Interview With an O-1B Actor: Samba Schutte

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: despite rumours of everyone being fake and out for themselves in Los Angeles, I’ve met some of the most genuine, kind and giving people there. Samba Schutte is one of them. (Yup, that’s Samba and not Thriller era Michael Jackson.) Samba is a Dutch-Mauritanian Actor who moved to Los Angeles on an O-1B visa a few years ago. He is now a regular at The World Famous Comedy Store and recently played the lead in the film Haleema that premiered at the Berlinale Film Festival.

I met Samba on my last trip to Los Angeles, and he’s helped me a lot with informing me on the visa proces and keeping faith while waiting those long, long months. And he was kind enough to want to share this information with you too!

March 20th, 2013|Categories: Other Actors|Tags: , , |6 Comments
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Interview with a Working Actress: Grace Phipps

It was June 2012 and I was on the corner of Hollywood & Highland, in front of the Roosevelt Hotel, sweating like any Dutch girl would at that time of the year at that location. But an egg shell colored Beetle with a sassy brunette at the wheel came to relieve me. That is how I first met Grace and why I had no choice but to like her. That and the fact that she is a down to earth, sweet and smart actress, not always abundant in LaLaLand.

Grace was discovered at her high school in Austin, Texas and started working pretty much immediately after she touched down in LA. Two years, a bunch of exciting acting jobs (you can currently see Grace in The Vampire Diaries) and quite some LA wisdom later Grace was kind enough to share her experiences and advice here…

December 3rd, 2012|Categories: Other Actors|Tags: |14 Comments
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The Oscars, The Movies & Me

Last Sunday it was Oscar slash Academy Awards time again, or as Billy Crystal said it: millionaires handing each other golden statues in a time of recession. I personally think the Oscars have been very boring the last few years. Safe jokes, presenters who aren’t comedians…And to make it worse: this year didn’t even have stunning dresses or fresh new faces!

Not that it matters. It still is and always will be the ultimate dream for any actor, including myself, to win one of those shiny naked men. See the proof in the picture above, where I hold my very first Oscar at age 11.  This particular one was made by my mother and uncle for the Dutch holiday Sinterklaas. I received my last Oscar only a month ago, the Oscar for Best Girlfriend, left by my boyfriend after he departed LA. Because despite the decent dullness, there’s always one thing the Academy Awards Show succeeds in…

February 29th, 2012|Categories: Other Actors|Tags: , , |5 Comments
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15 Audition Tapes of Famous Actors

Jessica Alba auditioning for the role of Agent 99 in Get Smart, which went to Anne Hathaway? Julia Roberts doing an unknown audition before she became Pretty Woman? A very young Natalie Portman auditioning for her breakthrough role as Mathilde in Leon: The Professional? Robert DeNiro auditioning for the role of Sonny Corleone in The Godfather?

I’ve always wanted to see the audition tapes of famous actors, for many reasons. First, it’s really refreshing to see that the stars too, had (and have!) to stand in front of a four headed committee, unflattering light and everything, and act with a monotoning casting director. And second, it’s really educative! You see pure self-generated acting from the greats without props and sets and costars. You might also get an idea of what your audition tapes look like, and what does and doesn’t work.

So I present to you here: 15 great (and not so great) audition tapes of famous actors…

July 19th, 2011|Categories: Other Actors|Tags: , |19 Comments
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