Rising Star Maria Austin On The Five Things You Need To Shine In The Entertainment Industry

There is no linear progression in this career. In other sectors you start as a junior and work your way up, getting promotions and pay rises. Not in this industry! Moving forwards isn’t so tangible and doesn’t come with a job title, so self-motivation and building a group of brilliant fellow creatives are so important. I have a close group of friends who are fellow actors, and we all support each other in our work and moments of doubt.

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

Maria Austin is an English/Irish actress who trained at the prestigious Lee Strasberg Institute in New York. She plays the title role in Mercy, her first feature film role. She also has a supporting role in the upcoming feature film The Reverend and Mrs. Simpson alongside Julian Glover (Game of Thrones), set for release in 2022. Maria has recently been filming a proof-of-concept project for a new feature film, written and directed by Priyanga Burford (No Time To Die), playing mathematician Countess Ada Lovelace opposite Anastasia Hille, Pearl Chanda and Sammy Kamara. Further selected credits include Inside Secret Societies (The Discovery Channel), Second Skin (Short Film), Mister Paradise (Trafalgar Studios, West End), Loot (Century Theatre), Puppy (Theatre). She is represented by London Agents, Mostyn & Cross.

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

Thank you so much for having me! I grew up in London with my mum, dad, brother and dogs. I spent a lot of time outdoors as a kid, climbing or building things and usually with a pet in tow (and continue to as an adult!). My other favourite thing was pretending to be different characters. I had a wide repertoire from Doris Day (specifically Calamity Jane) to a Corgi Dog. My absolute favourite character was Kate Winslet as Marianne, in Sense and Sensibility. My Nana made me a Marianne outfit and used to curl my hair with bits of dishcloth. I spent many happy hours roaming around outdoors in various fancy dress costumes.

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

I think I was fundamentally a very nosy child and people have always fascinated me. My Nana Sylvia always wanted to be an actress during WW2 and my brother and I would sit for hours and hear stories about how she was evacuated as a child. She is one of the best storytellers I know and would enact going down to the air-raid shelter with her plate of lunch spilling! Her encouragement over the years has been super special to me. She is 93 now, but whenever I have to learn lines for work, she always comes to stay and practices over and over with me. It is something I am really glad we can share.

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

I did some filming for a series about a cult that influenced the Nazi regime. It was about a group called the Vril Women who believed that they spoke to a parallel universe. They held seances for Hitler and Himler. That was a particularly interesting experience as it was so obscure and based on true events!

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?

I was doing a play called The Sisterhood by Ranjit Bolt. I am clumsy at the best of times and frequently trip over my own feet or walk into lamp posts. There was a sofa next to one of the entrances. I was meant to see my ‘fiancé’ and run over to give him a hug in the opening scene. I was a bit overexcited, went running towards him and tripped straight over the sofa. The actor playing my fiancé caught me under the armpits. So smooth. I learnt that a good actor needs quick reactions!

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

I have been working on the development of a new feature film playing science genius and mathematician, Countess Ada Lovelace (also daughter of the poet, Lord Byron). It is written and directed by the brilliant Priyanga Burford (No Time To Die). We have recently shot the proof of concept. It explores the last months of Mary Shelley’s life (writer of Frankenstein) and a little circle of four characters who are brought together. It is dark and funny and explores the lives, loves and losses of these characters. Every single one of them could have an entire feature film about them and I am so excited to continue delving into their world! Mary Shelley would have been a total punk if she had been born a 150 years later!

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?

It is a challenging career, but I think if you really love it, and it is the thing you are drawn to over anything else then absolutely pursue it. I think it is a slow and steady road of hard graft but if that makes you happy it’s all part of the journey and we can learn every step of the way. Do create your own work. Keep going, keep learning, you are not alone.

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?

