We recently connected with Annie Claire Hudson and have shared our conversation below.
Annie Claire, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
During the shutdown in 2021, I was working as a video editor. Editing and design had been my career since college. I spent each day at my desk, and I wasn’t happy. I realized that my desk job was the source of not only my depression but also physical aches and pains. I felt like I was wasting my life sitting at a desk all day. And then it hit me, I needed to make a big career change. I decided If I wanted to take the leap and become a professional actor, I needed to do it immediately. I quit my full time job and started working on freelance projects instead, just to keep some money coming in. I reached out to all my actor friends and started piecing together a plan. The very first thing I did was get back into classes. I took tap class and an intro to voice over acting class. I also set the goal of getting signed by an agent within the next year. I reached out to many companies and auditioned for every open call. I achieved my goal and was signed for musical theater representation. Soon after that I was signed for commercial representation.
Now my life feel so much more full, and rewarding. I love my job and I learn new things every day.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I have always been an artist. Ever since I was little I have always been drawing, painting, dancing, and creating little videos with my friends. I went to an amazing high school that had a center for the arts. That is where I first got involved with theatre. I fell in love with the stage, and became one of my school’s top musical theater actors. When it came time to apply for college I decided I would major in visual communications (graphic design, typography, ad design, etc.) and minor in acting. It was very important to me to have both. After school I began a career working as a designer for an advertising agency. Soon after, I was offered a job editing for DreamworksTV. This was the beginning of my video editing career. After 8 years in that industry, I have now decided to become a professional actor.
I also have passions for interior design and fashion.
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
I wish I knew that the education never stops. There are so many classes out there for adults too! I live in LA so I have access to dance classes, and improv classes (I took UCB!), and even adult acting classes. There are also so many classes you can take online. I took voice over acting classes online with kalmenson and kalmenson.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
I think many actors feel like they become too old for this job. I definitely felt like I had missed my chance and was too old to get back into it. The reality is, actors can and should be different ages and shapes and colors! My commercial agent really opened my eyes to this. I was concerned about when I should start a family and if that would end my career, but she assured me that that wasn’t the case at all. She actually said that advertisers are always looking for pregnant woman and real families for their campaigns.
Now that I’m in my 30’s I have also unlocked a whole new set of roles I can play. While it’s hard to say goodbye to younger roles, I am very excited to discover these new role possibilities.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.annieactor.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annieclaire/
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@annieandthesnacks?lang=en