Today we’d like to introduce you to Andriana Manfredi.
Andriana, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Growing up, I actually wanted to be a lawyer, a nurse anesthesiologist (I was weird), or a CIA officer. Acting wasn’t something people did. I’m from the Central Valley, Fresno, to be exact, and Hollywood wasn’t held in high regards. Thinking back, I was always engaging in some form of storytelling though. I’m the middle of seven children and we moved around a lot to say the least. I was always the one to start up a game of, “Okay, you’re the good guy, you’re the one who escaped from the dungeon of doom, and I’m the evil witch… Go!” We would play for hours like that, just fully committed to our world and having a blast. As I got older and no one wanted to play pretend anymore, I would daydream like it was a full-time job and I was getting rich from it…I would lock myself in the bathroom and reenact scenes I’d seen in a film or make them up as I was going. They usually ended very dramatically, tears pouring out, crying over my loved one’s body or something grim, I’m a Scorpio. I took my first drama class in middle school and the teacher pulled me aside and told me I needed to be doing this and to take drama in high school. I wish I had listened, but I didn’t, I was quite shy and the drama kids were loud and very theatrical and I was terrified of them. I decided speech and debate was more my speed.
Through high school, I still had my sights on the medical field so I worked in a hospital my junior year as a PCA in the postpartum ward and then my senior year, I got my EMT certification. I was ambitious so I started getting in as a shadow at hospitals right away and thank god I did because I quickly learned I didn’t have the gusto to do it. I was passing out and sweating through my scrubs all the time. Health workers are superheros. I couldn’t separate from patients, I couldn’t look at it clinically. It was just about that time that I met some agents from LA who wanted to represent me. I remember leaving a sociology final my first year at college to call this agent. I said, “Hi, I’m Andriana, do you remember me?” And she said, yes get down here on Monday for a meeting. I did and so began my journey. I moved to LA as soon as I could get an apartment and started studying and auditioning and waiting tables where I met some of my closet friends and other amazing artists.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Omigod no! Ha! Smooth…..what’s that like? Listen, I’ve had some great things happen, 1, I have always been repped, that’s an incredible thing when so many people out here can’t get an agent. 2, I’ve been very lucky with commercials and some print gigs that have gotten me by and I’ve worked on film and television. Every job giving me an education along the way. The wins to losses are insane. My audition to booking ratio is insane and not in a great way, it’s like that til it isn’t. I’ve been close to life-changing gigs like regulars and even had a lead in a film with a great cast, but none of them came through. They went with the other girl and production got shut down because of artistic differences between producers and the director. My point is, shit happens, and I’ve had to choose this over and over.
But something happens every time you fall flat on your face, whether you messed up or things didn’t pan out your way, you deepen your love for your craft. You have to get real and honest with yourself about why you are doing this in the first place and I think an authenticity and a pureness prevail. After that film fell apart, I gathered up some friends and we went to the Redwoods and made a short film. When I don’t get an audition or the part I wanted, I sit down and write, I step back into class and work on my chops, I try to take a step that’s positive I guess. Does that sound cheesy?
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I’m always working on my craft, whether it’s in an acting class, making shorts with friends or writing. I know telling my own stories will be the thing that sets me apart from other actresses. I’ve had a unique adversarial life up to this point which has given me a unique view. We have a short film, Catch & Release that I collaborated with Respectful Lust on that will be coming out this year. I am using this Quarantine time to write some other pieces that I am excited to act in and direct as well.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Hmmmm…..being nice is cool. Also, just saying yes to work. I swear I learn something new every time.
Contact Info:
- Website: imdb.me/andrianamanfredi
- Instagram: @andrianamanfredi
Image Credit:
Priscilla Bouillon, Respectful Lust Records, Andriana Manfredi, Days Of Our Lives.
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