Meet Chrisse Soukaï

We recently connected with Chrisse Soukaï and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Chrisse, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?

It is a work in progress. But acting helped me a lot. The only thing I was always confident about was my ability to learn. I was always good at school but I was not very confident. Up until I finished my Master’s studies, it was difficult, though my friends and family were trying their best to help me out. But if it doesn’t come from within, then it will never work. It has to stem from you first. When I started acting, it was funny to see how the work would always point at things I had to work on within myself. My emotions, my self-love,… and then my confidence and self-esteem.
One thing I always heard my teachers say about acting is that at some point, you have to get up and just do it, regardless of what the numbing voices inside might have to say. Because they always have something very negative to say: you’re not good enough, you’re not prepared enough, you will make a fool out of yourself… But just throwing myself on the stage and being in the moment with my partners and doing it helped a lot to shush those voices down. I repeated this exercise until I didn’t hear them anymore, especially when I had to act. And from then on, my confidence started to bloom. Now, the same confidence is slowly coming in other areas of my life, but as I said, it’s a process and I’m finally getting the hang of it (I think!). Thanks to this, I could finally join a martial arts class that I always wanted to take and I’m doing it. And now martial arts help me strengthen my confidence and self-esteem.
I think Nike got it pretty right with their slogan, haha! Sometimes you just have to get up and do it, and be proud of yourself for putting yourself out there, in the big and little things. And this alone, will help a lot!
I also learned with this to take pride in what I do and to never undermine my own work. Be proud of yourself and of what you are putting out there. No one else will do it for you.

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 actress. A year ago, I didn’t feel confident in saying it out loud but thanks to the support of my peers and coaches, I can allow myself to embrace it fully. And it feels amazing!
Some years ago, I fell in love with acting and movies. I remember watching “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and I was so amazed… There was some kind of magic happening and I remember telling myself “I wish I can do that someday…”. I never thought then that I could ever do it, though I was fascinated. It felt out of reach.
I decided to finish my studies and if that flame was still burning inside and I was still yearning to pursue acting, then I might just try it!
And of course, once I was done with my studies, that flame was still burning bright. One of the thing I always tell myself is that I do not want to have any regret in this life. So, right after I received my Master’s degree, I joined the Los Angeles Acting Conservatory in Culver City! And it’s the best decision I ever made for myself.
I act in small productions for now but I’m also starting to get into directing and shooting my own projects. I’ve been into writting my entire life, mostly books but now, I’m putting my skills into writing screenplays, that I hope I can bring to life with my community very soon! I’ve also started training in stunts and film fighting and I couldn’t be happier!
Right now, I am very much focused on perfecting the craft and putting myself out there, trying to stay as busy as possible!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

That’s a very good question! In terms of what I learned so far, through the work and what life has been throwing at me, I’d say that patience is definitely an ability that you want to have. You can’t rush things, whatever it is. Everything has a process and if you engage towards that thing that you want, you need to trust its process. And more often than not, it will take time. Be conscious of it, accept it, and go with it. Rushing won’t help you reach your goal faster and it will definitely rob you of the experience along the way that will give you the ability to not only reach but keep that thing that you want in your hands.

Remain optimistic, no matter how hard life is. Because life is scary and is a rollercoaster, and nobody knows what will happen tomorrow. But you have to trust that you are doing the work and that things will get better. We tend to worry a lot about the future. Which is very much normal but the only thing you truly have complete control over is the present. That’s in your hands. Do the most you can do in the now. If you run after the future, you will never stop running, it’s always ahead of you. And you’ll end up missing the moment. Embrace the present because it’s so precious. Keep your head up and never lose your hope.

Be kind. And not just with people, but also with yourself. I was always kind but not to myself. I was really hard on myself and in ways, I know I still am. But I’m working on it, haha! But be kind to yourself. You have to. You probably don’t realize all the things that you do. I realized that I never acknowledged all the things I was doing, because to me it was never enough. And I’m still struggling with that… The only person who will bring you to your goal, who knows the sacrifices that you make along the way, who knows how hard it can be when you get overwhelmed, is yourself. You are your best person. In every single area of your life. So be kind to yourself and treat yourself right.

Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?

I used to feel overwhelmed easily. It’s something that I took from school. I was putting a lot of pressure on myself to be a good student and the stress overwhelmed me a lot. I felt like many people around me also had a lot of high expectations and I couldn’t disappoint.
So feeling overwhelmed and close to burning out, yep, I’ve been through it!
Acting helped me develop another philosophy for me and how I view my life, and one important lesson I received was to let go. Let go of everything and just let things be.
There is but so much we can control. I just do what I can, what I have control over and I try not to worry about things that are not in my hands.
When anxiety and stress slowly creep in, I don’t try to push them away because that will just make things worse. I acknowledge how I feel and I try to see why I’m feeling that way and I let go for a minute. I try to re-focus on myself, I take a breath away from things just to reconnect with myself.
Sometimes, I just need to do something that brings me joy for a minute: write, read a book, watch a good movie, bake, take care of my plant, go to the gym, or simply enjoy a day with a good friend.
At times, you just need a small break, to step back and see the whole picture, a new angle to whatever it is that’s bothering you, to re-focus on yourself first, and listen to your body (it will tell you when you need that break!).

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @chrisse_1987
• Facebook: Chrisse Soukaï

Image Credits

Sebastian Chiu
Lean Tucks
Ti Young