We recently had the chance to connect with Sophia Grasso and have shared our conversation below.
Sophia, really appreciate you sharing your stories and insights with us. The world would have so much more understanding and empathy if we all were a bit more open about our stories and how they have helped shaped our journey and worldview. Let’s jump in with a fun one: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
I massively enjoy the mornings. As someone who’s father would guilt me into waking up early as an exhausted teenager, I would shoot awake anxiously thinking I was wasting my day away, to becoming a staunch morning person who finds complete peace in the mornings before anyone else has even stirred.
My morning starts with feeding our two orange cats because the screaming they do in the morning will wake up the entire house. Then I’ll clean up the kitchen, if it wasn’t done the night before, followed by prepping my morning tea. Next up is a lymphatic massage, body brushing, and as cold of a shower as I can make it. After that, I’ll jump into my Miracle Morning app followed by the Higher Self app where I meditate, exercise, and get my brain into the right place to set my day up the best way I can. Once all of that’s done, I head to the gym, leaving my wife the same gift I’ve given myself: a calm, quiet morning to begin her day.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Sophia. Actor, director, writer. And if it scares me, I’m probably going to do it.
Since the last time I spoke with CanvasRebel, a lot has changed. I married my wife Brianna in October. She’s a writer who’s pitched shows to HBO, Netflix, Peacock, and Amazon, so we’re basically a two-woman content machine at this point. We just moved to LA from the East Coast, which was a long time coming. Before that we’d bounced around everywhere. New York, the coast, even Costa Rica for a bit. I grew up on a job site so I’ve never been precious about getting my hands dirty, and right before COVID I built out a van and traveled the country solo, quarantining in national parks. That chapter taught me a lot about myself and what I actually want out of this career.
Now that we’re in LA, it’s been about throwing ourselves into the deep end. We already have a solid community out here and we’re meeting new people constantly. I’m currently looking for new theatrical representation and have been working privately with Josh Pais, who’s been incredible for my craft. My last project was alongside Johnny Simmons and Marcus Giamatti, which was a wild experience.
As an actor I tend to get drawn to characters who are guarded, tough, a little dangerous. People who are covering something up. Survivors, rebels, the person in the room who’s quietly running everything. I’ve been told I have this calm confidence thing that can read as intimidating, which honestly I’ll take. One of my closest friends once said I was going to rule the world and that when it happens, the world will be in good hands. I’m holding him to that.
On the writing and directing side, I’m currently working on a feature and a short. The short has been living in my head since college. I was just too scared to write it because of how intense it was. I’m finally at a point where I can bring it to life. Directing scratches a completely different itch than acting does. Building the world, shaping performances, seeing how all the pieces fit together. And I love collaborating. That’s honestly where the magic happens for me. I’m leaning into all of it hard.
I’m someone who leads with curiosity. I don’t half-ass things. If I’m in, I’m all the way in. And right now I’m all the way in on this next chapter in LA.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
The belief that survival in this industry means doing everything except the thing I actually want to do.
My mom was a freelancer her whole life. Yachts, bartending, life insurance, taking care of my grandmother when she had Alzheimer’s, running her own cleaning business. As a teenager she’d drag me along to help clean, and to this day my wife will tell you I’m a stickler for finding the little spots that aren’t clean. Sorry, baby. But thanks, Mom, I think?
I picked up that same energy. I’ve been a caretaker, waitress, hostess, cleaner, insurance agent, stage manager, usher on Broadway, leasing associate at a NYC real estate company, nanny. I could keep going. And I was proud of it because that’s what I thought you had to do to make it as an actor. You survive first and create when you can.
These past eight months I’ve been unlearning that. I’ve been letting go of the idea that I can’t be wealthy doing this. That the hustle has to look like ten jobs that have nothing to do with acting. I’m done with that. If it doesn’t serve my career in some way, I’m releasing it.
I’m also releasing my resistance to being seen. I don’t care about fame. But I want to work consistently at the highest level and that comes with a level of visibility I’ve always been uncomfortable with. People in your business, opinions flying at you. It makes me uncomfortable. But it’s part of the job. So I’m embracing it. I’m embracing being seen, being known, and the fact that I know I was made for more than what I’ve been allowing myself to have.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
That survival without purpose isn’t really survival at all.
All of those jobs I mentioned? They kept me financially alive. But creatively and emotionally I wasn’t surviving. I was just existing. And at some point you have to ask yourself if that’s even worth it.
I don’t regret any of it though. I’m grateful for every single one of those jobs and the people that came with them. I used to nanny for a family that became so dear to me that they’re like my own family now. Because of them I got to live in Costa Rica for two and a half months. I have loads of stories like that. I’ve always been great at making connections and using those connections to get me to the next place. That’s a skill I’ve honed over years of doing work that had nothing to do with acting.
But it’s time I use that skill in the industry.
Last May I took a job purely for the money. It pulled me away from acting right when I was about to have my best year yet. And I took it because I was scared. Because that’s what I was used to doing. Defaulting to safety.
The suffering that came from that decision is exactly what put me where I am today. In LA, working my ass off, knowing that whatever comes my way won’t deter me but actually push me through. Because I’m finally doing what I’ve always wanted to do.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
My feature length script.
I don’t want to give too much away but it’s a family drama set at a family camp in the Adirondacks. It deals with grief, legacy, and what it actually means to learn how to live. It’s deeply personal to me. My mom is one of five siblings and I grew up incredibly close to that side of the family and all the drama that came with it. My mom is the oldest and her youngest sister is fourteen years younger. She helped raise her and they’re still extremely close. A lot of that family dynamic is written into the script. And the camp where it takes place is where my nana is actually buried, so it holds a lot of weight for me.
The idea came to me when I was deep in the throes of a play I was working on with my best friend called The Effect. Great show, great reviews, but living in that emotional state every day put me in the most creative headspace I’ve ever been in. That’s where this story came from.
I don’t know how long it’ll take to make. But I know I’m making it.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
That I loved deeply, fiercely, and was loyal to the people in my life.
That I was intense and creative and wanted others to have access to the opportunities I felt I never had growing up. That I made people believe they should go after what they want no matter who tells them they can’t.
And that I was curious. Always curious. About people, places, how things work, what else is out there. A lot of those random jobs I took weren’t just about money. I genuinely wanted to experience new places and meet new people and learn different things. If I wasn’t an actor I would’ve been a brain surgeon. I don’t think I would’ve made it through school, but the idea of being in an operating room, looking at things you would never see in your day to day life? That’s what drives me. That curiosity has always been at the core of who I am. I just needed to point it in the right direction.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sophiagrasso/
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8539931/
Image Credits
@YellowBellyPhoto for my headshots
Johnny Simmons and I shooting for a short called Is It Time?
BTS for Brute
