We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sarah French a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Sarah, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
Looking back, I’ve always loved to entertain. As a kid my sister and cousins and I would put on little plays for family at the farm I grew up on in Minnesota. In high school I made short skits and short horror films with my friends. I grew up watching horror films so that was always my go to when creating, I loved it. I always wanted to be that girl running through the woods, half naked, bloody and battered, running from a killer or being the killer!
Where it came to life for me was when I was in my early 20s, trying to figure out what I really wanted in life. I went to college for Horticulture first, and then changed my degree to Criminal Justice. I’ve always been interested in the criminal mind, so I thought I might want to work in that field. While going to college I took a theater class and fell in love with it. I was very shy growing up but really broke out of that when I started to go to college and focused on health and fitness, that’s where I started to gain more confidence in myself.
I was at a local metal concert in Minnesota in 2005. I had a photographer come up to me, gave me his business card, told me he loved my look and wanted to do a photoshoot with me. At the time I thought he was just some creeper because I’ve never had anyone ask me that before. I did have a unique look at the time; it was a metal/goth girl look so I guess he liked that. Like I said, I was going to school for Criminal Justice at the time and doing that kind of thing wasn’t even on my mind. A few months passed and I stumbled upon his business card. I said what the hell and set up a shoot. From that day on I was hooked! I loved being in front of the camera. I did a bunch of modeling over the next few months and just fell in love with the creativeness of it all and I loved to express myself, it was such a freeing feeling.
Soon after that I was browsing the internet and came across a casting call for a short horror film, and they were looking for someone that fit me perfectly. I knew I had to check this out. I met the filmmakers at a local coffee shop; they loved my look and attitude and hired me on the spot! As the saying goes its all history after that. The short film is also where I met my man, Joe Knetter. He played the killer. Joe and I didn’t get together until a few years and a few films later. Joe has played a key role in my life over the years, and I am so grateful for him. We make one hell of a team and have our own production company together along with our good friend Marcel Walz. You just never know where life is going to take you. I guess all the killing and mayhem in my first film kind of sealed the deal for us ha-ha!
Living in Minnesota there are unfortunately not a lot of opportunities in the film/tv world to be able to do what we love and work consistently. Joe and I hated the weather in MN and just felt stuck in our day jobs and knew our true passions were working in film. We’ve both worked in film for many years, we just couldn’t do it as much as we wanted to in MN. So, we said f*ck it and decided to move to LA and take a chance in 2015. If you don’t take chances in life you’ll never know what you could’ve accomplished. It was a huge leap, and we of course missed our family and friends, but we knew we had to make that jump. It was now or never. There have been bumps in the road and it’s been really hard, like anything, but you find ways to make it work and here we are today, living in LA and fully pursuing our dreams. I am so grateful we made that leap. We’ve learned SO much along the way and continue to grow and learn every day.
Sarah, 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?
Hello! My name is Sarah French and I’m an actress based out of Los Angeles, CA. I grew up in a small town in Minnesota. Melrose is a farming city in the middle of Minnesota with a population, at the time I lived there, of about 2,500. We were surrounded by lakes, wildlife, farms, blue-collar hard-working families, and lots and lots of mosquitos! I feel very fortunate to have had grown up in Minnesota. It taught me many core values including work ethic, the value of a dollar, how important relationships are, being friendly and genuine is a good thing but don’t let others walk all over you. I grew up in a single parent household. My mom raised 2 little girls on her own. She taught us the life lessons of hard work and dedication. I also learned about struggle and to appreciate what I have. I wouldn’t change my upbringing for anything, because it’s made me who I am today. I am very strong willed and have always worked hard for what I want in life.
Strong work ethic has led me to where I am today. I started acting in 2006 and have been in over 80 feature films, tv shows, and music videos, including starting a production company in 2022 with my wonderful partners Joe Knetter and Marcel Walz called Neon Noir. I say this and I’ll always say this. When you’re on set, give it your all no matter the size of your role or character. Come prepared, have a smile on your face, show up on time, and don’t forget how lucky you are to be doing this in the first place. If you have a bad attitude, act like you’re better than everyone, are not prepared, etc. you WON’T get work again. You never know on set who is a future director, a future producer, a future anything. This is a big industry, but a small world and kindness and preparedness goes a long way. I don’t have a manager or an agent, I never have. But each job has always led me to the next, and I will never take anything for granted. I treat everyone with respect, and we are all in this together as a team.
I’ve also learned over the years of working in this industry is, if you want something done you have to do it yourself. This is a very hard and competitive industry and its very important to surround yourself with people who are supportive and have similar passions and goals as yourself. People that will help you grow and you can work together as a team to succeed. That is something that is very important to me and that is why Joe, Marcel, and I started our production company together.
