We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Callie Bussell. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Callie below.
Callie, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
Very early into my 20’s, I received a head injury. Six months after I healed from that I contracted Lyme Disease on a film set which launched a decade long journey of reclaiming my health. This colored every aspect of my life, and the fight and dedication it took (and still takes, to a degree) to maintain my health has made everything in my life pale in comparison. When it comes to acting, auditions, and being onset, whenever I am at begin to feel nervous or less-than, I remember everything I’ve already overcome and it feels like a walk in the park.
I think acting is such a tricky profession because you have to simultaneously disconnect from the business of it all while putting your entire being into a role and that can be an extremely difficult task sometimes. I think having unending trust in yourself creates the skin necessary to excel in a tricky business.
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’m Callie Bussell. I am an actor and a writer by trade, and an adventurer and traveler by passion. I am extremely blessed to follow my dreams and I never take it for granted. As an actor, I have worked alongside amazing talents such as James Maslow and Doug Bradley, and have been fortunate enough to win awards for my acting including Best Acting Duo alongside Elijah Noble El for his short film “Goodnight and Goodbye” as well as a Shorty Award for my portrayal of Kizzy the Cat Lady for Litter Robot by Whisker. Most recently, I completed filming a psychological thriller titled “Thy Will Be Done” in which I played a detective with a very difficult choice to make.
After years of focusing on acting and screenwriting, I have been pouring my energy into what I hope to be my debut novel featuring themes of grief, resilience of the human spirit, human sexuality, and the fight to protect peace set in a historical fantasy backdrop. Writing has become a meditation for me and I’m finding the switch back to prose to be a deeply rewarding one.
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?
For better or for worse, the acting industry (just as so many others) is about who you know, so having the ability and genuine desire to connect with others I think has been one of my greatest blessing in pursuing an artistic career. Additionally, memorization and organization have always come easy to me which are two extremely beneficial skills to have, especially if you’re working another job while acting. Last but not least, I think dedication to craft is what will achieve your win more than anything else. Take classes, practice with friends, write skits and perform them, get on tiktok, study your contemporaries, watch movies and TV and theatre, attend talkbacks, Just whatever you do, involve yourself with others who are doing what you want to be doing. It’ll be the fastest way to achieve what you want.
Do you think it’s better to go all in on our strengths or to try to be more well-rounded by investing effort on improving areas you aren’t as strong in?
When it comes to acting and writing, and really any creative field, what I have found helpful and what I hear from so many other professionals is that one of the best ways to improve your craft is to LIVE. The more life you’ve experienced, the more you can pour into your work. As an actor, you’re expected to maintain your appearance, stay sharp on all of your special skills and accents, memorize 17 pages in a night for your audition tomorrow, and drop whatever you have going to be on set the next day. There is a lot of pressure and not a lot of stability, but what I’ve found is that allowing yourself to live your life, prioritize friends and family and travel, and round yourself out as an individual, it will fuel your work all the more and mitigate burn out.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.calliebussell.com
- Instagram: @calliebussell
Image Credits
Jackson Davis Photography
