Meet Becki Dennis

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Becki Dennis. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Becki below.

Becki , 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?

In a way, I’ve always felt like a underdog who hasn’t had things come easily, so I’ve had to hustle to make things happen. Since a young age, I was rejected from theatre and dance groups that I auditioned for, and in college when I was a musical theatre major I wasn’t cast in my school shows either, so I sought out opportunities to perform outside of school. This prepared me well for the real world of rejection that professional actors face. My parents weren’t onboard with my career choice initially either, which actually motivated me more to succeed and made me want to work harder to prove myself. Also, when you’re not thin or traditionally pretty, roles don’t just get handed to you; you need to be more than a pretty face and work on your craft. It’s not always about talent, but drive and determination, too.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I’ve been an actor and performer my whole life, but professionally since college. I’ve been making money at this for 20 years, which is a long time now that I now think about it. My career has taken many twists and turns, from focusing on dance first, then theatre, then owning a company devoted to helping others succeed in the industry, dabbling in areas such as casting, PA, and AD work, then movies and commercials in Boston, then to LA to focus more on TV, and back to Boston, where I’m doing movies & commercials again. My next step will be focusing more on producing, directing, and writing. But, no matter what it is that I’m doing, my passion has also been in the biz, and likely always will be.
I’ve been in over 20 TV shows, such as This Is Us and Curb Your Enthusiasm, and was the the lead in Spin the Plate, an indie film available on Amazon. I recently worked on the Oscar-winning film “American Fiction” and a Google commercial, as well. But, my proudest achievement to date are my twin toddlers, Belle & Sebastian.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Trust is an area of importance. You need to trust the process. If you put in the work and keep the faith, success will eventually happen, even if it takes years.
Joy is important. If you can’t find the joy in the journey then you will burnout. You will need a support system and friends in the biz to lean on, too, during the times you may want to give up. They can help you find the joy and keep you laughing when the going gets tough.
Optimism that things will work out. Without optimism and hope, you won’t last.
I’m still learning and relearning these things over and over again, as this business has peaks and valleys; slow times and good times. I would recommend creating a full life that doesn’t revolve around acting, that will keep you happy during the lean times and inspired when you don’t have acting work. Create your own work and write if you can. Don’t depend on someone else to hand you a role in order to act. I act everyday with my kids, as we play pretend, and I explore different character voices when I read to them. There are always opportunities to flex your imagination and creativity.

Alright, so before we go we want to ask you to take a moment to reflect and share what you think you would do if you somehow knew you only had a decade of life left?

Being a mother to twins is very challenging and time consuming, so it’s harder to focus on my career as much right now. But, I know this is just a season in my life. I am trying to prioritize taking care of myself, and sometimes that means turning down auditions so that I don’t burnout. You get sick more often when you have kids because of the germs they pick up, so getting enough sleep and self-care is even more important now. I’m putting my health and my kids health first, and career second, and that is okay. Actually, it’s more than okay, it’s necessary.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://imdb.me/beckidennis
• Instagram: @beckidennis
• Facebook: Becki Dennis Buchman
• Linkedin: N/A
• Twitter: N/A
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/beckidennis
• Yelp: N/A
• Soundcloud: N/A
• Other: https://resumes.actorsaccess.com/beckidennis

Image Credits

Peter Konerko Photography for headshots
Michael Ori for the final shot