We recently connected with Aislinn De’Ath and have shared our conversation below.
Aislinn, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?
I love being an actor and writer, acting is my first (and forever) love while writing has been a slow burn that’s trickled in when I’ve noticed roles for women over 30 getting thin on the ground and decided that I needed to change the game myself.
Every now and again though (particularly during a dry patch or when the industry is particularly toxic) I think to myself ‘Gosh, wouldn’t it be nice to have a stable income and be able to go on a big holiday every year?’. Of course the real question is what I’d do if I wasn’t a creative – I’ve given this a lot of thought and if ‘lottery winner’ isn’t an option then I think it would be one of two things. I’d run a bookshop combined with a wine bar with some of my badass friends (complete with a cheese counter and some kind of open mic night). The second option would be running a cosy B&B. There would be home made bread (I’m a sourdough bore), wine tastings in the evening and locally sourced everything. Everything would be tartan and at Christmas the place would look like a Hallmark set designer had been let loose.
I do dream of that B&B on the tough days but my god I love being a creative so much, I do think it would take an awful lot for me to call it quits.
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 always cringe a little to tell people how I decided I wanted to be an actor because it’s so wildly unoriginal. I found out what being an actor was at aged 4 and just knew that was it for me. What followed was years of elation at being cast in school plays and then having my heart broken when I realised I couldn’t sing (I sound like a cat in a washing machine, with about as much rhythm) so musicals were out for me. Since most school plays at secondary school were musicals, that meant a lot of playing chorus roles like a bobbing bobby in The Pirates of Penzance (cue much cheesy teen angst about never getting my big break)
I’m not from a family with any links in the industry so had no real idea how to get into it, so my journey has been very much cobbled together out of guess work. I went on to study English & American Literature at The University of Kent, Canterbury where they had a stellar drama society and the 4th year Directing students did what I thought was absolutely ‘proper’ theatre, and ended up doing 13 plays in 3 years (alongside far too many plates of cheesy chips and nights drunkenly dancing to Abba). I got into the National Youth Theatre and spent every penny of my savings on the course, which was incredible and just cemented how much I wanted to pursue being an actor.
I then successfully auditioned at Drama Centre at Central St. Martins, which was then one of the top drama schools in Europe. The call inviting me to do my MA in Acting For Screen (an intensive two years at their old base in Farringdon) is a moment I’ll never forget; I ran whooping and hollering through the halls of my university. I still actually feel a bit giddy that I got accepted on my first try to be honest. It was such an honour to walk in the hallowed grounds that had trained some of my heroes and I truly feel the intensity of the process formed me as a professional.
Since then I’ve worked in film, video games, voice over, tv, theatre and more and I’ve been fortunate enough to play some really unique characters. I always aim to bring empathy to every role I take on, to find the core of humanity in even the most hardened villains and hopefully give audiences pause for thought.
I started writing out of pure exasperation – when I hit my late 20s suddenly castings started slowing down, and the range was hardly inspiring. This only got worse into my 30s, so I decided if I was seeing an issue in the industry it was my job to fix it. I started writing short films, the most well known of which is probably my Poison Ivy fan film, ‘Growing Shadows’ and have recently undertaking writing my first series (which is full to the brim of fabulous female characters). As a writer I aim to create roles that any actor would be over the moon to play, stories that find the weirdness in the everyday and narratives that connect with that nostalgic place in the gut of my audience – so that for a moment they feel like they’ve just had a particularly juicy chat with a very old friend.
I’m particularly proud to still be working in the industry since having my son late last year. I really hope I can show other actors that you don’t have to choose having a family or the craft, that living a fulfilling, richly textured life will only improve your performances.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
That success is based on ‘deserving it’. I was convinced growing up that of course I’d be successful because I work really hard, and I’m good at what I do, but the reality is this industry is all about being in the right place at the right time. Unfortunately, there’s also a fair old bit of nepotism involved. But what that’s reinforced for me is it’s so important to be prepared, so that when the time is right and luck kicks in, you’re ready
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
My main mission is not to step out of the race, you can’t win if you’re not in it!
I’m also passionate (if you hadn’t already noticed) about creating the industry I want. So when I find great film makers who are also great people, I stick to them like glue.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @aislinndeath
- Twitter: @AislinnDeAth
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@aislinndeath6907?si=cCPC5IkDANvs-9hm
- Other: IMDb: https://m.imdb.com/name/nm4398647/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk
Image Credits
Ditto Films Jenny Scott