Getting a grip on the "Come up"

Spending a noticeable amount of time on set of a major production last week was quite an experience and gave me a lot to think about… I gotta admit it's a true pleasure watching the stars act right in front of you. It really brought back my excitement that got me into acting in the first place.

I really enjoyed how serious the actors took their job, yet enjoyed being in the moment and having fun. There’s no pressure, no fame, or the scandal seeking press when it comes to the work on set. It’s not about an egotistical validation but about getting a grip on something to portray it- exactly what it should be.

Of course we all have seen great performances but seeing them live is an entirely different experience. The majority of it surely is simply hitting your marks, staying focused and knowing how a set works. But it stood out to me how minimal the actor’s effort seemed to be to achieve believable acting. Of course I've heard things like "Just be in the moment" or "You are enough" before - but what does that truly mean? I probably never understood it until last week...

Tired from 4:30 am call

The discovery is that acting truly means you simply should not act. If I'm entirely in the moment to put my own self to the situation, I'm the most natural. The irony is that it actually relaxes me, even makes it easier. That's what acting is: Naturalness in combination with true commitment to every single second of it. As soon as we start thinking, we hesitate - which manipulates the beauty of a true reaction. If we don't find the person in the script entirely in us, it will show on camera. Only to mention a few traps. Letting ourselves act how we would anyway avoids all of that. Casting should take care of finding the right actor for the part.

I've already experimented with reacting in my most authentic way for the past week and gotta say it feels real good! I discovered my rhythm is much slower yet intense than I used to think. Simply relaxing, reacting and watching what happens is already half the fun! The good thing about our profession is that we can practise it every day. :)

It surely is crazy that we even have to learn to be ourselves in any given moment, but that's truly what it is. It's the same with characters that are very different to us: Yes we’re supposed to be that different person, but it wouldn't be a believable person if it wasn't for our personal relationship to it.

Can't show pics from set unfortunately, but this is the beautiful sunset.

It has been funny to me that some non-actors come off better than actors sometimes and I've been thinking about that. What I came up with is they either don't have a tendency to over think (can also be caused by too much training) or simply have no fear of reacting naturally. So… Let's all ground ourselves to find the truth about how we would truly react. It’s quite an adventure; but feels great!!

Yours HollywoodNista

The courage to be different: Midnight Club

It isn't easy creating something that hasn't been done before. Saman Keshavarz doesn't seem to have that problem. Currently receiving one award after the other he worked his way up to the top before even graduating: Young director award at Cannes, student Clio for "Trigger Happy", Best music video "Luv deluxe" at SXSW, an Emmy award for his latest commercial... the list goes on and on.

The funny thing is: The guy is 24 years old and seems almost introverted not to say innocent. The only way to really experience his constant creative mind is working with him. And let me tell you- I have not met many students that have the potential of an entire creative department. The recipe? Work. Hard. Be brAvE:

I met Saman last spring during his auditions for the music video trilogy "Midnight Club" (by British artist Russ Chimes) and booked the role of Faye, the evil gang leader of the group. Portraying this manipulative lady I usually had no idea what the next scene will be about, what I'd do or how everything will play out at the end. Which I gotta say, was a very new yet intriguing way of working for me. We discovered the spark of the moment, improvised and trusted Saman. We pretty much went through the entire spectrum of  actor skills without a net- a true thrill!

The result is an intense mix of film noir, Pulp Fiction and Hitchcock's suspense that takes your breath away. The performers were mostly fellow students (impressive!) and a few actors who followed Saman's extensive, spontaneous and strong lead. See all three parts here:

Part 1: NEVER LOOK BACK

Part 2: TERTRE ROUGE

Part 3: TARGA

Be a strong artist. Be different. Be brave!

The miracle of booking a JOB

The TOSHIBA campaign



Today I'd like to talk about an actor's strong belief of booking a job- if only once in a blue moon or just before he gets thrown out of the apartment! Why belief you’re asking? Well…

...because it’s the only thing that enables us to walk the entertainment walk when the part we auditioned for was filled with a reality show star that “doesn’t really have any aspiration for acting” while we’re working our third shift in the fifth part-time job.

That being said you can imagine my surprise when I recently booked something simply by submitting myself! Let down by one too many auditions and submissions to endless mini jobs, I suddenly booked a 'Toshiba laptops'- campaign that I didn’t even have to audition for!

Huh? Granted, there might’ve been a lack of actual users of the brand (what they were looking for) and a niche for me (owning one!), but the booking actually knocked me off my feet.

It made me realize how we often run after things in an attempt to force them into our life but only truly get what we really believe in. I like belief… especially when it attracts miracles in time of my biggest despair.

Merry Christmas & Belief to all of you!!
HollywoodNista

German christmas traditions



My husband and me @Christmas



 The more I travel, the more I realize how much I value certain traditions that seem to validate and appreciate a certain season or culture. It doesn't make a difference if you're from Berlin, Havana, London, Los Angeles or a tiny village in Timbuktu- we are all human and want to belong. The fun thing is discovering how different habits, upbringings and even our means affect us.

Living in Los Angeles for a while now, I must admit I begin to miss certain cultural things I grew up with and took for granted my entire life. German traditions that is. Walking into a Berlin apartment during christmas season just reminded me of that: Beautifully decorated with soft filt stars, tasteful christmas lights and, most importantly, our typical advent wreathe, the room instantly spread a lot of warmth and started to calm me down in a magical way!

For those who have never heard or even seen such a thing as a "advent wreathe": It's a twig with four big red candles on it- lit one after the other on the four sundays before christmas eve. A cute and widely performed tradition in my country. Almost as popular as our advent calendar (a board with little numbered doors that are opened between the 1st and 24th of december to enjoy the little candy behind it)- both unheard of traditions to any other country, but filling our german hearts with warmth year after year!

Did anybody realize how funny traditions actually are? Humans that grew up with it love & maintain them, people that never experienced them don't miss anything because they wouldn't know what. Well, I guess I'm used to them! I find that our German ways add a cozy, warm and appreciative touch to things I want to remind myself of next year. Feel free to ask for more inspiration! I'll do my best to make a list.

German advent wreathe

Going for dinner and a queer cabaret in berlin now...- another thing you just have to do.

Your HollywoodNista