Conversations with Lola Darzens

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lola Darzens.

Hi Lola, 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 am a French actor and filmmaker who started drama classes at the tender age of 12. I fell in love with the art but decided to follow a different path in my professional career and went to business school. However, I realized that the subjects I would thrive in were all the artistic ones: writing, documentary making, drama, etc. I finished my Master’s degree while trying to implement art wherever I could in business school. I then decided to pursue what I had in my heart as my true passion: acting. I went to the Art of Acting Studio Stella Adler in Los Angeles and blossomed in the artistic department. I rediscovered acting and fell in love again with writing. When I graduated, I decided to direct short films I had written and would eventually star in, and I am finally where I belong. Making art, making my art.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Not exactly a smooth road … I was an artistic kid, I tried everything from music to dance to writing to acting to I’m sure other fields I can’t remember. However, when time came to go to college, and I chose the business school, I severed myself from art. My schedule, workload, and commute made it impossible to dedicate any time to art for me. Luckily, my business school offered some classes that were art-related in which I would completely blossom. But my biggest hindrance was my confidence. I never believed I had the talent or capacity to make art my career: if art is this great, why would I be the chosen one and not anybody else who is probably more talented than me? I had a lot of intrusive thoughts, but I managed to push through all of this, and when I arrived in Los Angeles, I realized that even though my spark had been put aside for a long, it was still burning bright. And It’s my job to keep it burning.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am an actor and a filmmaker. I have directed, written, and acted in several short films of different genres. I have also been in several plays as an actor and plan on writing and directing my own very soon. I like to write stories that keep you on your toes and make you rethink your existence when you come out. I love twists on twists and telling stories that can be difficult to hear but healing to see.

How do you define success?
I define success as the ability to live from your passion and feel safe and fulfilled in that passion. I have found my way back to art as my passion, and I cannot see myself doing anything else but I have to in order to support my dreams. When I can safely live only from my art and be able to foresee myself doing more of this art, then I will consider myself successful. Although I do consider myself halfway there because when I ask myself the question, what would I change in my life to better it, I cannot come up with an answer and that to me is the marker of being happy with oneself and where we are now. That is also a form of success.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/loladarzens/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lola-darzens/
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/Qu7mcwQAO5k