We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Chantel O’Brian. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Chantel below.

Chantel, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I’ve always been a big fan of cinema and would imagine me in different films and shows, whether it was MCU, a Tyler Perry Film, working with Ava Duvernay or even casting on a CW show. I decided to feed that hope in 2018 with my first acting workshop in New York with TSAW Acting workshop. Tasha Smith, who’s displayed herself to be an incredible actress, director and coach was a catalyst in me keeping this dream alive. After years of focusing on my pageant and coaching career, I returned to training in the field with classes and workshops. I love that I’ve been able to be on sets of other projects and can’t wait to flourish in roles that are fun, challenging, inspiring and impactful.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Most people know me through my career in pageantry and would consider me a great contributor to girls and women internationally who want to be empowered through their walk. It all started with my dare to bet on myself and eventually a climax in my pageant career with a historic Top 10 Finish at Miss Universe, a first in Bahamian history. A few, know how passionate I am about acting and becoming better in my craft.

I’m heavily inspired by the late, Sir Sidney Poitier who being of Bahamian heritage was the first black male actor to win an Oscar. He certainly paved the way for any small islander to know that they could realize their dreams. I am proud in being unlikely – there’s a pride in being the underdog in the beginning and continuing a working actor career.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson that I had to unlearn is that in order to be successful, you need consistent highs and wins. This came from my journey as a pageant competitor but is mirrored even more blatantly in my acting journey. On a day-to-day basis, I contribute to girls and women becoming more confident in themselves, despite the odds. I’ve seen the same coaching I offer them having to be reiterated in my process of a character breakdown or not getting the results I want. As a pageant queen, I suffered years of not being the first choice and then when it finally happened, the losses that were actually lessons felt more like past wins. There’s a beauty in maturing in the process and understanding who you were in the past in comparison to who you’ve become. To do that, you don’t need to always have to be on top, you just have to be intentional.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The liberation in being pleased in what you produce. You shouldn’t have to regret your work but actually learn from it. I often look back at submissions and even other content creation and see how ahead of my time I might have been or how I could improve it.

Creativity can be frustrating but the mess in the interim makes for some of the most iconic final results. I just don’t see how exciting life would be if everything went the way we wanted it. It would make our dreams short-sighted and our goals repressive.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meetchantel/

Image Credits
@gary.g.photo – Gary Martin @stanlophotography – Stanley Babb @tbastianphotography – Travis Bastian