We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Claudia Wit a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Claudia thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

During the pandemic I started writing a Action Comedy Feature based on a character I created in an improv class at The Groundlings.. So, after finishing a draft I was happy with, last year I shot a proof of concept for the film – to raise some money and hopefully get some people on board. The film, “An American Hero for Me,” is about a social reject from a small Eastern European bourg who leaves her life behind & moves to Hollywood to become a stunt double for Brad Pitt. Being a product of Immigrant Eastern European parents, I took a lot of my experiences and essentially and put them to paper. Not only that, all the feelings I felt when I moved to Hollywood, myself. This film is incredibly dear to my heart, because not only is it a ridiculous comedy, but it features a female character that would never be lead in a Hollywood film. It shatters the female Hollywood stereotype and it is unapologetic about it.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I was a drama nerd and loved it. Went to College for Science and was on my way to (hopefully) medical school, or that was the plan. I realized how much I missed theatre, and after my father passed away, I wanted to life to the fullest, since he felt he never really did. I moved to L.A right after this realization, got my MFA from Calarts and have been grinding ever since. I started writing because I felt like I wasnt seeing the types of women I wanted to play either come my way, or on-screen. And now we’re here, hopefully making my movie.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

Yes, that success is not what you think it looks like. Also, it never just comes at once. It’s hard, and it doesn’t look like you thought it would.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Start supporting your friends and family on their social platforms, their go fund me’s, go to their shows and check in on them. I see people liking celebrity IG posts, and not like/support a project that a friend has been posting about on IG/facebook/tik tok. This helps the algorithm and as stupid as it sounds, that’s the world we live in now, unfortunately.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @_claudiawit
• Other: Tik tok: @claudiawit

Image Credits
Marlow Photography DP for An American Hero for Me: Katie Eleneke