Interview with Anna Stadler

Anna Stadler, my readers will not know you. Can you please tell us about yourself? And provide your imdb link.

At the core, I am your typical 18 year old. I enjoy spending time with my friends and family, shopping, cooking, taking my dogs on walks, snuggling my kitty cat.  We all have dreams and passions, one of mine just happens to be acting. I’ve always enjoyed it, but as I grew older it became obvious to me that it wasn’t a hobby, but something that I wanted to do as a profession. Back when I was 6, my best friend and I used to write ittle one act plays and pass out tickets to friends, family, neighbors, literally ANYONE that would accept a ticket and then we’d preform our play for them on whatever we could find to use as a stage. My focus was theater, but my real interest has always been film. I shared this with my voice/acting coach back in 2019 and he was like…. “Well, lets make that happen then!”  He encouraged me to research talent agencies and I decided to attend an open call to my top choice in the region. When I arrived the line to the front door was already wrapped around the block, somehow amazingly I was one of three peple they signed that night. Everything has happened pretty quickly since then.  This December I signed with Ascendent Talent Management, for international representation, and with a manager. 

 

The list of projects I’m connected to in 2021 is beyond exciting, some of which can be seen on my IMDb page: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm11231767/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_2


 

 

 

Ms. Stadler, can you tell us that one story you wish everyone knew about yourself? You know the one that if you had to introduce yourself to people that story?

My favorite story to share is a “happily ever after” rescue. I was driving to pickup a friend and saw cars straddling over what I thought was a squirrel struggling to cross the road.  As I got closer, I recognized that wobble as a recently born kitten, as we foster frequently for a local rescue.  I pulled over to the side of the road, ran into traffic and scooped the kitten up. She was terrifed and I snuggled her in my lap as I drove to try and calm her. A checkup at our local rescue showed her in good health, but entirely to young to survive at the clinic because she still needed to nurse.  Likely either someone had tossed her out of a car, or her mother cat dropped her while crossing the road. I took her home, fed her with a syringe and eventually ended up finding an amazing family that adopted her.  She lives a total princess life now and I even got invited to her one year birthday celebration. She truly went from imminent peril in the middle of a busy road to the purrrr-fect life. Sorry, I couldn’t resist.
 

Ms. Stadler what is the funniest part of your business/career/acting/filming profession?

I literally played a dog and my only lines were to bark!  I was in first grade and it was our private school’s musical theater production of ANNIE. I went immediately to the casting director and said, “Is there a casting call for Sandy?!?” She was so confused because it’s usually played by an actual K9, but I was so passionate about it that they added more to the role and cast me (a human) in the role. I had an adorable costume, complete with headband-attached ears and got to waggle and bark. A young actress/dog lover’s dream role. Especially since I got to spend every afternoon hanging out with mostly middle school students. They took me on as a kind of little mascot backstage and I had a ridiculous amount of fun. I made the audience chuckle repeatedly with my performance and I was pretty much hooked on being an entertianer from that point on. I kept it on my resume until recently, because it was always a great conversation starter with casting directors.  “You played a dog? Tell me about that….”

Ms. Stadler, what genre of movies are you into or would you say you want to be a part of? What scripts or movies do you have a desire to read or produce or perform in you? 

I genuinely have a passion for almost every genre when done well. So far, I’ve been cast in drama, suspense, horror, and comedy.  I’d really love to add an action adventure to my resume. I was a competition gymnast through middle school and I am a western rider, so it would be super fun to bring those experiences to the screen.  I love to challenge myself in any way, so a physically challenging role would be a great accomplishment. Especially since acting itself is so challenging all by itself. 

Ms. Stadler, During this time of lockdown these interviews are to help people find new books, movies, etc to look into. What has been your entertainment or what books/movies would you suggest?

Truth be told, I’ve binged watched a LOT more TV than I probably should admit. My mom and I watched the entire Grey’s Anatomy (all 16 seasons) and now we’re working our way through the Twilight serires. I’m a huge GLEE fan so I’ve also re-watched a good portion of those episodes, as well. Such respect for their acting and their stage performance/singing skills.  Honestly, what I’ve enjoyed the most though are reading scripts. I have 2 really good friends that are truly AMAZING writers and they’ve sent me scripts of projects they’re working on, everything from rocking through the 80s to a1846 western. That’s been my biggest pleasure. It’s like going on an adventure in your mind.  Also, I’ve been reading scripts for projects I’ve been cast in and for potential projects that I’ve been asked to consider.  I just appreciate a good story and there’s so many out there that deserve to be shared. 

