We recently connected with Angela Aiello and have shared our conversation below.
Angela, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
There is an old Yiddish proverb that states, “We plan, God laughs.” In the winter of 2014, my 23 year old self was about to graduate from Illinois State University with a degree in Acting. Part of our final assignment was to create a plan-our vision for ourselves for the next five years. Obviously, mine included things like, “In five years I will have an Oscar. I will be starring in a world renowned film franchise. I’ll own homes in LA, New York, and London. I’ll be gearing up to launch my makeup line. Life will be grand.”
Fast forward to 2023, nearly ten years later, and I think it’s safe to say God got a good chuckle out of that five year plan.
Resilience, and learning to cope and redirect when your plans don’t go as you hoped are essential to being an actor. In a profession where rejection is both inevitable and frequent, it can often be difficult to not let the sting get to you. You’re too tall. You’re too short. You’re too ethnic. You’re not ethnic enough. They’ve decided to take the project in a different direction, but thank you so much for your time.
Fortunately, resilience is something that runs in my family. My father moved to Chicago from Italy at the age of 15. At 18, despite the desperate pleas of my nonna, he enlisted in the US Navy. Everyone told him he was crazy to join the military in a country that was not his own, speaking a language he had not yet fully mastered. But nevertheless, he persisted and was honorably discharged in 1976. My father is not one to take no for an answer and a huge advocator of forging your own destiny despite naysayers.
And then there is my mother. My mom was the middle child of 5 in a Mexican family living on the south side of Chicago. She ultimately became the first in her family to graduate college and went on to have an extremely successful teaching career. For years she worked full time teaching while simultaneously being a fulltime mom who made it look easy. She is a Wonder Woman and a true picture of resilience.
I truly believe you can do anything if you don’t give up. I know, it sounds obvious. Like, DUH. But here’s the thing. Not giving up is HARD. To constantly put your heart out there and be knocked down to then brush yourself off, get back up and repeat is exhausting. For resilience, I find it helpful to look to my parents’ example. I look to my friends and husband who support me, and urge me to keep going. And ultimately, I look to me.
I may not have the Oscar and the mansions I planned for in college. But I think when you find yourself longing for what you want, take a look at what you have. In those years since I graduated college, I have worked on critically acclaimed television sets. I’ve performed twice at the famed Second City Theatre. I was a guest on The Drew Barrymore Show, where in a truly pinch-me moment, got to have a girl chat with her and Cameron Diaz. I’ve starred in a music video and been on red carpets. I think college age Angela would still think that was pretty cool.
So I advise you, if you’re reading this, and feeling like you aren’t exactly where you had planned at this point in your life, take stock of things you’ve done that would make your younger self lose their mind in pride. Then let that propel you forward to your next point. You’ve got this. To quote Paulo Coelho, “It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.”
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am an actor and I am so grateful to be one. I think storytelling is one of the most vital, important aspects of being human. My whole life art has been very much at the core of who I am, and I love sharing that with people. The beginning of my acting journey involved lots of training and theatre, and the last few years have been my adventure into film.
Last year I entered new territory by starring in a music video. On the first day of filming, I walked onto set and was greeted by our cheerful choreographer, ready to teach me the routine. Though I knew I’d be dancing in the video, I didn’t realize there would be actual choreography. I am NOT a dancer and I had about 45 minutes to learn these steps. It was truly a sink or swim moment for me. I actually am very thankful that I didn’t know about the choreography ahead of time. If I had known, I probably would not have taken the job. What a fun opportunity I would have missed! Ultimately I was so proud of the work we all did on the video, titled “Never Stop Climbing” and directed by the wonderful Romeo Kattookaran. The video amassed half a million views within days, so I think it’s safe to say that other people enjoyed it as well. It was such a learning experience for me and reinforced the idea that sometimes doing things that scare us is essential for growth.
2022 also marked my first foray into horror. In director Michael Gabriele’s Room Tone, I played the role of Annette, a vain reality star whose set descends into chaos when the patience of the sound guy is tried one too many times. Room Tone was an exceedingly fun project and is currently making the festival rounds.
Another creative outlet for me in recent years has been makeup. I love transforming myself into different characters and recreating well known looks on my Instagram, @angela.aiello. During the isolated days of quarantine, playing with makeup helped to keep me sane and creatively fulfilled. I try to incorporate a bit of storytelling into my makeup videos and make them fun to watch. My theatrical background definitely comes in handy with these as well-I try to purchase as little as possible for looks and instead use what I already have. Many a household item has been cut up, distressed, spray painted, or sewn to something else in the creation of my videos!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Surround yourself with a good group of people who know and love you for YOU. People who will cheer you on but will also bring you back down to earth if you’re being an idiot. I truly think having a strong support system is absolutely crucial.
Stay humble, but know your worth. It’s ok to be proud of the work you’ve done, but always be grateful and remember where you started. Be on time, learn peoples’ names, be kind to everyone from your castmates to the sound guy to the craft service folks.
Never stop learning. As artists, but ultimately as HUMANS, we are never “done,” You’ll never know everything about anything, no matter how much experience you acquire. You’re not always right, so be open to others’ points of view.
As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
Little Women was such an impactful book to me as a child. Growing up, Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy March were as real to me as any of my school friends. Upon repeated readings and viewings of both the novel and 1994 film version, I knew everything there was to know about the little women. The story taught me just about every lesson a little girl could hope to learn-the importance of family and that it’s ok to be different. That it’s alright to pursue an arts oriented career that might not be deemed ideal by society. It taught me that women are capable of doing everything a man is, but are often met with many more obstacles in doing so. And finally, that while you don’t *need* a man to make you happy, if you happen to find one who does, it doesn’t make you any less of a rockstar feminist.
It may sound silly, but there are times on my artistic journey when I’ve felt defeated and thought, “WWJMD?” (What would Jo March do?). An actor’s life can sometimes feel like a storm-the ups and downs tossing you about like waves in the ocean. There’s the resounding, clap of thunder when you book a job and the downpour of regret when you botch an audition you did so well in the car. But it does get easier, and I hope that anyone early in their journey remembers that. To quote Louisa May Alcott in my beloved Little Women, “I’m not afraid of storms, for I’m learning how to sail my ship.”
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @angela.aiello
- Other: TikTok: @angela.aiello
Image Credits
Never Stop Climbing Poster: Photo by Deecee Chung, Poster design by Shaheeb CP
