We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Luisa Azevedo a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Luisa, great to have you with us today and excited to have you share your wisdom with our readers. Over the years, after speaking with countless do-ers, makers, builders, entrepreneurs, artists and more we’ve noticed that the ability to take risks is central to almost all stories of triumph and so we’re really interested in hearing about your journey with risk and how you developed your risk-taking ability.
I believe my ability to take risks has been shaped by a combination of passion, resilience, and commitment to follow my dreams. I have amazing parents who always believed in me, always encourage me to be brave and every time something went wrong they would tell me to do it again.
Moving from Brazil to the US alone to study acting was a huge thing to do, but to be honest I was never scare because I wanted to study acting in here so bad that I just immersed myself on it. Also in these past few years being involved in various short and independent films provided me with a platform to explore different aspects of storytelling. Each project, whether as an actor or a writer, became a stepping stone that allowed me to embrace uncertainty and the unknown.
So, I guess my ability to take risks is all because of my dreams. I’ve come to see each risk as an opportunity for growth and a chance to bring my creative visions to life. It’s definitely a journey that requires courage, adaptability, stepping outside my comfort zone. And of course I deal with the anxiety and comes of it, but it is something that I’m working on it everyday and never ignore my mental health while I continue this journey.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am an actor and filmmaker currently living in California. Almost three years ago I moved from Brazil to study here more about acting and film and what a ride it’s been! After graduating, I got involved in some incredible short films and projects that got a lot of recognition and some love at festivals worldwide and that gives you an energy boost to keep going. I was only acting during this last few years, but last year I got to produce my first project, which was definitely a game changer. A lot of stress, but It was like falling in love with filmmaking all over again, especially when you’re surrounded by a bunch of creative people who are just as passionate as you are.
This last few months I was focus more on writing a new project that I wanna produce, because writing is also a huge passion, and its been challenge because I’m a little scared to jump into the writing world but I’ve writing for years, so I thought why not give it a chance? And also, the year started with some cool projects for acting and I’m so excited to get back into it. Can’t wait for these upcoming projects and to share with everyone!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
The first one is for sure Adaptability! The ability to adapt to new roles, projects, and challenges has been crucial. things don’t always go as planned so always embrace the unknown because it helps you grow as an artist. Also, networking and collaboration, working with awesome and creative people it’s always the best. If you’re just starting it gives you an excitement about work and the connections can be just as important as your skills. And the last thing I think that it is you have to know that you are continuous learning! It makes you more creative and humble in this industry. But, my biggest advice to everyone is to be fearless and take risks. Learn from every crazy experience, and never forget to be true to yourself. It’s a wild ride, but it’s worth it!
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
To be honest that is one thing I’ve been facing it. I’ve been feeling overwhelmed lately and it is so difficult to deal with, but what is working for me is to write at night, even if its just a sentence, because sometimes you feel so drained that you don’t feel like writing. But writing its good to remind to be gentle with ourselves, that we need to embrace the ups and downs and we need to respect our limits so we don’t feel emotionally tired. Also, I love a good walk and also music has this magical power to shift my mood, so that helps a lot, because I will be dancing in my room and after that I feel like I can breathe again. I’m still learning that its okay with saying “no” when needed so we don’t feel overwhelmed by the end of the day and I think everyone should remember that.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/luisazevedo_
