We were lucky to catch up with Chrisse Soukai recently and have shared our conversation below.

Chrisse, appreciate you joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to do something creative with my life. Back then, I didn’t know yet what I wanted to do, but I knew that it had to be something creative and freeing. My sole nightmare for my future life was to do a job I wasn’t happy with, in an office, closed-off, sitting down and staring at a screen all day with no real human interactions. I just knew deep down that this wasn’t for me.

During my studies, my love for languages bloomed. I was already an avid reader and I couldn’t stop myself from writing stories so, literature and languages were my forte. I started my studies in translation but… something was still bothering me. I love translation, but something deep down was calling me to do more than just that. It was the same something that was appearing inside of me every time I was watching a movie, this bizarre longing saying that I had a story to tell as well. I remember when I realized what it was, I didn’t say anything to anybody, not even my friends. I thought they would think I was just being silly. And it was in fact a silly dream: me, becoming an actress? That seemed out of reach.

Besides, I had other more concrete and real things to worry about: my studies. But even then, whenever I had my head buried inside a book, there was this little flame that was sending some sparkles here and there, reminding me constantly that there was something else out there for me. And my sole companion in my studies was my laptop, on which I would watch many, many movies… which definitely kept the sparks going!
So, at some point, I told myself: “Well…If those sparkles are still there by the time I am done with my studies then fine. I’ll try it!”. After all, it’s better to try than to regret later and weep over all the things you wish you could have done. When I obtained my Master’s degree, I started working as a translator and I said: “Time to see if those sparkles are still inside.” And… they had grown to be a complete wildfire.

And then I took my decision: this wildfire was calling for me to do the creative something that I always yearned to do my whole life, and it had finally put a word on it- acting. And that’s when I think, I took the biggest risk of my life. I was going to leave my country, my family, my friends, everything and everybody I have ever known so far, uproot myself from that comfort zone, and get thrown into the complete unknown that is LA. I wondered for a while before applying to my acting school and taking my flight ticket “Am I doing this?”.

And yes. Yes, I was going to do this. This was the thing that was calling me for so long. This is where my life was pointing at now. And I was well aware that this was a complete gamble. What if I was making a mistake? Well, better for it to happen soon, rather than for me to regret it for years that I never even dared to try.

When I was accepted at my acting school, everything went so fast: I arrived in LA, I started the classes, I met so many people, I created a community… And I started to build my life here. Was I completely terrified? Maybe, haha! Probably more than I care to admit. But I wouldn’t have been able to look at myself in the mirror if I hadn’t even tried. I accepted this change I was doing for myself with a lot of positivity and hope, and so far, I don’t regret a thing.

Chrisse, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Well, my name is Chrisse, I’m French and I can wholeheartedly now say that I am not only a translator but also an actress.

I started my studies at the Michelle Danner Acting Conservatory, and I’ve been working on small productions so far. I’m also into directing, writing my own scripts and I’m currently working on shooting some of those projects!

I’ve also started my journey in stunts and film combat, and I’ve begun to take a martial arts class as well (Wushu), which I’m very excited about. I’ve always wanted to be in action movies and I’m very happy to put in the work to get the skills that such movies demand.

I took a year to refine my craft in acting solely (which I’m still working on because you are never truly done with developing your acting and as most actors know, acting is a muscle!). Now that I feel more confident in myself, I can “expand” and tap into other areas I want to add to the list of my abilities, while training.

I’m very proud that I took this leap of faith because three years ago, I couldn’t have even thought that I would be here, doing all this. I feel like I am still very much at the beginning of my career and I’m enjoying every moment of the path and can’t wait for the next steps!

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I think what most non-creative people don’t understand is how we can let go of stability to do something so vague, let’s say, haha! Being an actress, you have to work every day towards your goal, and you will get lots of rejections before you finally get that one “yes” that will help you climb the ladder. And you just have to never give up, keep showing up, and do as much as you can, which is not stable. You don’t go to work from 9 to 5 and you don’t get a salary by the end of the month. Most of the time, when I speak to non-creative people, that’s what comes up: they don’t understand why I would put myself in such a position, why I don’t choose stability instead of doing what I do. And yes, sure, life would be easier in some part, but will I be happy, will I be doing what I dream of, and what brings me happiness? I doubt it. I’ll be miserable. Not too long ago, I heard this interview of Alfred Molina who mentioned that his father couldn’t quite comprehend why he was going after acting while he could have a steady job, with more income. And it was hard for him to understand that his son wasn’t wasting his time. I think my family understood as well how important that was for me when they saw me perform on stage. You know, it’s not about an income, it’s about chasing your dreams and doing what you love. They say artists are crazy, maybe we are! But I wouldn’t chase anything else. We’re here for a very short time, so we might as well try, and go chase our dreams.

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

The most rewarding part… Let me think.
First of all, I’m doing something that I enjoy and that I love. And that brings me a lot of joy. Secondly, this thing that I enjoy doing rewards me in its own way. When you are an actor, you go through all these characters, all their life stories, all kinds of emotions… And the work rewards you by discovering parts of yourself again and again. You are continuously evolving, exploring yourself, and unlocking parts of yourself… It’s a deep dive into you and who you are. It feels like therapy! When I started, I was always surprised to see how the work always found a way to point at things I needed to work on, like my self-love, my bottled-up emotions, etc… It will point at those dark spots in your life and will help you work through them, address them properly and unlock them. Acting helps to see yourself fully and understand who you are. And that’s extremely rewarding.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: chrisse_1987

Image Credits

Sebastian Chiu
Carolina Machado
Lean Tucks
Ti Young