ANYA KEELIE

Photo by @hdfacreative @hdfaphotography

Actress with a Mission

We caught up with the talented, actress/director, Anya Keelie.

When did you first get involved in acting?

Acting came naturally to me at a very young age. As a child in the 90’s, I was obsessed with Disney movies.I would spend my days watching them over and over again. One of my dearest memories is watching The Lion King so much that I memorized every single word. Then, I would go and reenact the entire movie in front of a mirror. I was also drawn to improvising situations or conversations and playing them back to myself. I didn’t know back then that I was, in fact, acting. It was not until I joined the Theater Club in Sophia-Antipolis University, Nice, France, and started acting classes that I realized I was meant to be an actress.

What or Who inspired you to pursue a career as an actor?

Ironically, what inspired me to pursue my career as an actress was not being able to act. Growing up in a household where both parents are successful physicians, I put pressure on myself to pursue a “serious” career, just like them. I always kept that passion to myself until I started acting classes. I switched from a scientific curriculum to linguistics and continued acting. When I moved to the US in 2013, I met an amazing acting coach, Cheryl Powell, who encouraged me to follow that path and never give up.

I’m sure you have met a lot of celebrities along the way. Would you share 1 or 2 of your favorite stories with us?

Surprisingly, my favorite celebrity story did not happen in the Film Industry. Back in 2014, I used to work for an airline when, one day, we greeted Chris Hemsworth for his flight from Boston to LA. He asked to be boarded last to avoid fan gathering and a possible delay on the flight. After boarding all the passengers, I took the employee radio and announced “We’re all set, just waiting for his ‘Thorness’ to show up”. Little did I know, my co-worker was right next to Chris at that moment, with the radio volume up. When he showed up at the gate, he looked at me straight in the eyes and said “His Thorness has arrived” before laughing out loud. I was so embarrassed I couldn’t say a word. At the end, I really appreciated his sense of humor and how down to earth he was.

What has been your ideal character, so far? And why?

As a woman in the film industry, my ideal character would be a woman who is strong, confident, smart, intimidating without having to go through an emotional trauma first, especially one caused by a male character. Unfortunately, in films or shows, we often see women becoming empowered after an abusive relationship, abusive male family members, rape, etc. I would like this vision to change. Recently, after watching The Queen’s Gambit, I was happily surprised to see an empowered and confident character, such as Beth Harmon, fighting off this stereotype.

How has your acting evolved since you first became involved in the film industry?

I started off my acting path on a Theater stage. As you know, stage and screen acting are very different from each other. When I was studying stage acting, my professors made an emphasis on emoting, exaggerating our movements, facial expressions and voice to reach the audience. After switching to screen acting, I first had a hard time adjusting to the subtlety of facial expressions and emotions. The camera catches the slightest frown, eye movement, muscle twitch, body gesture. However, with practice and great coaching, I was able to modify and adjust my acting quickly. The other principal point is how important it is, as an actor, to work closely and efficiently with the Director and the film crew. Understanding

If you were forced to choose only one, which emotion, more than any other drives you to stay in this tough business? Is it joy, anger, desire, passion or pride and why?

I would definitely say passion. This industry is tough and does not spare actors who lack drive, perseverance and, most of all, passion. Without passion, it is hard to stay motivated through all the rejection when auditioning. What most people, as well as new actors, ignore is that for every role booked, there are dozens of failed auditions. And most of the time, we do not even hear back from the Casting Director or the production. Every single actor can tell you that there are times when we feel defeated, like there’s no point continuing. It’s in these times we have to count on passion. Because we know this is the career we want to pursue. Because we don’t see ourselves doing anything else. Because we love it.

Which ingredient do you think makes you special and unique as a performing artist in an industry overflowing with new faces and ideas?

The Film industry is filled with new and upcoming talented actors. With that said, it might seem difficult to stand out. When it comes to me, one of my biggest qualities is my ability to adapt. For instance, when an actor enters an audition room, it is not only about their acting skills. Casting Director analyzes various parts of the actor’s behavior and personality. As an actor, it is important to read the room, assess the right course of action and adapt to it. Pay attention to the atmosphere, if the directors seem relaxed, talkative, or maybe in a rush. Make sure to follow any given directions. Paying attention to the details will make you stand out as a working professional.