  1. I think it is so important for an audience to see themselves represented and reflected in what they are viewing, whether that is in terms of ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or in other ways. We connect to characters and are moved by them on a different level if we see elements of ourselves reflected back at us. Art is at its most powerful when it is talking to an audience that feels heard, recognized and seen.
  2. I am proud to be part of a multicultural family. Out of three sets of cousins, my brother and I are white British, three cousins are half Jamaican, and two cousins are half Chilean. We are also a mixture of faiths: atheist, Buddhist, Christian and Jewish! I hope to help build an industry that produces work where all of my family can see themselves reflected as often as I do.
  3. Film and television are such an integral part of people’s lives and have the power to make real changes in people’s thoughts and opinions. I think the more people’s eyes can be opened to the stories and experiences of people different to themselves, the more compassionate we will become as a society.

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. There is no linear progression in this career. In other sectors you start as a junior and work your way up, getting promotions and pay rises. Not in this industry! Moving forwards isn’t so tangible and doesn’t come with a job title, so self-motivation and building a group of brilliant fellow creatives are so important. I have a close group of friends who are fellow actors, and we all support each other in our work and moments of doubt.
  2. Talk to everyone on set! I used to worry about getting in the way or being a nuisance to other departments, but now I love to chat and learn what everyone is doing. We are all part of the same team, working on the same common goal.
  3. Find a hobby away from acting/ industry-related things. This is a recent thing I have found to be total soul food. Whatever makes you tick, I have been playing with clay and trying to teach myself about sculpture. It is such a relaxing thing to focus on.
  4. Help. Again, something that I have learned that brings me a lot of joy is helping friends with their tapes and auditions. It can be a lonely industry at times, so getting together with friends in this way is a great time to play, practice cold reading and keep in the mindset of reading scripts. Also, if your friend is really nice, they might make you dinner after!
  5. Turn your phone off an hour before bedtime. One I try and stick to but must try harder.

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

Meditation. Yoga, Breathing. I also enjoy aerial circus classes like hoop, silks or trapeze. Any form of movement. Also, give yourself permission to rest. I am still learning this one. Working in this industry, things unfold at lightning speed. I know I have felt that if I rest or take time out then I might have missed an opportunity or that someone else might be ‘working harder’. But, without rest we run out of fuel and not working at optimum levels is not doing anyone any favours.

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 would find a way for women to feel safe. To be safe. I would stop violence against women. That seems like a mountain to climb. There have been some terrible murders over the past few months here in the UK of women just walking home and being attacked. I don’t have a solution of how we make women feel safe, how we address systemic issues and how we protect them, but I would love to work towards a world where my daughters and in turn, their daughters feel safe.

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 feel enormous gratitude for a little tribe of more experienced actors who have given me their time, wisdom and kindness. Wendy Morgan, director of Mercy, who trusted me to tell Mercy’s story. We worked very closely together, bouncing ideas and trying to find Mercy’s voice, I loved every moment of collaborating with her and she has become such an inspiration and friend to me. I am also totally indebted to actors, Jane How and Claire Cartwright, the most loyal mentors in the world! I applied for a mentoring programme through the So and So Arts Club run by Sarah Berger when I was a fresh-faced thing and was paired with these two saints who have put up with me ever since!

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

I tell myself (probably multiple times a day): ‘Screw your courage to the sticking place.’

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. :-)

Amma Assante. The director of the film, Belle (amongst others). It is my favourite film. I first saw it whilst I was studying and was bowled over. I think it is totally masterful storytelling. The performances are exquisite and the story so powerful. I remember first seeing it and being so moved by the themes it explores in terms of gender and the abolition of slavery in Britain. Also, the power of one person to affect change. I wanted to talk about it with anyone who would listen for weeks. The power of film! I read an interview with her once talking about writing characters that people really want to play. I would love to have lunch with her — I think she is magic.

How can our readers follow you online?

I am on IG: @mlaustin92 and always love to connect.

This was great, thank you so much for sharing your story and doing this with us. We wish you continued success!

This was very meaningful, thank you so much!

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Edward Sylvan CEO of Sycamore Entertainment Group
Authority Magazine

Edward Sylvan is the Founder and CEO of Sycamore Entertainment Group Inc. He is committed to telling stories that speak to equity, diversity, and inclusion.