 

Ms. Stadler, please tell my reader about each of your movies and provide links to the movies you are in.

I’ve been at this professionally for just over a year, so most of my film work is still not publicly released with the exception of a few short film projects and TV pilots which are on the festival circuit now and 3 commercials (Cromer’s P-Nuts, Asdis Tea Bar and Parker’s Kitchen Convience Stores) that can be seen on network and in their social media campaigns. The pandemic has slowed production in all stages, incuding postproduction.  My first feature film “Justice Through Redemption” was scheduled to have a premier on the east coast in December, but because we still haven’t been able to all get back together to refilm a few scenes due to the pandemic, it’s still currently delayed. I am hopeful with the vaccines now starting to be administered, projects will pick back up and some things will be released mid-year. 

Ms. Stadler, the classic question: what charity do you support? Can you provide a link to it and explain your reason for supporting that charity?

Our family has always been involved in animal rescue! I’m very passionate about helping those that don’t have a voice or the ability to help themselves. I volunteer at several local rescues, but mainly at Grand Strand Humane Society. We have a really large feral cat community in our area and they do great work in the “trap and release” program, which helps spay/neuter animals (a lot of times for free using grants) to help slow the population growth and promote health in the aniamls in general. I’ve helped trap a total of 3 litters that have either been adopted or re-released into a safe area maintained by volunteers. Most commonly though, we foster kittens that are too young or sick to be adopted yet. My speciaity is kittens who, for whatever reason, are brought in without a mom but still too young to be weaned. When I’m filming and not able to foster, we try to collect donations for the shelter. This past week we had a particularly cold spell and I was able to collect and deliver 2 loads of blankets and linens that our community so generously donated.  I’ve found that if you are willing to pickup/deliver most people are very willing to donate. We currently have 3 adopted rescues. 2 large dogs and one perfect princess kitty cat who is my child!  She’s ridiculously rotten and completely runs our house, including the 2 dogs that outweigh her by a total of about 170lbs. Below is a link to Grand Strand’s website. They also take in “lost cause” medical cases that other rescues refer to them because care is either too expensive or unavailble. You can ask for donations to be used in specific ways: medical needs, food, foster care, trap and release program etc.
https://www.grandstrandhumanesociety.com

 

Ms. Stadler, what is your dream project? With whom do you want to work with or if you start to direct what genre of work or film project would your future projects be or what type of movies?

My dream project would be one where I play a character with multiple personalities. I can’t imagine anything that would be a bigger challenge than convicing people that you, the same person, are multiple different people, as James McAvoy did so well in the movie SPLIT. To be able to use body language, voice, mannerisms to convincly be such completely different versions of the same person that people actually question if it’s really all YOU would be a life changing opportunity.  There are so many talented people in the industry, but I’d have to say Sandra Oh has the ability to show such depth of emotion. I’d love to learn from her in person on set.

The other project that I want to release is a music video. I generally sing to entertain myself, not others, but there’s something about using music to share a story that really intrigues me.  There’s such pressure on young girls to obtain an unrealistic body type that it often times creates low self esteem and unncesary insecurities. Ideally, I’d do a video showing beautiful, confident bodies in all forms.  In my opinion the artist “Lizzo” does such an awesome job of sharing body positivity and I’d love to make that kind of impact on young girls in particular. 

Ms. Stadler, what question do you wish I had asked? And what is the answer to that question?

How did starting in theater help/hander the transition into film?
Honestly, I ony see the positives.  In theater, there are no “do overs.” The audience sees it all, so you have to be über prepared and confident enough to put yourself out there raw, so to speak.  It taught me not to rely on the re-take and to be super ready for every minute the cameras are rolling. A director told me that I was one of the most prepared actors he’d ever worked with. That to me is one of the highest compliments, because it comes down to work ethic, which I believe is as important as actual ability. I’m hoping it’s one thing that can set me apart from another actress with similar ability.  Being “easy” to work with is also something I always strive to hear.  The other positive that theater brought is voice control. Filming, nobody has to chase me around with a microphone. I can usually project, without being perceived as “loud” in situations where picking up volume can be hard.  This was an advantage I had recently when filming inside a car with cameras outside and also in a bar with background noise.
Film acting is less grand than stage, but that’s an easy adjustment, in my opinion.  It’s actually why I prefer film to stage. Acting for film to me feels more real and genuine. You aren’t acting to fill the stage, but simply just becoming the character.  It’s mimics more of a natural conversation and I appreciate that nuisance of it.