Conversations with Kelly Nienaltowski

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelly Nienaltowski.

Hi Kelly, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
You know that feeling when you discover exactly what you want to do with your life? That happened to me at eight years old when, as I was watching and re-enacting my favorite scenes from movies, my parents said “you could do that for a living, you know”. I didn’t know. It never occurred to me at that age that that was actually a job. A career. But in that moment, I knew it was for me. Shortly after, I was enrolled in my first drama class, continued through high school, went on to study and receive my BFA in Acting from Webster Conservatory, moved out to LA from my hometown in Michigan, and the rest you can probably imagine. But I suppose anyone who is reading this isn’t imagining, hence, this interview. We’ll get into more details as we go, I’m sure, but before the pandemic, I could be found working at Universal Studios Hollywood as your friendly Studio Tour Guide, Dinosaur Handler, Wandkeeper, and citizen of Whoville.

Before that, I had a handful of jobs waiting tables, slinging coffee, and catering gigantic weddings. I was an original member of The Los Angeles New Court theatre and performed in some of my favorite theatre pieces to date, including Viola in Twelfth Night and just about everyone in 50 Shades of Shakespeare. I met my boyfriend, Mark, while working on The Theatre of Tomorrow, which is a narrative sci-fi anthology podcast/radio play. We also created another show called The Hotel which is perfect for all you horror fans (notice I said “you”, as I am not a horror fan. But I play a good creeper, I guess!) I currently reside in beautiful South Pasadena with Mark and our two cats, Ashi and Haku. I’m a huge murder mystery fan (more-so books and movies/TV as opposed to true crime. That’s just too stressful and infuriating for me anymore.), I look forward to being able to travel to places like Switzerland and Italy whenever we can, I’m learning Italian, and I’m doing my best to navigate all the changes we’re facing in this world.

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?
Am I allowed to swear? Because the answer is a resounding “f!#% no”, it hasn’t been smooth. Everyone always says how hard it is to break into the industry. And that’s true. But to me, that always translated to “it’s hard to book” in my mind. However, my experience over the last almost-decade is that the hard part for me was even getting an audition. That I wasn’t prepared for. And it’s still a struggle. Pre-COVID, I had a handful of agents over the years and I was able to count on one hand how many auditions I had gotten through them collectively. Not only is this outrageously frustrating, but really embarrassing. “What could I possibly be doing wrong? How is it possible that literally next to no-one is calling me in? I keep getting great feedback, so why am I not getting an audition? What I am missing? What the hell am I doing wrong!?” Nothing. I’m not doing anything wrong, I realized.

This business is hard. And while I’ve learned a lot over that time, I was always doing my best with what I had and what I knew (and who I knew). And let’s be clear, it’s not like I haven’t booked anything. I worked on some amazing projects, made my own which was accepted to and won awards at festivals, and met some great connections along the way. But the struggle is still happening. In fact, as recently as last fall, I was told by multiple people in the industry that I’m doing everything right and just need to find my people. Luckily, I’m definitely finding my people more and more. I’m currently studying at Stan Kirsch Studios and love the company that I’m in. I also signed with my fantastic new manager, Chelsea (during COVID, which I didn’t think was a possibility) and couldn’t be more grateful to have someone like her in my corner. I’m sure there will always be struggles, but I feel more equipped than ever to overcome them.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I wear many hats and find myself technically running three businesses and about to start a fourth! (As Frank Barrone would say, “Holy crap!”) First and foremost, my acting career is my main business and my professional priority. Everything I do is in service to that whether it’s directly related or something adjacent that will serve me for various roles or actor-demands in the future. I have a long history of playing character roles which I love. I’ve played everything from young girls, young boys, old ladies, a 40-year-old Russian man who is a twin, a horse, a parrot, a spaceship, a larva. I could go on. And I hope to because these kinds of big personality roles are some of my favorites to play and feel very comfortable. Which…says a lot, I’m sure. I’m lucky enough to have played some amazing characters on stage, on screen, and through voiceover. To be honest, film and tv is where my heart lies. I love everything about the filmmaking process. In addition to that, I also run an Etsy shop called Curious by Kelly, which I started as a creative outlet to share my handmade cards. I’ve always had a love of design, and it’s an awesome feeling to create something with your hands. I’ve created entire custom wedding suites for friends and family, other custom invitations, and good ole greeting cards to send throughout the year.

Another of my four business hats is working as an Arbonne consultant. I wasn’t interested in them when I was approached many times in the past about their skincare, but when I learned about their nutrition program this past summer, I tried it and was completely on board. I had been struggling with my nutrition (figuring out why I wasn’t seeing changes I wanted to see while I was working out five days a week) and this program was like flipping a switch in my brain. Plus, I tried the skincare after all the nutrition success and fully acknowledge that I should have done it years ago when my friends told me about it. All this attention to my health, both inside and out, and fitness lead me to my fourth business hat; a Certified Personal Trainer and Certified Nutrition Coach through NASM. I’m currently in the process of hashing out the details of my services and how to best reach and serve clients.

I’m incredibly proud of what I have accomplished this past year. In every area, I gained clarity on what I want and what I need to do and acted on it. The first half of 2020 was rough, as I felt like so much had been taken away. But I realize I have control of much more than what I had been giving myself credit for. So I made some changes and now I’m poised to have an incredible year full of possibilities. I’m a big step closer to “breaking in”. I’m healthier than I was a year ago (maybe ever in many ways). I’m a big step closer to doing more of my own stunts and feeling like a total badass on screen. I could have sat 2020 out. But I didn’t, and I’m proud.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I go back and forth with this. In terms of making choices when I’m acting or when I’m doing anything creative, I feel I take risks quite a bit. When I made Cupcake, the award-winning project I mentioned earlier, it was a huge risk. It cost a lot of money for a short film, much of which was my own or that of my friends and family that donated to our fundraising campaign. It centers around stunts. It required rehearsals and the best stunt people I know to bring it together. It required finding a location that would allow us to do that. It required massive flexibility on set when things, inevitably, didn’t go as planned. And it was a huge time commitment from start to finish. So while there were tons of risks, they were all risks I was willing to take because that’s what you need to do when you’re in a creative career, and I wanted to make this film. When it comes to personal finances or my health, I’m far less risky. I save and try to spend my money intelligently. I don’t smoke or do drugs (with the exception of some wine or a cocktail) because I value my health considerably. And I’m cautious about the health and safety of my loved ones. Which is why I wear a mask. And stay home. 🙂

Contact Info:

• Email: kellynienaltowski@gmail.com
• Website: http://www.kellynienaltowski.com/
• Instagram: @KellyLynnNino
• SoundCloud: https://open.spotify.com/show/3T4fqkXoRd0rYp6FUM9c6U
• Other: kellynienaltowski.arbonne.com, https://www.etsy.com/shop/CuriousbyKelly

Image Credits
Kevin McIntyre, Kelly Nienaltowski