Today we’d like to introduce you to Chéna Verony. They and their team shared their story with us below:
Chéna Verony an award-winning actress and performer at heart. I’ve been part of many film productions around the country throughout the years. I’ve trained with great mentors from Chicago, LA, Atlanta, New York and also had the opportunity to study with acting coaches from Australia and the U.K. My family, my acting mentors, my agent, and my work ethic have all contributed to where I am today. Here’s a little fun story: Since I was younger, my brother’s been telling me this phrase, and I didn’t really understand it until now: “Passion is when you are doing what you love at any time of day or night. Let’s say someone’s waking you up at 3 o’clock in the morning. Will you enthusiastically do that thing that you say you love, even if it isn’t compensated?” He said: “That’s how you know that you’ve truly found your passion, your path in life.” I’ve been guiding my way through this amazing journey with that mentality, and I can say that inadvertently, I now never go to sleep until I’m done working towards my acting dream because I found my purpose and I’m not afraid to put in the work. My passion for the entertainment industry started early on when I was a little girl. I used to sing, play piano and violin on stage, then later decided to take the acting road as I felt an awesome spark from the very first moment when I performed my first monologue in front of an audience. It was a great feeling that I’ll never forget.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
A smooth road is like hitting the lottery jackpot. It’s very rare for an artist to walk on a smooth road, and that’s fine because these obstacles teach us the best principles and qualities a human being could ever ask for. These include great patience, hard work, experience, discipline, respect for the industry, consistency, and many more. The struggles that come along the way of being an actor are very different and yet similar to the majority of us. Starting from “rejection” to self-discipline and acceptance. As an actor, there are glory days when we are on a roll and book a couple of projects a week, but then there’s the silence, the downtime, that challenges our patience and choices. At the end of the day, I knew that if I did everything I could and worked on every aspect of the script to my best ability, the other things in the casting process are out of my control. We can’t do everything, and that’s ok. We are enough the way we are, and the rest is to be learned and improved.
Overcoming the downtime is the most important thing, accepting that what’s ours will wait for us, and if it didn’t happen, then it wasn’t meant to be. During this time, I love to work out, I go to Kickboxing and Krav Maga trainings, I connect with new talented people, I create my own content on social media, I read a lot of self-development books, watch movies to learn new skills, emotions, and strategies from other actors, writers, directors and producers, I love to cook a good meal, stay positive and enjoy the ride.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m honored and proud to say that with hard work and consistency, I was nominated as best actress in a drama and won a number of awards for the short film TRANSGRESSIONS in 2021. During the lockdown, I’ve connected with great artists like Randy Bernales and Keith Kelly, and together, we made a short film that has gotten recognition here in the U.S at the New York Film Festival (NYIFA), Los Angeles Television Script and Film Festival, California Indies, as well as in film festivals throughout Europe (London Shorts, Europe Film Awards). I’m currently cast for a number on movies and TV series in Chicago, Tennessee, New York, Atlanta, and Hollywood, including writing my own films. I also create acting-related content on social media, and I really enjoy putting a smile on people’s faces. It warms my heart when I receive so many kind words from my awesome followers. I’m grateful to all 1.1 million of you for following along and being part of my journey.
Any big plans?
I think about the future all the time, and I believe there’s a lot to be learned as I go. I like to plan things ahead and make sure that I follow through. However, I also like to keep myself spontaneous to some degree, as that prepares me to be flexible for whatever opportunity might come my way. I plan to collaborate with new creatives in the film industry to act, write, produce, and contribute in any way I can. As far as the big changes, it’s hard to say as we never know when the next project presents itself. I will keep studying, working on my craft, creating fun acting videos on social media, and putting myself out there without looking back because we only have one life, and doing what we love without regrets is the most rewarding thing.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.chenaverony.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chena_verony/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChenaVerony.Official
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chéna-verony-75734a229/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/chena_verony
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRnXNzhp3rC8N9izEmKXhbg
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@chena_verony
Image Credits
Lorelei Rubik
Irina Logra
Carina Conti
Tyler Core
Vik Photography
