Rising Star Holly Prentice On The Five Things You Need To Shine In The Entertainment Industry
Don’t over judge yourself. You are your worst critic and the more you tell yourself you aren’t good enough, the more you and other people believe it.
As a part of our interview series with the rising stars in pop culture, I had the pleasure of interviewing Holly Prentice.
Holly is a hugely passionate professional Actress, Dancer & Personal Trainer. Holly has experience working in various parts of the industry including live TV, Films, Music Videos, Choreography, Modeling & Musical Theatre. When Holly isn’t on stage or screen, she has a huge passion for all things fitness which keeps her quite literally ‘on her toes’!
Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Thank you for having me! I found my love of screen acting fairly recently as I primarily trained as a professional dancer and focused on perusing a Musical Theatre career; which is a VERY different ball game. I didn’t actually realise the huge difference until I experienced watching myself back on screen. The funny thing is, the initial motivation came from simply watching TV/Films and wanting to be on screen. I always think, if you don’t recognise a great actor whilst watching something, then they are doing it right!
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started this career?
I had an online casting for a huge Netflix series with producers, casting directors and the whole team on the call and it was that big they couldn’t tell us any project names or big stars we’d be playing opposite. The process was BRUTAL! They were cutting people off the call at each round, getting our hopes up with random details about flying to America, the huge fees the final actress would receive and psyching us all up when only 1 girl would get the job. It was round after round of improvisation, hours of script reading, and when it narrowed down to the final 2, (and we were both emotionally exhausted) we had 30 seconds to fight as to why the other girl doesn’t deserve the job! The process was a massively valuable rollercoaster. It taught me so much about how to focus under pressure and how to manage nerves. You just have to chuck yourself into the situation with your whole heart and take each step as it comes.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
ACCENTS. Gosh! Note to self… Never say you can do an accent unless it’s 100% accurate. I feel very naive thinking back to me playing out a scene a year ago in my (poor) American accent to a group of actual AMERICANS!
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
Working on ‘Behind Closed Doors’ with Kaitlyn Boxall(director), and playing ‘Lisa’ (lead), was so exciting for me. My first chance at portraying such a huge role and covering such an intense storyline. Domestic Violence is a topic I learnt so much about and I found it so exciting having the freedom to interpret my own version of Lisa’s character throughout some incredibly intense scenes. As an Actress, I also learnt more than ever about being on set and working in this environment- So very valuable. I also recently worked on a short horror film…Wow it can get physical!
Who are some of the most interesting people you have interacted with? What was that like? Do you have any stories?
I was fortunate enough to perform at the London Palladium in Cinderella (the first Pantomime back in the West End in 30 years) with some of the most famous celebrities including Amanda Holden, Julian Clarey, Nigel Havers and Paul O’Grady. The whole red carpet experience was breathtaking and something I’ll remember forever. Amanda bought the entire ensemble into her dressing room during the interval on New Year’s Eve (pre social distancing!) for a couple of glasses of Champagne! That was pretty cool. (Apologies Michael Harrison if you are reading!) I also choreographed and performed at the Royal Albert Hall back in March for the Royal Marines Band Service’ annual gala festival of music where I had the privilege of meeting Prince Harry and Megan. That was also very special.
Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
Working ‘hard’ and working ‘smart’ isn’t necessarily the same thing. Throughout filming, I’ve also continued personal training early in the morning before I travel to the filming location as well as teaching fitness classes after we’ve wrapped, leaving me with very little sleep. It is unsustainable. Your body is your work. You can’t do everything and be everywhere at once…Things have actually manifested more for me since managing a more realistic schedule.
You have been blessed with success in a career path that can be challenging. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path, but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?
Failure is inevitable throughout most careers. In fact, in life. Fear is simply a part of us that wants us to play safe and comfortable. Safe and comfortable doesn’t equal success. What’s the worst that can happen? I’m a firm believer that you need to get uncomfortable and put yourself out there over and over as nothing is more powerful than consistency and determination to keep growing.
Can you share with our readers any self care routines, practices or treatments that you do to help your body, mind or heart to thrive? Kindly share a story or an example for each.
Yep…Unfortunately, I’m one of those burpee lovers. (Crazy, I know!) But on a serious note, moving your body is a hugely underrated stress relief. Whether it’s Yoga, crazy HIIT sessions, a country walk or an upbeat dance class, our mind and body will always feel better afterwards. I also have a weird obsession with looking and studying space pictures…I think it is fascinating and helps provide perspective when things seem muddled. We are literally a speck of dust out in the universe.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
- You can’t wait for opportunities. This may seem obvious but you can get caught up in waiting for your agent to send you things through or opportunities to land in your inbox.
- You probably WILL have to work for free. Some of my favourite projects and people have been met through free projects. You also NEVER KNOW where things can go…!
- Experience (in my opinion so far) beats studying. I can hand on heart say, I’ve learnt triple the amount on set and in jobs rather than studying on a course. Get out there and grow!
- Networking. Now, I know this may seem daunting to some but 99% of the jobs or projects I’ve worked on have come from me keeping in contact with people I’ve worked or met before. Even on leafleting jobs!
- Don’t over judge yourself. You are your worst critic and the more you tell yourself you aren’t good enough, the more you and other people believe it.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
‘Obstacles don’t block the path, they ARE the path.’ Perhaps quite the appropriate one for 2020! Setbacks in the moment seem impassable but with a little bit of perspective, some determination and a big deep breath, in the long run, they always teach you something. Every obstacle guides you closer to success!
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I owe a lot of my stage career so far to Andrew Wright (Choreographer and Director) who I’m so very grateful for hiring me on 5 contracts! Also, Kaitlyn Boxall for giving me the opportunity to play my first lead on screen; Thank you for taking the chance on me. I’ve met so many inspirational people and sometimes they can simply be your best friend. Mine, George Lyons, has such words of wisdom when you feel a little stuck. Everyone needs their own ‘George’!
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
Apart from getting rid of COVID-19….? Haha. That’s a very hard question as I could be really selfish and say more funding for the arts as escapism for everyone globally has never been so needed. But I suppose I should really say access to clean water and food for everyone. Oh and music! Music makes the world go round.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might see this. :-)
Okay so as all us budding actresses would say, a major UK or Hollywood Producer or Director would be amazing…I have so many questions. Also, I’d love to do more TV presenting- Sports/entertainment etc. So any lovely people out there wanting a talkative, passionate (and a little crazy) female presenter…Hit me up! Meeting new people, getting out and about, talking a lot and watching Sport or Entertainment…perfect!
How can our readers follow you online?
Oh yes! I’d love them to follow me on Instagram @hollyprenticee for all my life updates and there are even a few FREE online fitness classes on my IGTV too. (I promise you we have more fun than it sounds.) My website link is also in my Instagram bio too.
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational!
No, Thank YOU!
