We were lucky to catch up with Ashlynn Hideman recently and have shared our conversation below.

Ashlynn, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

My most meaningful project is one of my own, but it took a long road to get there. In the summer of 2020, like everyone else, I was bored and desperately wanting to create. I had never written a film before, nor did I know where to start. But once I sat down and let the ideas flow, I ended up writing three short films that I was very proud of. Each film meant something different to me. One was a drama about high school relationships, the next was a comedy– showcasing the hilarious reality of dating with strict parents, and the last was a drama about being abandoned. After completing the films, I moved into production– I casted the roles and we began filming. Unfortunately, during post production, my footage got stolen by the cinematographer/editor and I never saw those films again.
I was crushed. These films that were so important to me were just…gone. I tried to fight for them back but after months of trying, I let it go. I was devastated, but this loss didn’t keep me down.
Amidst fighting to get my footage back, I met one of my now closest friends and a fellow filmmaker, Kyle Hanchett. We met on the set of a local indie film and clicked instantly. Kyle and I kept in touch after filming and eventually, we decided to collaborate and make something that we could both be proud of. So in December of 2020, Kyle and I began pre-production for our film “Until Our Last Breath”.
Kyle and I bounced ideas back and forth for weeks trying to decide what we would want to write about and what we felt was important to share in a seven minute timeframe. I wanted to write a love story, but add a twist. A love story, but not a happily ever after. This film needed to be real and it needed to show the reality of love and loss. And that’s exactly what we did. “Until Our Last Breath” is a story about two teens diagnosed with terminal cancer who have one last dance together. This story felt honest. It felt raw. It showed the beauty of being young and in love, but it also showed the reality of sickness and the fragility of relationships. It showed that life is not guaranteed. This film did not have a happy ending. I had two endings in mind, but chose to go with the real and unexpected.
After we finished filming, Kyle and I edited for a couple months and the film officially came out on February 22, 2021. We released the film publicly and within a couple days, we had an abundance of shares, comments, and likes. People loved our film. Over the course of nine months, our film received countless festival acceptances and numerous awards. I felt so proud of us and so proud of our little film that we created.
Through all of this, I learned so many lessons. I learned how to take a hard loss and come out better from it. I learned how to collaborate with a fellow filmmaker and work together to make something we are both proud of. I grew so much during this process and I can’t thank Kyle, Jason Valenzuela, Brenna Hanchett, and Averie Hideman for bringing “Until Our Last Breath” to life. This would’ve never happened without them.

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 knew that I wanted to be an entertainer. Throughout my childhood, I was always super creative and imaginative, coming up with crazy stories to act out, and imitating the actors I saw on TV. I wanted to be just like them. From then on, I knew that I was going to be an actress. Even now, that dream and passion have not faltered. At family gatherings, I always had to be the center of attention– singing songs, dancing around, or making iMovie videos with my cousins. At the age of 4, I began acting in small church plays, and shortly after, I took up competitive Irish Dance at Celtic Steps School of Irish Dance for 13 years. Irish Dance consumed most of my time as a young girl. I was traveling nationwide for dance competitions (which in Ireland are called Feis’s) and then around St. Patrick’s day, my dance team and I would travel around CO dancing at schools, retirement homes, pubs, the St. Patty’s Parade, the Children’s Hospitals, and even the local news. Each St. Patrick’s day, I would dance in front of thousands of people and it was the most incredible feeling. I absolutely loved bringing joy to the audience with my performance. The excitement, the rush, the adrenaline, and the thrill of the audience watching me became addicting. I was hooked. Performing became second hand nature to me. To this day, I can honestly credit Irish Dance for giving me the confidence to show what I have and to give it all I’ve got in every performance. This influence has immensely shaped me into who I am as an entertainer today. In 7th grade, I decided to take a break from dancing competitively and jumped right back into acting. From junior high until my senior year of high school, I thrived as a theater kid. I did One Acts, Plays, Improv., and Musicals. I came to absolutely adore my theater family at TCA. Here, I felt like I could truly be me. I fell in love with the feeling of being a part of something bigger than myself. At the age of 13, I then peaked an interest in pursuing film acting full time. So, I started acting classes with some of the most skilled, gracious, and hard-working coaches throughout Colorado. Each coach pushed me in different ways and I grew more than I ever thought I could. They each saw my potential, even when I didn’t. I went from class to class, learning the different acting styles that each coach had to offer. Which, in return, helped me book many short films, feature films, and commercials.
As of right now, I am blessed enough to be working. I had the amazing opportunity to star in the feature film, “Sirona” in which I play the lead character, Sirona! This film was so much fun to be a part of, and will be released on a streaming platform this summer. In 2021, I wrote, directed, and starred in my short film “Until Our Last Breath”. “Until Our Last Breath” can be found on YouTube or on my instagram IGTV. I also am going to be working on a video game doing motion capture for the next year. I have never done MoCap before, but it has been a blast so far!
Something that I think sets me apart is my resilience in this industry. Living the life of an artist is very challenging. It’s constant ups and downs. It’s the perpetual need to please. It’s countless rejections. As an actor, I receive more rejection in a month than most people do in a year. I do it because every “No” makes the single “Yes” worth it. Every “No” is one step closer to achieving my dream. That feeling is surreal when you get the call saying that you booked the job. It’s like time stops for a minute and all the heartache of rejection disappears. Your heart just fills with gratitude and excitement. It is truly amazing. Most actors would agree with me when I say: auditioning is the WORST and hardest part about being an actor. That is why it is so rewarding when we book the part. This industry is unknown and ever-changing (especially since COVID), but that is what makes it exciting! You never know when you will get that “Yes” and your life will change. I have learned some hard lessons throughout my journey, and even though they were horrible going through it, I would never take them back. I am who I am because of my experiences.
Throughout my journey, I have had the privilege of working with such amazing people who have profoundly helped pave the road for where I am now. I could not be where I am without the incredible support of my family, friends, coaches, mentors, and of course, my wonderful agents!

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I have always felt like my goal in life is to be a light to others. The industry can be very dark at times, so if I can be a light at all, I would feel like I achieved my goal. I think that as an actor, I can do that by playing characters that someone can relate to, that way, if someone is going through the same thing as a character that I’m playing, they can see that they are not alone. I admire so many actors because of this. Life is hard, and even harder if you feel lonely, so I would love to be able to play a character that even one person can relate to.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I think for me, the most rewarding part about being an actress is the way my performance or my character can move someone. It is an incredible feeling when your performance is able to move people in an emotional way. People love TV and movies because it makes them feel something. Whether it’s processing something in their own life, being able to laugh for the first time in a while, reminding them of someone they know, or just being able to relate to a character on the screen– it makes people feel. I remember a very specific experience when I played a character that had moved someone to tears. In my short film “Until Our Last Breath”, I play a cancer-ridden teen named Mia. She doesnt have long to live, so she spends a night dancing with her Love, and ends up getting sick while dancing, making the reality of her sickness inevitable. I had a woman message me after the film came out and she said she was just brought to tears at how beautiful the love story was and then how crushed she felt at the ending. She said Mia reminded her of herself when she was battling her sickness. She said that my performance made her feel “seen” and “understood”. As I was reading the message, I thought to myself…this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. This makes it worth it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ashlynnhideman.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashlynnhideman/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL6xM2-Q97sMJ-f8ZphINdg
• Other: IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9653028/

Image Credits
Stephanie Mikuls, Jeff Weeks, Getty Images: Thomas Cooper, Kyle Hanchett

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