Today we’d like to introduce you to Lena Drake.
Hi Lena, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was brought up in competitive dance, everything was jazz boots and pointe shoes. I fell in love with dance in this really intense way; it was all I thought about, all I did. I would go to dance classes everyday from 3pm-9pm and then I’d come home and continue practicing. Dance has always been this primal language for me; it’s the method I use to better understand myself… the world around me… existence.
I fell into acting because Michigan had a tax incentive for films when I was in high school and they began holding local auditions. I went to my first audition and performed a monologue from 10 Things I Hate About You. I had fun with it, I got emotional, casting got emotional. I remember feeling that I had changed the room and I liked that feeling. I had never done a play, but I decided to audition for theatre departments regardless, just to see if I could get a callback. The University of Michigan Theatre Department accepts 15-20 actors, and I was one of them.
The next few years were training and auditioning and, eventually, working. I’ve worked in TV, film, and theatre. I involve dance in my creative life as much as possible. When I’m working on a character, I’ll dance as them to help understand who they are, how they move, and what they feel about the world. I feel really lucky to get to be an artist and do the things I dreamt of doing. Life is so weird and complicated and unpredictable, the only way I know how to make sense of it is through performance.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
A smooth road? Ha ha. Hahahaha. Never. But, I love a challenge. I hope it continues to be a climb and that I never reach a peak. Once you reach the peak, it’s all downhill.
The last few years have been a lot of stop and start for actors. We went through Covid, we were on strike, and our industry has been in so much transition. The career I dreamed of having doesn’t necessarily exist anymore, so my struggle has been to constantly redirect.
The focus used to be auditioning to book a job. My new focus is to create. I went from actor for hire to filmmaker and have found a lot of freedom in story building.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m a Greek-American actor best known for my starring role in THE SEND-OFF (Prime Video, AppleTV). I also appeared in Showtime’s KIDDING, starring Jim Carrey; DINNER IN AMERICA, which premiered at Sundance; THE HIGH NOTE, starring Dakota Johnson and Tracee Ellis Ross; and ALL HAPPY FAMILIES, produced by Michael Shannon.
I starred as Lotte in BRINGER OF DOOM which premiered Off-Broadway. I played the title role of Kit in MEET YOU DOWNSTAIRS (Teatro LATEA) and originated the role of Angie in COMPANY OF MAN (Teatro LATEA). I earned my BFA: Theatre from the University of Michigan, studied Scriptwriting at Oxford University, and completed the improvisation performance track at The Groundlings.
How do you think about luck?
Luck is one of the main players in entertainment; it’s an industry built on relationships, so the “lucky” ones usually parents with Wikipedia pages. If not parents, then uncles and aunts, if not uncles and aunts, then a neighbor. Film and TV takes a lot of trust and I think people would rather work with people they trust than take risks on strangers.
Unfortunately, it does put actors like myself in the position of needing to outwork everyone in the room to get a job. You have to be 3x as good as anyone you’re up against if you don’t come from connections. It also feels that much better when you do book a job because you know you’ve earned it. there’s no question about it.
My luck plays into the friends and collaborators I’ve made over the years. My focus is creating work with them, instead of knocking on the doors of big shots. I’m surrounded by brilliant artists and I’d like to utilize our own community to tell stories.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lenadrake.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lena_drake/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwHibyxLUVM
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4364969/
Image Credits
Tom Maltbie, Chris Labadie, Roberto Amado-Cattaneo, Justin Patterson, Dipo