Conversations with Ellie J Stafford

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ellie J Stafford.

Hi Ellie J, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I have been acting since the age of 11, and it all started after I watched ‘Spy Kids’, I thought the kids looked so cool, and I wanted to do that so badly. I figured I could either be a spy or an actor. I chose to be an actor. What drew me to acting was the ability to live 1000 lives in my one lifetime and share the stories for those who can’t. I have been in numerous acting classes since, building my skills as a performer. I have been leading in a web series, over 6 short films, and a feature film, including creating two short films of my own in 2021 ‘Spilt Milk’ and again in 2022, ‘Behind Our Scars’. In 2020, during the height of the lockdown, I came 1st in the Nationals for World Monologue Games, where I wrote and performed my own monologue. I have been in over ten theatrical plays/musicals. I have worked hard over the last six months refining my acting skills in the heart of Los Angeles with some of the world’s best teachers and casting directors. I am a very passionate actress who aims to inspire and help people who struggle like her, to help them feel less alone.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It’s never a smooth road in this industry. It’s like a roller coaster and you just never know when your next high or low is going to be. There have been alot of times where I have been desperate to do acting work but had no jobs or auditions, and there has been times where there has been so many auditions I haven’t had time to do anything else.

My biggest struggle however has been finding my process of how to go about exploring a character/text. There is no ‘right way’ to go about the work, and finding my own process and knowing how to find the character has been a big developmental process and is always and forever changing.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a 19-year-old actress from Australia who recently spent six months in LA completing an acting course, which involved working with some of the world’s best coaches and casting directors. I am hard-working and determined and I will stop at nothing to make it on the big screen. The power of cinema is something that compels me like nothing else does, and I aim to inspire and let others heal through the work that I do.

The short film I created, ‘Behind Our Scars’ covers exactly that; the story follows ‘What if a victim was to enter the mind of her bully’ where I play the victim ‘Billie’ and through this, we see both sides of the story, helping to heal people who have been bullied, and hopefully help those who are bullying, to find realize that hurting others doesn’t fix whats tormenting them inside. After being bullied at school, it was something I wanted to shine a light on in my work. To follow along with this short film, check out our Instagram page @behindourscars.film

I specialize in acting, I have been in over 6 short films, a feature film, over 10 plays/musicals and a web series and I am most proud of how far I have come. I feel like it’s very easy to get caught up in the present and wondering why things are going so slowly, but you have to stop for a second and take a look behind you. You have to realize that you have been on a really long journey and have completed so much since you started. I am in a place now where I honestly didn’t think was possible a few years ago. Getting here was slow, but its a marathon, not a sprint. The only person you are racing against is yourself and you have to remember that.

If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I was always a very outgoing person. In almost all of the home videos we have, you hardly see my siblings because I was always in front of the camera hogging the spotlight, I wasn’t a shy kid. I was always putting on plays for my parents and would always make my dad connect the camera up to the TV so I could see myself on the TV. Even right from kinder at our Christmas concert, you can see me clearly dancing in the back row while all the other kids are standing still.

Although I didn’t know until I was around 11, I think deep down my soul knew that this was what I was made for and what I was made to do.

I was always interested in arts and creatively showing myself in whatever form that could be.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elliejstafford/
• Other: https://pro.imdb.com/name/nm14077433?s=6cc4e54f-ecfd-ea70-137b-896a563eaa6d&site_preference=normal

Image Credits
Image 1: Andrew Raszevski Image 2: Darcy Halliday Image 4: Ned Morgan Image 5: Peter Blackburn and Robbie Ryde Image 8: Maty Young