Today we’d like to introduce you to Sasha Kerbel.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I was born and grew up in Moscow, Russia. I had a passion for acting for as long as I can remember. I always considered myself an actress and performed non-stop for everyone who would be willing to watch. My sister and I constantly staged plays at home for our parents, and a few years later, we arranged a student theater in our middle school. When I was 14 or 15, I joined a theater studio, and that was the place where I was really happy because I got to do what I loved. In Russia at the time, it wasn’t anything like here in the United States for child actors: it was not common, and the opportunities were limited. To find an acting teacher who would coach you was not an easy task. However, I was lucky: I took classes from a director and playwright named Yevgeniy Simonov, the art director of the Vakhtangov Theatre in Moscow (and later he opened his own theatre, named after his famous father, a Soviet actor and director Ruben Simonov). I also took a class or two – and this was an incredibly rare opportunity – from another famous Soviet theatre director, Andrey Goncharov, the head of the Moscow Mayakovsky Theatre.
At that time in Moscow there were five colleges that gave professional training and a college degree in acting: four theatre colleges and one focused on film. The competition was unimaginable, and without getting into one of those colleges, it was impossible to get any job in Moscow as an actor. So those dreaming of acting careers would try to get into one of those colleges year after year until they either got in or ended up growing out of the age that would make it all possible. You see, those were different times, and it was in Russia.
So, I started auditioning for the theatre college that I wanted to get into when I was 16 years old, and I was super close to winning a spot: I successfully got through three rounds of auditions; then a so-called competition, but then failed at the very last exam. So, in order not to lose any time while waiting for the next year, I enrolled into the newly-opened Institute of Television and Radio, and from there I got a job offer from a big news channel, and that’s how my life took an unpredictable turn. Long story short – I’ve built a successful career on television and then as a radio DJ on FM radio. I became well- known, the job was fun, I was surrounded by young, ambitious and inspiring people, I collaborated with MTV Europe, I worked a lot as a voiceover artist to the point where my voice could be heard in every corner.
But then I realized that this entire career didn’t make me happy because all I REALLY wanted to do was act. And with my busy schedule, I didn’t have time for that. I didn’t even have time to get proper training!
So I made a decision to leave behind everything I had built, and focus on film and theatre acting. I went back to college (this time it was the Theatre Arts college), and a couple of years later graduated from it with honors. I performed in theatre during those years, but by that time, I had just had a baby. So I had to juggle my responsibilities as a mom and as a very devoted acting student.
And then I was cast in an American independent film, “10 Days In A Madhouse,” which brought me to the United States, where I eventually moved to. I live in Los Angeles now, and I am very happy here. There are so many creative opportunities for an actor, so I get to do what I love to do the most – acting! I have several things in development right now, even with the quarantine, which is amazing.
Also, I am very proud of the project that my friends and colleagues, Rico E Anderson and Rachelle Henry, and I recently launched: a talk show web series on YouTube called The Lightning Hour, where we invite inspiring guests from the entertainment industry to talk about their creative process, their advocacy, funny stories, behind the scenes stories, and all kinds of interesting and important things. We release a new episode every Friday, and we are very excited about this show. It’s a labor of love.
Has it been a smooth road?
It has never been a smooth road for me in my acting career, and there have been a lot of struggles. Even with classes and training, in my country at the time when I was growing up, there was a big problem with that. It was not like here if you want to be an actor, you just go for it, take acting classes, go to auditions… Nope! There was nothing like that. I had to wait, wait and wait. Wait ’til I grow up, wait ’til someone agrees to privately coach me, wait and hope to get into acting colleges…
With my TV and radio career, I experienced another problem: when people got used to me being a radio and TV celebrity, casting directors, directors and agents would not see me as an actor. They pigeonholed me and didn’t take my acting ambitions seriously. So when I quit that career, I changed my name so I could start over as an unknown actress without all of the comments about being a radio and TV host in the background. Weird, isn’t it? But that was a whole problem!
