We were lucky to catch up with Chhaya Nene recently and have shared our conversation below.
Chhaya, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
Taking a risk is the biggest act of courage and love you can have for yourself. I’ve kind of just always leapt and trusted that a net will appear. I like to think of taking a risk as going on the monkey bars and trusting you will find your way to the next rung.
I always knew I wanted to be an actress but the path to it was not linear– my parents told me I needed a different career (which was the best thing later on) and so I pursued journalism. When I graduated, that day I told them I was going to act. Within a year, I booked my first national commercial, TV show on ABC, and then indie film.
I haven’t stopped running and following it since.
These risks–becoming the only wrestler on the boy’s team, moving to new cities, making a movie with no prior experience–these are the joys in life for me and I wouldn’t change a thing.
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?
Honestly– once I decided I was going to be an actress, I started looking for ways to do that. I joined classes, did extra work, befriended people on sets, did student films, got a reel together, took headshots, pursued agents, managers, and then things came together. I’ve found along the way that my journey has morphed and now I’m loving directing, writing, producing, and acting as well. It’s amazing when you have creative control over your work and you get to create something special. Last year I wrote, directed, cast, produced, and took a film to now over 20 film festivals– we’ve won 11 awards including at an Oscar qualifying festival. It’s pretty incredible.
On the commercial side, that has been my financial freedom to live the life I’ve wanted. I should note in full transparency that when I started, it took working seven jobs, food stamps, and determination to make it. I try and keep the gratitude a daily practice to remind myself of my journey.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
Yes– I want to garner the notoriety from the acting space to turn it back on the communities that need it. As a journalist and actress I’m drawn to social justice stories– I love the underdog and seeing people’s stories. My goals is to highlight the beauty all around us.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
I say this as a Type A person. I like planning, organizing, and knowing exactly what is going to happen. This lesson applies to the entertainment industry as it does for the rest of life– but you actually have control over nothing. And the faster you learn to surrender (yes–I realize how LA I sound) but it’s true. The best things and the things I’ve wanted happened when I wasn’t thinking about them– I was present, having fun, and not thinking about it.
It’s okay to not know. It’s okay to not have it all figured it out.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.csnene.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chhayanene/#
- Twitter: https://x.com/ChhayaNene
