Rising Star Siân Altman On The Five Things You Need To Shine In The Entertainment Industry
An Interview With Elana Cohen
You have to believe in yourself. It’s a tough industry and you will hear the word ‘no’ a lot and the only way to bounce back from that is to trust in your own abilities and keep honing your skills. You don’t need to wait for anyone else’s approval or permission to follow your dreams, if it’s something you really want then the first person that you need to convince that you’re capable of doing it, is you. Once you’ve done that you can focus on convincing everyone else.
As a part of our series about pop culture’s rising stars, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Siân Altman.
Siân Altman is a professional actress and model with over 10 years experience in the industry. The UK-based actress, whose latest film Wolf Garden is one of the most popular streaming titles of first quarter 2023, won her first award for best actress in the self-written short In Sickness in 2016 and has since appeared in TV movie Brexit and ITV’s Mr Selfridge. Further credits include award-winning films Them, Twenty Minutes and Creation.
She is currently playing the lead role in CW series House of Helsing and has several feature films due for release later this year.
Siân has worked on numerous commercial campaigns for companies such as Lenor, Nicorette and Loreal. Her modeling experience includes beauty, lifestyle, commercial and editorial, with notable publications in Vogue Italia and Femme Rebelle Magazine.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
I grew up in London where I lived with my parents and my older brother. My dad worked in the police and he was based in the West End so we were lucky enough to get free or discounted tickets to the theatre quite often which is probably where my love of acting first started.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
As a kid I was always really shy. My mum signed me up for ballet classes and I was too scared to join in so I’d sit and wait at the front desk for her to pick me up. I used to cry if I was asked to go up to the counter in a fast food restaurant and order something! But from a very young age I always loved playing dress up and make believe games (I think my first school report said that I was good in all my classes but they struggled to get me out of the dressing up corner) and when we started doing school plays I got involved and as soon as I stepped on stage and got to transform into a different character all that shyness just disappeared and I fell in love with acting. When I got to the age where I was choosing what to do at university there were lots of academic subjects I enjoyed but I knew that acting was something I just couldn’t live without so I decided to give it a shot and I haven’t ever looked back.
Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
I’d love to but I’m afraid it’s all tied up in NDAs.
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 I was just starting out and I wanted some experience on a bigger set I did some work as a background actor. I was lucky enough to work on a series of Downton Abbey which was loads of fun but one day on set I was meant to be hanging up a number of metal pans on some kitchen hooks whilst the lead actress in the scene had a challenging crying moment. They did a few rehearsals and just as they were ready to shoot and she’d worked up the tears I managed to knock off the first pan which started a dominoes effect and all of them fell off the wall one by one very loudly mid scene. Thankfully the actress herself was absolutely lovely and just laughed about it with me but I was mortified!
What I learnt is that no matter how much you practise something things don’t always go right on the day. And if you can ask for quieter props you probably should.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
I just worked on a feature film called Warhol. It was a great opportunity and I got to work with some incredibly talented and lovely people on a script that is just fantastic. I think the finished film is going to be something really special so I’m looking forward to that coming out in the next year or so.
I also got to play the lead in a fantasy TV show called House of Helsing, which is my first time leading a series and that should hopefully be out some time this year too.
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?
Some of the best advice I ever received was about auditioning. It’s easy to feel like the people in the room are judging you or working against you but it really helps to remember that they’re genuinely routing for you. At the end of the day if you turn up to the audition and give them exactly the character they’re looking for you’ve just made their job that much easier so they really do want you to do well. When you look at it like that it makes auditioning so much easier and gives you the freedom to really take some risks and show them just how you would play the role that makes it unique to you as an actor.
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 super important in the entertainment industry. Film is, in part, a reflection of real life and real life is full of diversity so it makes sense that film should be too.
Every person loves to feel seen and heard and being able to watch people in a performance who speak to your personal experience makes you feel like you’re a part of something. I love the way that film can connect people like that and open up a narrative about shared experience that brings us closer together and might help people feel less alone in the world.
We grow as people through learning about other cultures, religions, genders, sexualities, experiences of mental and physical health and so many other things that make us different. Having access to these kinds of experiences through entertainment helps to broaden our horizons and learn to understand each other better.
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 have to believe in yourself. It’s a tough industry and you will hear the word ‘no’ a lot and the only way to bounce back from that is to trust in your own abilities and keep honing your skills. You don’t need to wait for anyone else’s approval or permission to follow your dreams, if it’s something you really want then the first person that you need to convince that you’re capable of doing it, is you. Once you’ve done that you can focus on convincing everyone else.
- It isn’t always as simple as talent and hard work. I’ve known some truly incredible actors who’ve struggled to book jobs and some who have turned up to set hours late or unprepared who’ve ended up with incredible careers. There is an element of luck and timing to everything we do which is often outside of our control. The best way to handle this is to focus on the things you can control and just keep going.
- Success as an actor is rarely linear. You can work on some incredible projects and then book nothing for months or even years after that. Just because you’re not working on your dream role right now it doesn’t mean you never will again. Even the most successful actors have had quiet periods. It isn’t a reflection of your skills.
- Half of acting is listening. A lot of actors get really caught up in their own dialogue or creating huge back stories for their characters but if you’re not able to listen and respond to the other actors in the scene you’re basically just performing in a bubble.
- There’s no end point to learning. If you want to keep getting better at your craft you need to keep practising. Learn from the people you work with, take classes, keep auditioning, be open to new experiences and taking risks. There are so many talented people out there with so much they can teach you. Every time I meet someone who does something in a way I wouldn’t have thought of I pay attention and try to soak up new things all the time.
Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
You’ve got to find a way of making your work a priority without letting it completely dictate your life. You’ll regularly have to make decisions about what means more to you, which often means missing out on social events or choosing one project over another. It can be hard when you first start out to find a balance and I’ve definitely reached a point of burnout plenty of times before. For me, what helped was to decide what my non negotiables are. There are certain things in my life that I’m not willing to sacrifice for a job and there are certain jobs that I’m not willing to sacrifice for other things in my life. I decide up front what matters most to me and try to make time for those things and I give myself permission to be flexible when I feel I need to.
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’m not sure how much influence I have but something I think we could all be better at is just to try to be kinder to each other. We never know what’s going on in someone else’s head so being patient and understanding can go a really long way to making someone else’s day.
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?
There have been lots of amazing people I’ve been lucky enough to work with who have helped me with opportunities I will always be grateful for but the main person I always come back to is my partner. He is my lifeline. He helps me run lines, he listens to me complain about tough days on set or jobs I didn’t get, he celebrates every win with me and every time I doubt myself he’s there to talk me up. I couldn’t do any of it without him.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Life is too short not to chase your dreams.” My mum once asked me how I cope with inconsistent income and never knowing what my work schedule is going to be from one month to the next and I said that that’s something I’ve learned to get used to, what I couldn’t cope with is feeling like I didn’t even give it a try. Every day my alarm goes off I’m excited to go to work because I genuinely love what I do. Not everyone can say that so that makes me feel very lucky.
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. :-)
I’m a huge fan of Margaret Atwood. My shelves are full of her books and I’ve been to several of her talks (I even have a tattoo of one of her quotes). I’d love to have lunch with her and just listen to anything she’d want to tell me. I feel like I learn something every time she writes or speaks.
How can our readers follow you online?
I’m on instagram @sian_altman
This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!
