Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Monica Bhatnagar. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Monica, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I worked as an engineer for 8 years before realizing that engineering was not for me. Actually, I knew early on that I didn’t enjoy the work, but I didn’t know what else I would do with my life. I couldn’t decide whether to stay, or leave my job. Fate, or whatever you want to call it, made my decision easy for me. I was laid off, with severance, and plenty of time to discover what really made me happy. I was living in San Francisco at the time, when I met an actor. He was starring in a play put on by San Francisco City College. I attended a show, and had an epiphpany, “I can do that. I WANT to do that. It looks like great fun”. So, I started taking acting classes, and did a few theater shows, and after a few years, I found myself an agent in San Francisco. It was at the time I realized that I wanted to do this professionally. It’s been a wild ride ever since!

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

My acting career began in San Francisco. I did one-woman shows, and acted in student films. I worked on my fair share of Industrials, training videos, and commercials, when eventually it occurred to me, that I wasn’t going to realize my goal of winning an Oscar, doing medical training videos – I girl can dream, lol! Don’t get me wrong; the experience I got from working on Industrials was invaluable – they gave me confidence in myself that I could do the work, and do it well. But I wanted more from the acting. So, my husband, and I moved to Los Angeles in 2015, so I could really get my hands dirty with the acting. After all, if I wanted to move forward in my career, Los Angeles was where I needed to be. After much trial, and error I ended up with a decent agent who got me an audition for my first co-star role on a pilot. The pilot didn’t go anywhere, but the experience was good, and I knew that I could book work on major productions. Fast forward a few years, and a few agents – I worked on my first Guest Star role on a major show on network TV just last month. This came after countless auditions, much rejection, and many breakdowns. Hey, celebrate the wins when you can!

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Like any actor, I would like to work regularly, and make a good living doing it. Specifically, I would love to be a series regular on a hugely popular show, working alongside wonderful people, sharing stories about interesting, and complex characters. I mean, what actor wouldn’t want this?! I know that this business is on its own timeline, so I am going to keep on keeping on, and do the best work possible, while keeping my sanity. Hopefully, I will get to where I want to be in my career in this lifetime. Fingers crossed!

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

As a daughter of immigrants, it was engrained in me that if you work hard, and you don’t quit, you will get far. I took this lesson, and ran with it, and boy did I work hard. I worked so hard in school that I gave myself an ulcer, I worked so hard at the engineering that I gave myself full-blown panic attacks, and an illness, and when I started my acting career I worked so hard, that when I wasn’t booking work, I was riddled with self-doubt, confusion, and more anxiety than I have ever experienced. I learned the hard way that working hard, especially with the acting doesn’t always mean you will go far. Working SMARTER, however will get you places. Well, at the very least, it will keep you sane. Instead of filming 100 takes of the same audition before submitting, I will put in some good character, and scene work before I film. I’ll do 3 takes, TRUST that the work I’ve done is good enough, and call it a day. Honestly, good enough, is just that, good enough. You don’t need perfection. You’ll never get there. Do your best, and move on.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.monicabhatnagar.com
• Instagram: @bhatmon
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/monicabhatnagar

Image Credits
Leah Huebner, www.huebnerheadshots.com