Today we’d like to introduce you to Katherine Diaz.
Katherine, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I knew I wanted to be an actor by the time I was eight years old. One month after graduating high school, I packed up an RV, hitched my little red Mini Cooper to the back, and moved cross country. Right away, I jumped into an array of different acting studios to soak up as much information as possible about this fascinating craft. I started auditioning for student films, worked on a lot of USC projects, and booked a small role in a short film called ‘The Answers’ starring Daniel Lissing and Rose McIver. In 2014, I returned to my theater roots by landing a role in a Neil LaBute play called ‘Some Girl(s)’ for the Hollywood Fringe Festival. That experience was so memorable that I decided to co-produce and star in another play the following year called ‘Happy’ by Robert Caisley. As challenging as the production aspect was, I learned I could really push myself to learn and create good work.
Three years later, after countless auditions and sporadic work, I moved back to Miami to regroup. That year, I ended up booking lead roles in two feature films, both shot in South Florida, one of which premiered on Lifetime. I also started working freelance for a production company called Four Thieves Productions. It was co-founded and run by a charming man named Ryan Bury, whom I’d met on an audition two years prior. He and I had kept in touch over the years and I’d booked a role in a short film he’d written the year before. The more Ryan and I worked together, the more it became painfully obvious that we had a special connection. In February 2019, Ryan and I became a couple and one month later, we were living together in Hollywood. As two individuals who know and love movies, I find it fitting that we had a bit of a whirlwind romance. These days, I work as a post-production coordinator to pay the bills and continue auditioning for film and television. I have my leading man, a wonderful, supportive family, and an unwavering dream to work in and, eventually, perhaps direct films.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Anyone who works in the entertainment industry will agree that it’s anything but smooth. For actors, more often than not, there is plenty of rejection and disappointment. For young women, there is also the unfortunate possibility of being taken advantage of or exploited for the sake of “the art.” For me, aside from the obvious struggles of not getting the part or not having consistent auditions, there has been a hearty amount of self-doubt. Am I good enough to be in this business? Is this just not meant to happen for me? Am I not pretty enough or talented enough or daring enough? There is fear. There is desperation. There is always the possibility of failure. But that is precisely when one’s perspective must shift. If failure is always a possibility, then embrace it and let it drive you. Change its definition.
Seek out inspiration, support other artists, make connections with creative people, fill your time with things that make you happy as often as you can. Work hard. Be kind. And, for me personally, have faith. I believe in God and in His unfailing love and protection and favor over me and the people I love. When I look back at my darkest, most lonely moments, I always find that He brought the right people and opportunities across my path, resistant and stubborn as I may have been. Point is, life is full of struggle. But it can be so full of joy and wonder and moments of absolute bliss. So, my advice is to counter the struggle with as much of those things as humanly possible.
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 am my business. I am the product. I am the thing that I try and, for lack of a better word, “sell” whenever I audition for a part. I don’t have a particular technique or method, rather I let the work itself dictate my approach. I have an active imagination so immersing myself completely in a story or scenario has always been pretty easy. In fact, the problem is sometimes going home after being on set for 14 hours and letting it all go. I also have an eidetic memory, so memorizing an entire scene after a single read-through is somewhat of a skill I’m thankful to have. I take direction well, enjoy collaboration, and truly thrive on relinquishing creative control to a director that I trust in terms of allowing myself to freely feel and experience ‘the moment’ with no inhibitions. This is the only avenue in which all these things are true. I am quite stubborn and prefer to be self-sufficient in my personal life.
I don’t have as much experience in post-production, but I am extremely organized and obsessive when it comes to accuracy in details, sometimes to a fault. I’m a pretty quick study and hold myself to a high standard in terms of getting things done efficiently and to the best of my ability.
What were you like growing up?
As a child, I was generally introverted, sometimes a little moody and very observant. I loved watching movies and listening to my mom tell me scary stories. My dad is a very talented artist and I inherited his ability to look at something and sketch it identically, so I spent a lot of my time drawing and painting when I was little. My mom was the one who really encouraged the performer streak in me as I got a little older. When I was eight years old, I remember finding it so exhilarating to play Miriam in the Bible story of Moses at school. This was such a thrilling experience that I remember asking my mom on the way home if there was a job where I could dress up and pretend to be someone else all the time. She nonchalantly responded, “Well, you could be an actress.” In that moment, I sort of understood it for the first time. Since then, I took every opportunity to be on stage whether it was in drama classes or choir or musical theater. I did it all. Ironically, personality-wise, I was pretty quiet. I kept to myself in social settings. The stage was really the only time I enjoyed showing off a little. There was something about being given the chance to entertain people for a while that made me come out of my shell.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5046459/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katherine_diaz93/?hl=en
- Other: https://katherinediazofficial.tumblr.com
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