Then – age and looks. I lost count of instances when I was told that I am too old for acting and that my nose is too big, my hair is too dark, that I don’t look Slavic enough, and so I would never make it as an actress. They would tell me that without even seeing me perform! Now, imagine how easy it is to lose faith in yourself because of such comments…THAT is the biggest obstacle for anyone. However, I’ve learnt to dismiss all of those negative comments and rejections. I stopped really hearing them. Instead, all I heard in such moments was: “You are definitely on the right path. Keep going, keep doing what makes you happy. Keep creating. Be an actor that you are”.
If I listed all the other big and small obstacles on my way here, it would take a lot of space. And it would look very negative. But what I want to emphasize is that – we cannot control the obstacles that are coming our way, but we can control our reaction to those obstacles. And we can overcome those obstacles. Sometimes, you’ve got to just let go and move on – to another audition, to another project, to another opportunity. You never know what path is YOURS, so keep your mind open to all possibilities. You never know what will become a real opportunity. Sometimes an obstacle redirects us onto another road to that same success.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I am an actor and a voice over actor. I’ve played various characters throughout my career. I have been often cast to play vixens; queens and magical creatures, and I really love these kinds of roles. I also have played various kinds of villains. It is always a delight – to play a villain because it gives an actor a lot of freedom to have fun. While casting people often see me as a kind of femme fatale or dramatic lead, because of my looks, they also recognize that I am very good at comedy, particularly physical comedy. It goes back to me always being the class clown while I was growing up. I absolutely love working in comedy and would love doing more of it. What sets me apart from the others? Well, it’s very simple: my personality. What I bring to my characters. ME is what is unique about me as an actor. Well, and obviously my Russian origins and my light accent that brings something special to every character I create when playing in English.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I think that we, as actors, are lucky to live in the times when there ARE actually big changes happening in the film and television industry. The major change that is happening, which is very promising, is the diversity and inclusivity that is happening slowly but surely. And the stereotypes about what characters of color, or of a certain ethnicity should be, are breaking apart before our very eyes. Hollywood got to an understanding that the real world is so much more, and that those stereotypes have always been too far from reality, that they are insulting and harmful. Plus, Hollywood in recent years has become flexible in considering women for traditional men’s parts and has become more inclusive about casting transgender actors as well. Age is not as much of an issue anymore with more and more streaming services telling more diverse stories. To me as a Russian actress who speaks with the Russian accent, I am genuinely excited about the prospect of more job opportunities. Before, I could only count on roles like being a Russian hooker, KGB agent, or something like that. Now not only I can be considered for wider pool of roles – basically, just playing an American of Russian descent – any character, supporting or lead – but also even within the “Russian” roles, I can be considered for a part like, say, a female version of a previously-established character in a reboot of a famous movie or series. That is already a huge difference compared to just a few years ago. And I believe that in another 5-10 years, it will become so normal that we will not even believe that there was a time when acting opportunities were limited by a person’s race, ethnicity, gender, age, etc.
With COVID-19, there are also a lot of changes in terms of how entertainment will be made. These changes are tremendous, and as much as I believe that, sooner or later we will defeat the virus and the industry will return to normal, while the quarantine and the threat of the virus still exists, we will need to learn how to work in these new environments and formats. With COVID-19, we actors are all becoming real pros in doing voiceover work from home. Some fear that, as time goes on, “synthetic” AI actors will be used instead of the real people. Well, we will see what happens. At the end of the day, real struggles, real emotions, and the warmth that comes from a real actors’ performance is always going to win the day.
Overall, I am an optimist and look to the future of the industry with excitement and hope. I have a feeling that it will only get better, no matter how much we have to slow down right now because of the virus.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5695770
- Email: For media inquiries, please contact Sherry Lee at GTK PR AGENCY: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realsashakerbel/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/realsashakerbel/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/KerbelSasha
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCeJPa5LC9X8IBmQKWGq5rQ
Image Credit:
Michael Bezjian; Greg Doherty; Michael Tullberg; Ivan Gromov; Yuri Fyodorov
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