Rising Star Savannah Judy On The Five Things You Need To Shine In The Entertainment Industry
An Interview With Elana Cohen
I wish someone would have told me how amazing and fun the industry is, and how many good memories it has made throughout the years. Not only that, but all of the wonderful memories I have made with my brother from going to auditions together, to playing sibling roles and having a built-in scene partner. The entertainment journey has been the best experience I could have ever had, and I am so thankful every day that I get to do this.
As a part of my series about pop culture’s rising stars, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Savannah Judy.
Savannah Judy is best known for her leading role in the western A Soldier’s Revenge with Val Kilmer as well as her role as Nicole Kidman’s daughter in the blockbuster film Bombshell. Starting out in commercials in Florida, Savannah’s career took off after relocating to Los Angeles to pursue her passion. Other notable film roles include Party Mom with Krista Allen, Christmas with the Andersons with George Stults and Christy Carlson Romano and Special Unit with Christopher Titus. No stranger to the small screen, Savannah has had a guest starring role on American Housewife starring Katy Mixon and Deidrich Bader, a series regular role on the YouTube show Kids with Adult Problems and a voice over role in Netflix’s animated series The Midnight Gospel with Stephen Root. Most recently she can be heard playing bass and singing in gigs all over LA in a band with her brother Luke Judy. Passionate about giving back, Savannah lends her voice to support the important work of St. Jude whenever she can. When not working, Savannah enjoys writing song lyrics, experimenting with hair and makeup, and drawing.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
I grew up with a creative influence from the start! I have spent a lot of time in the salon environment because my parents owned salons my whole life. Throughout the years, I have always had my mom to do my hair, which has been amazing because I’ve always been able to get any hair color, cut, or style that I wanted! It comes in handy to have a personal stylist for auditioning and performing. Because my parents loved the performing arts, music, and theater were always surrounding us, and it was encouraged. The love of performing was in me from a young age. I would put on concerts for my family, whether it was singing songs, or performing skits. I would dress up in my pink princess costume and my brother would dress up as Batman and we would take turns singing and dancing, while my mom videoed us.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
The biggest thing that brought me to the entertainment industry is my love for performing! When I was little, I would watch TV with my parents and shout to the television, “I want to be in there!” Also watching my brother start his career first inspired me. From a young age, I naturally had musical abilities. I would hum to any tune I heard! I started training my singing voice and writing songs as early as age six or seven. When I was twelve, I finally had the opportunity for my first live performance with a band, at The Mint. After my first set, I ran over to my mom in the audience and I told her, “This is what I want to do for the rest of my life.”
Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your entertainment career?
One of the most interesting stories that I have from my journey in the entertainment industry is when my brother and I would have commercial auditions, we would bring each other, and sign in as if we both had the audition. We did this so often that the agent and casting directors expected both of us to show up if one of our names was on the list. We got this idea from an audition early on where the casting director came out to take my brother back to the audition room, then looked at me and asked if I was on the list, and I said no. Then he said, “Well come on back.” The best part of this story is that I booked this part that I didn’t have the audition for. From that day forward, this was our routine!
It has been said that our 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?
One of the funniest mistakes I made when first starting is when I got an audition request that said in big letters, “Must have basketball experience/skill!!” I would play basketball in the mornings with my friends at school, so we thought, I got this! This was not the case. I went into the audition, confident, and truly believing I was the best basketball player in the world. But the problem was, I didn’t practice dribbling and saying my lines at the same time. When I started the scene, the ball was not cooperating, and it flew over to the casting director’s table. It is a miracle that it didn’t hit him in the head. I felt so embarrassed, but, to my surprise, the casting director said, “Bless your heart, you are so cute!” So, the moral of the story is to never embellish your skillset when your agents ask if you can do something.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?
The most interesting project that I am working on now is a musical duo with my brother called, Duplexity. In the past few years, we have really gotten into music. Being in a band reminded us how much we love performing live. We are working on original music, and we plan to release an EP by the end of 2023, around my 18th birthday. I hope we can reach people on a whole new level and inspire them through our music!
Most young people your age don’t have to balance work and school. Can you tell us how you manage to balance your schoolwork, auditions, and time on set?
It has always been a challenge to balance being a working kid and school. I worked ahead during the pandemic and graduated high school when I was 16 to make the balancing act easier. I started working at my parent’s salon, in Beverly Hills, as a cosmetology apprentice in Aug 2022. Hairdressing is a flexible industry because it is appointment based. I have watched my mom balance hairdressing and our busy entertainment schedules since the beginning, and it inspired me to do the same. In my opinion, it is one of the best jobs to have in the industry.
