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

Hi Olivia , thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

I’ve been really fortunate to work on a few meaningful projects very early in my career, but two definitely stick out. One of them is a film called “You Can’t Run Forever,” which is coming out this May. It’s a film that my mother co-wrote (along with Carolyn Carpenter) and directed, my father stars in, my uncle produced, and my brother scored. Clearly, it’s a family affair. We all had the most incredible time on set together, and I am so proud of the way it came out. The other is a thriller called “Honor Student”, which was my first role in a professional film. I was so nervous going into it but Tamika Miller (the director) and Kelly Jenrette and Hudson Yang (the stars) made me feel so comfortable. It has an extremely powerful message, and I feel so grateful to have been a part of Tamika’s vision.

Olivia , 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?

My name is Olivia Simmons, and I am a NY/LA based actor. I got into acting because of a really great theater class I took in middle school, and the rest is history. The more I did it, the more I loved it. I took as many acting classes as I could, including programs at RADA, NYU, Shakespeare’s Globe, and The Groundlings. Lately, I’ve been especially focused on film and television. I’m a huge movie person, and I think one of my favorite things about acting is the fact that you can help create something that could genuinely change someone’s life. There’s nothing like the feeling you get when you walk out of a movie that gave you a new perspective on something. That’s the kind of work I want to be a part of. I feel the most proud when I know that I’ve poured my heart into something, and that becomes easy when the material really connects to what makes us human. As far as my personal taste goes, I love playing characters who are a little bit guarded but have a lot of emotion under the surface. Then again, I also love playing someone lighthearted and goofy so… just give me a script and I’ll have a great time.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I think the most rewarding aspect of being an artist for me is the process of collaboration. There’s something so awesome about everyone working together to complete a project, whether that be a movie or a play or whatever. My best memories as an actor are the ones where I got to see all the puzzle pieces fitting together. Being on film sets especially has made me realize just how much work goes into it behind the scenes, and it’s given me a lot of respect for the process.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson that I had to unlearn was that you have to start early in order to succeed. I think for actors (and especially women/female presenting actors) there is a lot of pressure to start young. For a while I believed this pressure and it caused a lot of stress in my life to get ahead, whatever that means. However, as I’ve gotten more serious about acting and met a lot of really inspiring people, I’ve heard so many unique stories of success. You can start as late or as early as you want, and it doesn’t make you lesser than anyone else. It’s all about your own journey.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ogsimmons.com
• Instagram: @livi.simmons

Image Credits
Michelle Schumacher, honorstudentmovie.com, Tamika Miller, Griffin Fenady