We were lucky to catch up with Anna Greene recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Anna , thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
As an International, I feel like it’s kind of just in our bones. I am fortunate that my family are all hard workers and all have their own businesses, and so I grew up watching my parents work hard and putting in the time, blood, swear and tears and I watched them succeed. I also think it’s a South African thing. South Africans work hard. I have never met a South African that just sits back – we work for what we want and we will stop at nothing until we achieve it. And I have had that mentality since I was a little girl. I was a very hard worker in school and I worked to get 90% and up for my subjects. It was fun for me. I remember I was in grade 6 and I got really sick and I couldn’t go to school for the last term, which included final exams. And I studied so hard and when the doctors and my parents said I couldn’t write exams because I was too sick, I was gutted. Because I worked and studied so hard. So I have always had a really good work ethic. And moving from South Africa to the US and pursuing my acting dream, my work ethic is even greater. I also owe everything to my parents because they are giving me my dream, and so I have to work hard and give it my all because they have sacrificed so much for me. I owe them a lot and I am super thankful to them that they taught me how to have a great work ethic.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I was born in the beautiful Stellenbosch, South Africa. I am a born and raised Afrikaans girl and I hold my roots very close to me. I love to Braai (our term for BBQ, but it’s better haha) and listen to Afrikaans music. I love Rugby and I think because I am South African, wild animals hold a very special place in my heart. I am a big advocate for Rhino’s. I love to laugh and bake, and I am fortunate that I got my mom’s baking skills. She has her own bakery back in Stellenbosch called Baking Squirrel. I actually grew up in a very artistic house. My mom, who is obviously a chef and baker, and my dad used to own the Stellenbosch Art Gallery. And then my brother is a jack of all traits. Having the bubbly personality that I do, and growing up in an artsy house, I think the stars just aligned and opened the right doors for me to become an actress.
From a young age, acting was the one thing that just brought me so much joy and turned the shy little girl I was into this powerhouse of a presence. I remember I had a choir teacher always call me “Miss Hollywood.” And as I girl from South Africa, thinking about the fact that you would end up in Hollywood seems a little out of your reach, because the USA is on the other side of the world. But as I grew up and the passion was still there and that was the only thing I wanted to do, doors started opening. And I am very lucky that my parents are super supportive and never once told me to have a “plan B.”
So I got on a plane and moved to the US, which to this day is still so amazing to me that this Afrikaans girl is making it in Hollywood. I can now proudly say that I am an award winning actress. I have had a lot of films go into film festivals, where I won Best Actress for my role in Paintless, and most recently a film I had the pleasure of winning Best Supporting Actress Runner Up at the 48hr Film Festival in Los Angeles. Terrible Children is the name of the project and, among other awards, won Best Film as well and we are now heading to Filmapalooza in Lisbon in 2024, which I am absolutely thrilled about.
Award ceremonies are incredibly fun, but I think to me the most special part about acting is being on set and telling those stories. The moment I read a script and I connect to it and the characters, there’s nothing like it. And I think acting is one of the most amazing jobs out there because we’re adults that essentially just get to play pretend – and to me that is amazing. Because we all have an inner child inside of us and mine gets to come out every day. I am currently reading The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and in it he describes how every person has a personal legend and how we all strive to find it. What’s special about my personal legend, which is acting, is it makes me feel alive. I get to tell these amazing stories and make audiences feel emotions and think about the world in a different way. Or I make them laugh and forget about the troubles they have in their lives for a split second. And that is why anything creative, whether it’s acting, or directing or writing or composing – it’s such a unique gift and I am so grateful to be apart of that magic.
I have been very blessed with the stories that I have been able to tell. And I grateful for the range of stories as well. I’ve had a film about domestic abuse and the tragedies that come with it. I’ve had a mockumentary comedy to make people laugh. There’s been a feel good road trip film and a love story. And recently, which has probably been one on my favourites just because of the people I met and the whole set experience and it was just so freeing to do and I LOVED the character, was a horror/thriller which is coming out this year and it’s called Vindicator. I met some of the most amazing actors on this set and who are now dear friends of mine and this was a role that was a bucket list character for me. I can’t spoil too much but it’s about a serial killer who disrupts a live streaming true crime podcast and challenges the hosts to nightmarish tasks, that expose their darkest transgressions, for the chance to uncover the killer’s identity. SUPER FUN right haha.
What’s fun about this industry is also how we can do anything creative. I’ve realized I also love putting stories together and producing and I am excited about the next few years ahead because of some projects that are in development. One of the films I helped out on, Never Any Blue, just had it’s premiere at the Chinese Theatre. There are also some versy special projects about South Africa in the works and I cannot wait for them to get off the ground. I also just wrapped on a music video for artist ZZ Ward (her soundtracks have been featured in Cars 3, Riverdale, We’re the Millers) and on another feature film with some pretty big names attached, like Oscar and Golden-Globe nominated actor Eric Roberts, which will be released in 2024.
I am excited about the projects coming up and especially keep an eye out for Vindicator. It’s going to be a super fun one.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I think a big skill to have in your back pocket if you’re going to pursue acting, is when it comes to the wins and rejections in this industry. There are a lot of rejections and I think a key skill is knowing how to deal with them. Because they will happen and truth be told, when there is a project you really wanted and it falls through, it sucks. But I have adapted this mentality that makes it easier, which is this: If it’s yours, it was always meant to be yours. And if it’s not yours, no matter how hard you work, it was just not meant to me. And that makes it easier for me and it also makes the wins so much better. Because when I book a project, I know that the role was always meant to be mine. And if I don’t get a role, it’s okay, because it was never mine. The point is I worked hard on it and you never know what might happen. The role might not have been right but I know I did a great audition and there might be a project out there that’s right for me and the casting director or producer might call me back for that project. And I think that is important too, to learn to have patience. And it’s hard sometimes. I know I still struggle with that. But it is such an important skill to have in this industry because it will make you keep going. And a quality I think is important, not only in acting, but in life, is to just be a good person. Be kind and have fun. Because if you put that energy out there, you attract it. A teacher of mine has a saying that is so true, and she always says “just be of service.” And I think that is so beautifully put and such a beautiful quality in someone.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I love this industry, not simply because of the stories I get to tell and making movies and playing pretend, but because of the people I meet. And I think that is the back bone of this industry. It’s the writers, producers, directors, actors, cinematographers and gaffers etc. To me there is nothing like stepping foot on set and having this group of people who are all there because the love movies and they love the art behind it. And I love when I meet people on a set and you just connect and those friendships blossom and then you also make those connections because you loved their energy and you want them to succeed and vice versa and you want to keep creating with them. And so if you are on the crew side or cast side, I would love to expand my tribe and meet up and we can talk about collaborating and create something special and fun or weird and creepy or we can simply grab coffee and cheer one another on.
My instagram is @theannaoriginal or my email is [email protected]
I’m very excited to meet you 😉
Contact Info:
- Website: imdb.me/annagreene
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theannaoriginal/
- Other: Email: [email protected]
Image Credits
Kenneth Dolin Photography Daniel Miller Lina Kratsoff 48 Hour Film Project (Timothy Iaconis & PodBrother)
