Today we’d like to introduce you to Emma Smith Watts.
Hi Emma, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hi, my name is Emma Smith Watts! I’m an actor/new comedian (been funny up close my whole life – but just starting to be funny from a further distance).
I grew up in Tokyo, Japan. Growing up surrounded by a culture outside of my own made me extremely curious about people. Why do people do what they do? What makes someone who they are? How was I different, how was I alike? This curiosity about people fuels my work as an actor. Side note: Tokyo is the most magical city in the world, my dad still lives & works over there as a Consultant, I’m counting down the days until I can return again. Yes, I speak Japanese….but fluent is a STRONG word!
Starting in 3rd grade, I filled my summers with musical theater camp which ignited a love for performing. I continued on to do school plays & musicals & even some English community theater in Tokyo with Tokyo International Players. When it was time to apply for colleges – Acting was the only thing I really cared about.
I graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts with a BFA in Drama and a minor in Business of Entertainment, Media, and Technology from the Stern School of Business.
During my time at NYU, I studied method acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute and screen acting at Stonestreet Studios. I landed representation two months before graduating early (Dec 2020) – Bonnie Shumofsky at Stewart Talent.
~Two years post-grad living in NYC later~
I moved to LA this past April because I was 1. cold in New York and 2. for acting. It’s really NYC or LA, right?
I’m new to the LA market but not to acting – I come with recognizable credits, training, and my NYC grit, lol!
My vibe? Think Emma Stone, Kaitlyn Dever, and …or Sadie Sink in the Whale (if she got really good grades and didn’t hate her dad!).
As a former and sometimes current shy kid, articulating my feelings has never come naturally to me, my instinct was to keep them in, protect myself. Watching movies, plays, and tv shows where characters go through similar struggles as I have in my life has helped me immensely with identifying how I feel and feeling less alone in those feelings.
I want to give that clarity to people through my performances. I want to encourage my audience to be curious about their own human nature.
Currently, I’m looking for theatrical representation here in LA. In 2024, I’m looking forward to more acting, laughing, and rubbing the amazing LA weather in my NYC friends’ faces. Also about to shoot a little comedic sketch about misogynists! What a time to be alive!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Honestly, I have super supportive parents who love them to bits, and my brother is also my biggest cheerleader. If you listen to some of my stand-up clips, you can hear him absolutely cackling front row. My mom is always down to jump on Facetime with me and be my scene partner for audition tapes. My dad just constantly is trying to feed me good food and paid for my college. I feel totally spoiled, and they love me so much that it’s a huge motivation to work hard.
My biggest challenge is getting out of my own way – trying not to compare myself to other artists. I’m pretty easily embarrassed – because I do embarrassing things but also something like carrying groceries from my car to my apartment door will feel embarrassing sometimes… and I’ve recently come to the realization to be an actor in the most honest way – I have to let go of the embarrassment & cringe – because it’s innate to the job! I also have a hard time saying no – big people pleaser over here – and so standing up for myself has been a challenge, and I’m working on it!
OH ALSO literally keeping a side hustle/side gig that doesn’t drain me of all my creative juices but also pays enough so I can live, but also one that is flexible enough for auditions and when I book gigs!
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m an actor!
Started in theater – doing plays and musicals. My fave role being Kristine in A Chorus Line (the girl who can’t sing). My dream role would be anything in Edward Albee’s The Goat or Who is Sylvia? (I say anything because yes, I would play the goat if it was offered to me!)
Drew Barrymore & Ross Matthews make cameos in the film Jackpot → Three Gen-Z besties in New York City love to have fun but are broke AF – that is – until one boozy night and one very lucky Powerball ticket… I play Erin, the Lead Role, a chaotic drunk who is a little too in touch with her inner child. Directed by Emmy-Award Nominee Josh Ricks. Official Selection HollyShorts, New York Shorts International & Big Apple Film Fests.
4x Academy Award & 5x Golden Globe Winner Director James Mangold (Girl Interrupted, Walk The Line) sent me an AVAIL CHECK for a role in the upcoming Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown, starring Timothée Chalamet – I was seen for Debbie Green, a passionate music teacher with untapped potential.
Netflix-Fave Director Ludovic Littee (Orange Is The New Black, House Of Cards told me I had “IT” after booking me on CBS’s FBI: Most Wanted→ I play a playing the fresh-faced, gullible bank teller.
HBO Max’s Euphoria CD Alan Scott Neale called me in directly after flexing my ability to take direction in his workshop: Lead Role in Coach Brand’s Holiday Campaign “film” → – I read for my exact type: an off-beat, naive suburban girl trying to make it big in the big city!
My strawberry blonde hair and an inclination to ‘yes and’ have booked me commercial work for the brands Apple, Dunkin’, Ulta Beauty, First Response, etc.
My favorite show of all time is Michaela Coel’s I MAY DESTROY YOU – she does an absolutely brilliant job at marrying humor and absolutely devastating trauma in the most creative and visually interesting way. I’ve always loved to incorporate humor in my work even in drama because I feel like it adds a layer that is intoxicating. So, what sets me apart from others? I don’t know, but what I DO know is I YEARN to connect, like just yearning to connect with other people, am very curious, and like to giggle, laugh, and be silly 24/7. That’s what I try to bring with me everywhere I go!
Just started doing stand-up – I’m not the best, but I’m not the worst and it’s been such a fun scary creative outlet that is absolutely lighting my insides up. Excited to see where that goes this year!
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
I was once super sick – was in bed all day – watched so much TV that I got bored of TV – started down a rabbit hole of TED talks – some random guy said, “You suffer more in your head than you do in reality,” and that hit so hard. I can get lost in my head, overthink till the cows come home, beat myself up, BASICALLY sometimes I will be suffering in my head… and when I look around, I’m like, OMG, life is literally so amazing and beautiful!
Two other quotes float around my head quite often, and I got these from my mom:
“Perfection is the thief of good.”
“Comparison is the thief of joy”
LOT of thieves out here.
Contact Info:
- Website: emmasmithwatts.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emmasmithwatts/
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm14245309/
