Today we’d like to introduce you to Kate Hackett.
Kate, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Ah, yes. My villain origin story!
I started acting a long, long time ago, actually — my mom asked me if I wanted to continue ballet lessons or try acting class when I was five and I believe I enthusiastically cried ‘acting!’ and dashed any hopes my parents had for a career in law or medicine for me.
I started, like all East Coast theater dorks, in musical theater. This was great for me because I could sing. I could not, despite the early dance lessons, dance, so I was the ‘chick who sings and drifts back and forth across the stage’. I took the entire thing Very Seriously and at one point sternly told a girl who was chatting with me that “we are here to learn, not socialize” when I was seven or so, so I think it’s pretty clear what kind of experience you were in for when I was in a play.
I did a lot of local theater during high school — Les Mis, Jesus Christ Superstar, that kind of thing — in addition to general school plays. I also did a whole lot of singing; I was classically trained and can sing opera, which does NOT come up often in L.A. I didn’t apply to school for acting — I wound up going to Boston University and I studied history. I like it. I think it makes me a little more interesting and it gives me a really smart world perspective.
But I still knew what I wanted to do: I wanted to be in Los Angeles. So after finishing school early, I moved! And once I was here, I realized I wasn’t going to just spontaneously become successful so I started writing and producing my own work, including the very successful “Classic Alice”, which now lives on Amazon Prime Video and I’m super proud of it. It sparked a lot of work and accolades for me and even led to an opportunity for me to speak at SAG while my mom was visiting, which really turned her around on this whole acting thing. I think she kind of got it after that.
I’m generally known for comedy – or at least dramedy, but I hate getting stuck in one genre. So earlier this year, I finished up a short scifi film called The Long Dig. I’ve also created an awesome community for myself via my site — katehackett.com/patronage — who is there every step of the way.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Of course not.
Every actor struggles with self-doubt, with feelings of unhealthy jealousy, with worry, with uncertainty. I am no exception.
I’ve learned, however, that balance is really important. It’s important to get out of town sometimes. It’s important to give back, so I do volunteer work with the Pasadena Humane Society and I run a series of blogs and vlogs for new people to the industry. It’s important to have that fiscally responsible day job while you rush after your dreams; I was lucky enough to choose a degree that lent itself to academic tutoring, which has been my job by job for a long while now. It means I can afford to live comfortably, but at the end of the day, I remember that tutoring isn’t why I moved out here. Keeps me motivated.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
As an actor, I’m most at home with characters who might be funny and strong but also have a hidden vulnerability. I’m also known as a very hard worker; I take a lot on and I work hard to be insanely prepared and ready for work, which also means I’m versatile. As one director put it, “you’re super funny but also if you looked sad, I’d care”.
As a producer, I get shit done. If I take a project on, I do it. It will arrive in your inbox fully finished, it won’t languish in development hell. I’m a little bit like a runaway train with productions sometimes, which is a blessing and a curse. I wait for no man!
And as a writer, I’m known for having a very strong (very entertaining) voice. Dialogue comes very easily for me, so my characters all have realistic speaking patterns.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Are you happy? Are you healthy? Are you helping more people than yourself?
Contact Info:
- Website: www.katehackett
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hackettkate/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/actresskatehackett/
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/hackettkate/
Image Credit:
David Cater, Stephanie Pressman, Anthony Parisi
Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