What has been your biggest challenge as an actor? Have you been able to overcome that challenge? If so, how?

As a native French-speaking actress starting a career in the USA, one of my biggest challenges was the language. I was able to learn English quickly and easily, however, there were a few challenges behind that. I act by being in the moment, feeling, listening to my scene partner and reacting to them. Nevertheless, I was more focused on pronouncing the words correctly and overthinking the language part instead of being in that moment. For every side or script, I had to work arduously to be more comfortable with the words, their meaning and pronunciation. After several years in the USA, I got accustomed to the language and expression, yet, a small accent from my native language resides. This is another challenge since it restricts the variety of roles I can be cast for. Despite all those challenges, I am certain that I can use them to make myself unique and stand out.

Photo by @uniquefotos_

A common phrase in the industry is, “you must suffer for your art”. Do you agree with this statement? If so, how have you suffered for your art?

Each profession has its ups and downs, pros and cons. Personally, I don’t think one must suffer for their art. When it comes to acting, it all starts with our emotions, and the ability to produce and portray that emotion. However, that emotion does not always have to come from pain or suffering. It could come from delight, awkwardness, excitement, joy, amusement, strength, dejection etc. An actor must be able to impersonate all kinds of emotions and make them theirs, to feel them, to become them for an instant. Now, when it comes to the Film Industry in particular, I think every actor goes through the suffering of rejection and a feeling of underappreciation from time to time. The best way to go through this is to keep reminding ourselves that despite the hard times, we know that perseverance, practice and passion will take us to where we want to be.

How do you feel the Internet has impacted the film business?

Now more than ever, the Internet has a great impact on the film industry. The audience has now a platform to reach out and communicate to the filmmakers to make their voices heard. For instance, we all remember the impact on the design of Sonic The Hedgehog when the audience voiced their opinion on it. Additionally, the Internet created a link and a connection between the film industry and its audience through social media. It is now easier to follow our favorite Film Directors and Actors and be impacted by their work as well.

If you could change anything about the film industry, what would it be?

The lack of communication between the production and actors auditioning for the role is very notorious in the industry. In a perfect world, every single audition would be followed by the production reaching back to the actor, giving them the result of their audition and any feedback or constructive criticism. It would benefit the actors tremendously and help them work on the necessary skills to land a role in the future if not cast.

What is the best advice you have received?

It might seem cheesy, but one of the best advice I was given is “Don’t give up”. The only actors who don’t make it are the ones who abandon and give up on their goals before they reach them. It is also very important to ignore people who will try to overwhelm you with the negative aspects of this career for a more stable job. If this is the way you want to live your life, if you know that you want to be a working actor, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Secondly, stay humble, genuine and true to yourself. You might reach a point where things start working out and it might go to one’s head quickly. Don’t to succeed. forget that the industry is small, and the network is strong. It is easy for one incident to quickly travel word to mouth and end up slimming your chances

What projects are you currently working on... that you can talk about?

I am currently working on an independent feature film called Imaginary Friend produced by Dark Echo Productions (IG @darkechoproductions). The film is inspired by a true story mixed with fiction about an innocent little girl, Kelly, who had the misfortune of adopting a possessed doll. The story follows Nikki who will soon find out that her easy task to babysit her cousin Kelly was more challenging after all. It will be streaming on Netflix by the end of 2021/beginning of 2022. If you like ghosts, spirits and paranormal, this movie is for you!

What’s next for you? Please explain.

In addition to acting, I aslo pride myself in working behind the camera. In March this year, depending on the COVID-19 safety guidelines, I will be joining One Less Media Group (IG @OneLessBTS) as Art Director to discover the beauty of Puerto Rico in a miniseries called Puerto Rico on the Rise. We will be following Boston-based actor Alexander Rivera as he visits the island of his ancestors to discover the beauty, the history and the culture previously lost to him.

How can fans-to-be follow your career?

You can follow me on my Instagram @anyakeelie or my Facebook @anyakeelieactress. I post meaningful moments of my career, funny Behind the Scene photos and all updates on my work.