Today we’d like to introduce you to Sierra Francis.
Sierra, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I started acting in Hollywood at 16 years old. Off the bat, I was taught what is called The Stanislavski Method. Something I knew nothing about but would later become a very important and core aspect of my career. What it means to be a method actor is very unique. You’re not just reading lines and you’re not just pretending to show emotion. To act through this system is to live truthfully through imaginative circumstances. To experience the character’s life as if it was your own. What have I personally gone through to make this feel and ultimately look…real.
My first acting lesson I ever had, I imagined a bird in my hands. I wired all of my consciousness to it. I concentrated on every aspect, I felt his heartbeat, I felt his wings shutter and after, I slowly watched him die. I cried and for the first time in my life, was appreciated for it. For the first time in my life, I wasn’t told I was too sensitive. I wasn’t told I needed to get over myself.
That feeling never went away when it evolved to the audition room and eventually…onto set. For the first time in my entire life, my vulnerability was praised and even when I turned it into strength, anger and rage, it was praised even more. From then on, I excelled through method acting and its teachings. My coach Jeff Alan Lee is my biggest supporter and always reminds me of how unique and free of an actor I have become. Method acting has not only changed my career but my entire outlook on life.
Being a writer grounds me. I can write for hours on any topic. As for now, I am part of a screenwriting group in North Hollywood with very successful young play writes and actors. My coach told me that actors are good writers and writers are good actors, it clicked for me since then that I was in the right place.
No matter where my words go, I will always write for myself on social justice and or my experiences in Los Angeles.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It’s not an easy career, in fact I tell people I’ve had to grow up the most I have in these past couple of years than I have in my entire life. In the industry, it’s a lot of young individuals, especially teenagers, trying to navigate a fast-paced, business-oriented industry. I see people quit every month, they announce it as well, it breaks my heart.
My first talent agency meeting, I was probably 16 or 17. I cried before it because I didn’t know what I was expected to know. I felt like after being discovered as a young talent, I was thrown into a career I was not prepared for. In one corner of my life, I was a high school student and the other half, I was training in Hollywood until 10pm and having meeting with industry professionals on my weekends.
It was a bit challenging to adapt to the lifestyle of constantly having opportunities that most people would be overwhelming anxious in. I try to remind myself that this agent or casting director is excited to see ME, I am here for a reason and I was not invited without purpose.
I train acting extensively, I audition constantly and I know I am ready.
My most recent television audition, they said they were looking for someone vulnerable in order to cast this character. I chatted with them and they told me to tell a story about getting hate. I broke down talking about it, Immediately. It’s tough being extremely vulnerable to casting, it’s a lot to open up about yourself, most of us have been there. It’s a brave and vulnerable commitment and regardless of the outcome, you should always be your authentic self, do not hold back. I didn’t think acting would consist of me getting so much out in front of industry professionals. Hearing them respond to my stories with things like “I’m so sorry you had to go through that.” Or them offering me a tissue. It’s almost like they want to find someone with a story worth sharing to turn into their star.
I was just talking to someone about how so many people want to be actors and seeing them visualize exactly what they want: Attention, outcome and fame. Bragging about it on social media. We asked ourselves how many of those people know the business side of the industry. How many of them know what to say when a casting director tells them “Hey, tell me about yourself, something that will make us feel for you.” How many will stand in front of them and say “This is who I am, and this is exactly why I deserve to work with you.”
We didn’t know the answer. I don’t know how many other people nail it in that audition room but I’m proud to say I do believe I have become one of them.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I adapted a mentality that would set me apart. I believe the way we think of ourselves and our goals reflects well into every aspect of our lives. In simple terms, I will never give up.
So far, I have stared in two films shot in Los Angeles that will be going into the festival circuits this year as well as acting in 2 music videos. Being on set is the best experience ever. Preparing my personal substitutions for each scene, giving myself time to prepare and working closely with my director and crew to make the best and most fulfilling final project. I’d have to say I go back and forth from crying and laughing on set for 12hrs straight. There is simply nothing else I would want to do in life.
I care about this industry and I care about the way we represent ourselves and each other. I believe you are the representation you deserved when you were younger that you didn’t get to see on television or in the career path you wanted to take. I would love to be known as a queer actor and also to see where my reputation through that takes me. I am already told by others that I am their inspiration without starting in any major projects yet. I would love to see how that admiration can grow and how I can inspire others to take the same path as I am.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
I am so glad to answer this question and I am so glad to tell others you must know your worth. People frequently ask me if they can still act if they are “too tall” or look a certain way. If they can act if they are a certain ethnicity or have something distinct about their appearance. For one, your appearance is one thing that sets you apart. I was insecure about my face growing up but I signed my first agent because she believed it looked youthful and was a perfect fit to play younger.
The truth is they will put you in a box, they will label you and they will market you based off your appearance. Your job is to be so brilliant at what you do that when you walk in that room, you are not the next tall girl they see that day but you are that girl they could never forget because of how much your talent blew them away at the last audition. There is no one like you.
I’ve learned to not settle for less in the midst of waiting for better. If a manager reaches out to me for a meeting, I will most likely take the offer but if they say they might be too busy to work with me or will not give me the upmost attention (which has very much happened before) I pass up the offer in the next couple days. I’ve passed up more offers than I have taken in this career, and I’ve been passed up for more acting opportunities than I have booked them. It’s just the way it is here. I don’t want what doesn’t want me but I know the creative team I do surround myself with will always be enthusiastic and prepared to work with me.
It means a lot more waiting around, a lot more risks but a lot more integrity.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_sierrafrancis
Image Credits:
Cynthia Shaffer
