Today we’d like to introduce you to Ella Bourne.
Hi Ella, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I’m Australian and have been living back and forth between Australia and LA since 2017. I moved over to pursue my acting career and I love being in LA and being surrounded by the creativity and sunny California lifestyle. Since moving to LA, I’ve diversified my career and stepped into producing and most recently directing. I found a new passion in storytelling through directing. I’m really excited to share my latest project shot in Australia and focused on women’s surfing. I think this will really resonate with my creative Californian family. It’s a documentary called Great Ocean Love produced by Not-For-Profit company Surfers for Climate.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
There are always challenges when living between 2 countries. It’s always been worth it to get to experience working in two countries and also getting to broaden your horizons by living in another country. I do think one of the biggest obstacles has been my own mindset. Thinking there are limitations to what I can do when it’s actually just me going “oh, someone like me can’t work in a place like Hollywood”. Moving to LA has totally changed my perspective of that and now I’m excited by new opportunities however challenging or daunting they may appear.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Well, predominantly I work as an actor but more recently I’ve moved into directing. As I mentioned before my latest project was directing the surf documentary Great Ocean Love for Surfers for Climate. I’m really excited to share this film and to see where this new venture of directing will take me.
Acting wise I’ve also had a really exciting year with different roles in both the US and Australia. There’s a screen grab of my role of Anna in Season 2 of Bothered. Created by and starring the amazing Julie Stein and also starring the incredible Emerson Neimchick along with a slew of powerhouse actors throughout. I’m really excited for this Season to be released. It’s an absolute dream role. Another project that came out recently was Season 3 of Flunk where I play the new teacher Veronica. I’m really proud of this show being a teen LGBTIQ+ series that tackles so many current issues teens face, it’s a real conversation starter and I’m so grateful to Melanie & Ric Forster for bringing me in, I love shooting this show!
We’ve also just released Games, a film by super-talented filmmaker Emily Mae Jones that we shot pre-pandemic. I was lucky to act in the film opposite Emily who wrote and directed it and we co-produced.
It’s available to watch on YouTube; https://www.youtube.
Another thing that has been a huge influence to stay in LA and help to thrive here is my creative community at Studio24Seven. My acting coach Mark McPherson who owns/runs Studio24Seven has fostered such a generosity of spirit in his students, leading my example. I thought one of the biggest challenges I would face moving to Hollywood would be the people and struggling to make friends. I supposed I believed the hype that Hollywood is brutal and people backstab you. I’ve found the exact opposite. It’s a place where people come to work hard and because they believe in storytelling and want to be at the top of their field. The support people show each other is incredible. The attitude really does seem to be ‘other around me winning and having something doesn’t detract from what I have’. People truly champion each other. I love that! Especially at Studio24Seven, so big shout out and thank-you to Mark McPherson and all my peers there for being pillars of support.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I think the biggest risk has been relocating to LA before I’d signed with an agent and landing in Hollywood not knowing anyone and really starting from scratch. Also learning to take risks within the work. Whether that’s in acting or filmmaking/directing. When I was younger, I think I tried to be a people-pleaser type of artist, but I now feel if I create something that is true to me it actually resonates with more people. I truly believe authenticity is the key.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ellabourne.com
- Instagram: @ella_frances
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ellabourneactress
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ellafbourne?lang=en
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGjpXgyZe1-_QgX7RBfR09w
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4920245/
Image Credits
1. Great Ocean Love Film Poster 2. Screen Grab from Flunk 3. Screen Grab from Bothered 4. Zoe Strapp 5. Amelia Dowd 6. Lucia Santiago (Screen Grab from Great Ocean Love) 7. Games Film Poster 8. Willem Dirk Du-Tuit
