We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Cybil Lake a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

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

I’m currently working on a project called Malibu Mother of Two. It’s a dramedy about Nina, a popular New York wellness writer and influencer, who flies to L.A. with her two boys while struggling to remain sober and close the open marriage she thought she wanted.
This project has certain parallels with my life, such as sobriety and motherhood. The project also resonates with me because I lived in New York for a long time and moved to L.A. with my husband and two boys. However, I’ve never asked for an open marriage, but I wanted to explore that in a story form. Ceci Cleary, who has produced several films including 40-Love, and To Leslie, which garnered an Academy Award Best Actress nomination, is a partner on the project.

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’m an actor and a writer. I love writing and portraying complex characters. I try to challenge myself with infusing humor into even dark situations. Even since I was a child, I’ve been writing and I started acting in seventh grade. I graduated from NYU Tisch School of the Arts, where I majored in Film and TV. Additionally, I completed a Four Year Meisner Training at The Ward Studio, Lee Strasberg with Marketa Kimbrell, Theatre with Alice Spivak, On Camera with Paul Michaels, The Method Movement Niki Flaks, Jason Buyer, Joseph Pearlman, and Margie Haber. I wrote, directed, and acted in my first feature film when I was twenty-five.

My most recent thriller feature, Central Park Dark, I wrote, directed, and acted in alongside Tom Sizemore, is currently distributed by High Octane Films and streaming on Amazon. I had over sixty press interviews for the film including National Fox News Network and the film was chosen for the 2021 Official Selection of New Filmmakers NY Festival. My acting credits include The Black List with James Spader on NBC, The Following with Kevin Bacon on Fox, Show Me a Hero directed by Academy Award Winner Paul Haggis for HBO, Girls on HBO, and a dozen independent films.

Recently, I shot a short film for Malibu Mother of Two and I received the Best Actress award at the Independent Shorts Awards in Los Angeles. The short was a Finalist in the Palm Springs International, L.A. Independent Women Film Awards, Dubai Independent Film Festival, IndieX Film festival, and more.

I experienced some personal troubles with alcohol and drugs. The themes of addiction and recovery are very powerful to me. In fact, both the projects I’m currently working on have the element of alcoholism. In Malibu Mother of Two, the main character relapses when in L.A. In my other feature, White Lies and Darker Ones, the main character is an alcoholic who uncovers her small town’s darkest secrets.

I’m a mother of two incredible boys and married to an amazing husband. We’ve been enjoying the L.A. sun for five years now. I lived in New York for over twenty years. I miss it but I love L.A. Being a mother has opened my heart in ways I could never comprehend and I attempt to bring that energy to my art, writing, and performances.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

My overriding goal is to make sure I spread opportunities as I receive them. Honestly, I never really had a mentor or someone in the industry who helped me out. I try to be that person now.

Also recovery and awareness around addiction is a big part of my life.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

During the SAG actors strike and long after it, I had very few auditions. So I decided to finish a novel that I started a long time ago. Hot New Listing — the glamour of New York real estate meets the nightmare of a single mom’s addiction. I’m looking for a publisher.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.cybillake.com www.morganeaglepictures.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/cybillake
• Facebook: cybillake
• Linkedin: cybillake
• Twitter: none — it was hacked

Image Credits

Kenneth Dolin