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?
It is very true that no one can achieve success alone. I am most grateful for the support of my family. My mom has always been there for me and supported my career since the beginning. She always does everything in her power to create opportunities and make me happy. My dad always drove me to auditions and gigs throughout the years, and he is just as much of a supporter as my mom. I’m grateful for my brother, who I have been blessed to share this journey with. He is always there for me as a scene partner and always gives me constant support. I’m also so grateful for my incredible team! Without their constant hard work, I would never have got so many amazing opportunities year after year!
Ok, thank you for all that. Now let’s jump to the main part of our interview. 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. Memorize the sides 100%. I remember when I was young, memorization was harder for me, so there were times when I would completely forget my lines. This one time I went to an audition, and I was all ready to start my scene when I completely forgot my first line. I then said, “Line.” which is a common thing to say when you forget a line on set. The casting director then said, “We don’t say ‘line’ in my office.” I felt so embarrassed that my eyes teared up. She then gave me a tissue and said to stop crying, to which I responded with, “I’m not crying! I have allergies!!!” She stopped the audition and gave me the script and encouraged me to go into the hall to collect myself. When I went back in, it went great. If I had known my lines more, I could have avoided this whole situation and not wasted so much of the casting director’s time.
2. I wish someone would have told me how important it is to just relax and have fun through every stage of the process. When I was little, I would get in my head and worry so much about what the casting directors thought. The turning point for me was when I had an audition that was less than a 24-hour turnaround. I was so nervous and I was freaking out until the final moment before the audition. I ended up nailing it and getting all of my lines right. It was one of the best auditions I ever had, which made me realize all the nervousness was a waste of my energy that I could have been putting towards preparation. From that day forward I decided to have fun and enjoy the audition process.
3. I wish someone would have told me how easy it is to get distracted. I always thought I had to choose to focus on a certain path. When we first came to LA, I took lessons in acting, voice, dance, and guitar. The busier I got auditioning, the harder it became to manage the lesson schedule. I decided to quit dance and guitar because I didn’t realize that continuing would have helped me in the other areas of performing. Now that I’m older I have resumed guitar lessons, but I regret quitting dance because I enjoyed it and it would come in handy with what I have been working on lately.
4. I wish someone told me to prepare extra clothes in case they get messed up. There was this time when I left school, straight to my audition, and I ate Cheetos in the backseat. When we got out of the car my mom was shocked, seeing the dust all over my shirt. We had to go to the bathroom to get as much of it off as we could. From that moment on we always kept a backup outfit in the car!
5. I wish someone would have told me how amazing and fun the industry is, and how many good memories it has made throughout the years. Not only that, but all of the wonderful memories I have made with my brother from going to auditions together, to playing sibling roles and having a built-in scene partner. The entertainment journey has been the best experience I could have ever had, and I am so thankful every day that I get to do this.
You are a person of enormous influence. How do you think you can use social media as a platform to be a positive influence to your fans, and for society at large?
I aspire to use social media as a way to be a positive influence through my music. This is a big reason why I am so excited about creating music with my brother. I feel like music has a unique way to connect with people. It really has a way of touching people emotionally, which other areas of the industry can’t. When I listen to music when I’m having a hard day it can completely change how I feel and make my day that much better. I have always felt so connected to music, and I want to use that to spread the happiness it makes me feel to other people. If I can inspire or encourage even one person, I feel like I have made a difference.
If you had the ability to choose to work on any TV show or film, or work alongside any co-star, or with any director, what or who would that be, and why? You never know who might see this article, especially if we tag them. :-)
I look up to so many actors and actresses, but, if I were to choose one, it would definitely be Bryan Cranston. He impresses me with his brilliant acting style, along with his dedication to his roles. Watching him on screen is like watching him live his life because he is so in the moment and natural. I believe he is one of the most brilliant actors I have ever seen. I would love to have the chance to work with him because I have already learned so much about my craft watching him, so, I could only imagine how much I would learn being alongside him. I also think he would be an amazing scene partner, because of how incredibly honest his work is.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
Instagram:
@thesavannahjudy
Tik Tok:
@thesavannahjudy
Twitter:
@TheSavannahJudy
IMDB: Imdb.me/savannahjudy
This was very meaningful, thank you so much!
