this — and then I do.” continued on page 10

The most rewarding part of her career so far are collaborations with colleagues on set. When the actor is able to lose herself and be present with her scene partner, and they both believe they are in this other world together is pure magic.

“Seeing how other people (whether classmates in an acting class or the director) react to something real, unplanned and ephemeral before their eyes is priceless,” says Smith.

The challenging part of the journey, and this rings true for many with a creative pursuit is self doubt. She says the odds are against you in terms of numbers, and it can be hard not to correlate when you don’t get a part, or even considered, with not being good enough.

“It’s easy to feel like you are floating around in the ether and people you want to work with don’t know you exist,” Smith says this is why self belief is so important, and so is remembering why you do it in the first place.

If you can keep those things in mind, says the actor, it becomes easier to keep moving forward, no matter how big or small the steps may be.

Smith cites Alan Rickman — the former graphic designer didn’t pursue acting until his late 30s — as an inspiration and she also loves Florence Pugh, who puts her own spin on characters with her natural tact.

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