We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Cynthia Quiles. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Cynthia below.
Hi Cynthia, thanks for joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
I always knew I wanted to be a performer but growing up as a free-spirited and feisty Puerto Rican kid in the South, the path to Hollywood wasn’t always clear. I would choreograph dance with other children in the neighborhood for an opportunity to be in the spotlight. I took any chance I could to perform. I would audition for local theatre productions and do small shows but the possibility that I could act professionally as a full-time career was a vision that was hard to see because nobody around me was doing it. It wasn’t until I began working as an assistant at a modeling agency in Miami Beach, when an agent randomly sent me on my first real audition, a Sprite commercial. That audition left me bitten with the professional acting bug and it was the catalyst for everything that came after. I moved to CA, full of fear and uncertainty, but never looked back. That led to my work in short films and independent features, collaborating with art students and local filmmakers, and shortly thereafter, I decided to take the leap and make acting my full-time profession.
Cynthia, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
One of my more recent bookings that I absolutely adored was CW’s “Dynasty”. I recurred as “Charlie Jimenez”, a modeling agent who starts a romantic relationship with “Kirby”. Shooting and living in Atlanta for a few months while shooting was quite the experience and the show is beyond fabulous. The costumes alone are a fashionista’s dream come true. Prior to that, I recurred as “Brenda” on Paramount+’s “Why Women Kill – Season 2”, created and written by Marc Cherry (Desperate Housewives). We shot for 6 months at the height of the pandemic and our season was set in 1949. This allowed us transport in time during a period in which the world was unrecognizable due to the COVID outbreak. Shooting during the pandemic came with it’s own set of challenges, but being able to slip back in time, to such a fabulous vintage era was beyond words. The costumes, the music, and the friendships that were born from that cast of amazingly talented actresses who made up our beautiful Elysian Park Garden Club was an experience I will never forgot.
Other notable credits include shows such as FX’s “American Horror Stories”, NBC’s “Mr. Mayor”, ABC’s “Station 19”, CBS’s “All Rise” and many more. Stay tuned for more info on my latest project, details of which I can’t yet disclose, but I’m very excited about it!
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
A monumental pivot in my career was realizing I needed to be specific with my vision and where I want to be in my work, as well as specific with the roles and characters I wanted to bring to life. So often, as young artists, we just want to work. When I forced myself to sit down and really dial in my vision on who I was, my casting and where I wanted to be, everything unlocked for me. It’s a story I love to share with fellow artists. You don’t go to a restaurant, sit down and ask the waiter to just bring you food. You take time to tune in and decide what you want and you order with specificity. I urge artists and creatives to do the same thing. Live life with that specificity and ask for exactly what you want. I found that to be the best way to ensure you get to where you want to be. It’s the equivalent of setting the GPS in your car. Know where you’re going at all times.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
The lesson I had to unlearn was the programming of all the “rules” I learned as a young actor. I was so eager to get things right, instead of just being fully in the moment. We are taught by some coaches and teachers to not do certain things based on what they think casting is looking for. This can often leave us so restricted and put in a box where it becomes quite difficult to stand out and play within the context of the scene. The minute I gave myself permission to just have fun, while staying true to the material and the character, things opened up for me. My advice is don’t subscribe to the rules so closely that it leaves you feeling restricted when you audition (within reason, obviously), take the risks, and allow your true, authentic self to shine through because there is nobody else out there who can be YOU better than YOU. Own that authenticity that makes you so unique and special. Make sure YOU show up in your work and enjoy every moment of the journey. It will make the destination that much sweeter upon arrival.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.imdb.me/cynthiaquiles
- Instagram: @Cynthia.Quiles
