Rising Star Madison Russ On The Five Things You Need To Shine In The Entertainment Industry

Be prepared to do things on set that you weren’t expecting, like improvising, or like when I was asked to do a stunt, I had never done before.

As a part of my series about pop culture’s rising stars, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Madison Russ.

Madison Russ, who was born in Los Angeles, has been performing as an actress, dancer and singer for a number of years.

She has played lead roles in a number of Musical Productions including “RENT,” “HAIRSPRAY” and “GREASE.”

She has recently appeared in several dance reviews, and on occasion, choreographs her own pieces.

Madison Russ has also recently appeared in acting roles on several features and pilot presentations, like “CANDY CORN,” “JUNKIE,” “STAR TREK: RENEGADES,” and two “Lifetime” movies; “Sinister Stepsister,” and “No Escape.”

Madison has studied her craft at the Young Actor’s Studio in North Hollywood, and dance at Millennium, The Edge, and IDA in Los Angeles. She has also recently worked as a model with several companies, SanMar, Perverse Sunglasses, and Discount Dance Supply.

You can currently find Madison’s music on iTunes, singing lead vocals on several original songs.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?

I definitely did not grow up the same way a lot of my friends did. I grew up with a dad who’s an actor, and who was on Star Trek at the time, gave me the opportunity to spend most of my time on all types of sets! I was also lucky enough to travel often with my family to places like Alaska , Rome , England , etc.

Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?

When I was 13–14 years old, I had found out that I could sing and dance. So before wanting to act on screen, I wanted to perform in musicals. I started out with “Grease” as my first musical which soon led to doing a total of 9 musicals by the time I graduated high school. After graduating high school, I then just mainly focused on auditioning for shows/movies.

Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

I played a character in one sci-fi universe on a feature film, and then played the same character later on, but older in an entirely different film, in an alternate sci-fi universe.

It has been said that mistakes can be our greatest teachers. 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?

When was performing a stunt on a supernatural thriller feature, I had to stab a demon character with a spike. When I came down on the air mattress they were using as a cushion and punctured the cushion with the spike. That was the only air mattress they had.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

I just finished working on a “Lifetime” movie playing a lawyer. It was a straight offer for a role that was at the very edge of my age range.

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?

You have to give 150%, and you can’t let rejection get you down. That’s part of the job. You have to accept that the competition is always going to be tough.

We are very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?

Diversity is important, as it establishes cultural norms for the audience. I’m so fortunate to be working in film and television at a time when African Americans are playing roles they would never have been considered for only a decade ago whether they are period pieces, contemporary dramas, or interracial relationships.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why? Please share a story or example for each.

1. Be prepared for a lot of rejection! I didn’t realize how much there would be. Getting so close to landing a role and not getting it, ouch!
2. Be prepared to do things on set that you weren’t expecting, like improvising, or like when I was asked to do a stunt, I had never done before.
3. That you need to take classes! I didn’t realize how much benefit there is to taking both drama and improv comedy classes.
4. Getting the right headshots. I didn’t realize how important getting the right headshots were. I almost lost a role because I didn’t look like my headshot when I went in to read for it.
5. That I’d need to have the auditions down cold. I didn’t realize that casting directors preferred to see actors with the dialogue for the auditions scenes memorized.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

It’s hard to suggest something to someone else when you don’t know their limits and or what they can tolerate. I can only say, that if they truly desire to work in the entertainment business, they had better be prepared to take on the challenge. And understand that they have to keep going no matter what.

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire 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. :-)

I’d launch a campaign to get young people to vote. Nothing is more important than voting is right now..and that would affect everyone of voting age in the country.

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?

Jeff Allen Lee, my acting teacher. He has had such an influence on me. He pushes you, and he’s tough, but he does it with love.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

Reach for the moon…and even if you fall short, you’ll still be among the stars.

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 just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)

Oh..too easy….Former President Obama! He is amazing, he’s brilliant, and he was the first African American President in history.

How can our readers follow you online?

Instagram, “itsmadisonruss”

This was very meaningful, thank you so much!