With Neon Noir, our goal is to create visually stunning films that are both artistic and commercial. We have a slate of our own films that we are working on to bring to life and are very excited about! Joe, Marcel, and I worked so well together in “BLIND” and “PRETTY BOY” we knew it was time to step it up a notch and create our own company, do our own thing. We are very excited about our first feature film that will be coming out this summer called, “THAT’S A WRAP” and cannot wait to unleash this beast! Its a super fun horror/comedy meta slasher that has to do with the independent film industry starring Monique Parent, myself, Cerina Vincent, and Gigi Guston. We just wrapped our 2nd feature film called, “GARDEN OF EDEN” and are very excited about that one as well. It’s going to provoke a lot of emotions, its deep, its beautiful and gory with plans for a film festival run this fall!
With acting I’m always learning new things, new tricks. I always want to improve with each film I do. I never want to stay the same. Being on set in front of the camera and behind really opened my eyes and it helped me to become better and better each day, with acting and producing. Never stop learning is the key and always find ways you can improve. My plan is to keep elevating with each project I do. When it comes to other projects, I’m very choosy with the roles I take and the projects I work on. It has to feel right and be something I can really sink my teeth into, the project has to be right for me. I’m always trying to push myself and think outside the box. Growing and elevating is something that is very important to me and being choosy with the roles I take on is key.
This is a tough industry, there is no question about it. You have to be mentally prepared and strong because this industry will eat you alive if you are not. You need to stay strong, stay focused, and always keep fighting. That’s why I love playing characters I’ve had the opportunity to bring to life over the years, because in each character, there is always a piece of me that is within that character and I sure as hell can relate to them.
Have you ever had to pivot?
I got into modeling before acting in 2005. My very first photographer told me most models and actresses have stage names they go by. I didn’t know what I was doing at the time and listened to what he told me and so my photographer helped me come up with a stage name, “Scarlet Salem”. I loved the darker sounding name because I’m a big horror girl, so at the time it fit. Soon after modeling I got into acting. I did a bunch of no budget/low budget horror films starting out and just used the name for those. I did a lot of beautiful fine art/fashion/glamour/pinup/costume modeling over the years as well. I also modeled for different metal bands, promoting their t-shirt designs and other merch. I’ve been in numerous magazines promoting myself and different businesses including Girls and Corpses, Art of Horror, Gorezone, Famous Monsters of Filmland, and more. I ran my own scream queen column for a few years called Shock Horror Magazine based out of the UK. Any chance I could be creative whether it was in front of a film camera or a photo camera I wanted to do it. I don’t model much anymore. I stick to film work, which is my true passion.
As time went on, I started to take acting more seriously and felt if I had a stage name like that, it would put me in a box and limit me. So, in 2011 I decided to get rid of Scarlet Salem and go with my real name from that point on. Going with my real name was a game changer for me. It really opened up a lot more opportunities for me and I started working on more genres of films and tv shows. As much as I love horror, I love working on all genres of film. With the right roles, scripts, business plans, etc. the opportunities are endless!
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
Nothing happens overnight. It takes many years of hard work, dedication, and sacrifice to get where you want to be and that goes with anything in life. My goal is to keep learning, growing, and elevating with each project I do. The sky is the limit and there is no limit to what you can accomplish. When I first started working in film, I did a lot of no budget/low budget projects, worked for credit (free) or for really cheap, I just wanted to get my hands on anything and everything to just dive in, learn, and build my resume. I didn’t have family or friends in the industry who could guide me, I was on my own. Luckily over time I was able to meet so many amazing people along the way to help me learn and grow.
With that being said I learned over time that its okay to say “no”. If a project or character isn’t right for you, don’t do it. There are projects I wish I would’ve said no to back in the day, but it is what it is and the way I look at it is, its all has led me to where I am today. Life is a journey, and you have to learn. Nothing is easy and it shouldn’t be. With each experience you learn from it and grow. It took me many years to learn that but that’s okay. If something with a project doesn’t feel right, if its just not right for you or doesn’t help you grow in any way, then don’t do it. I turn down a lot of projects, but the projects have to be right for me and where I want to go with my career. When I turn down the projects, I’m always professional and let people know why its not right for me. Unfortunately, some people won’t understand your personal journey and that’s okay! If others have a problem with that, that’s on them, not you. You do what is right for you.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahfrenchonline/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarahfrenchonline
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/scarlet_salem
Image Credits
Big group red carpet photo by Albert L. Ortega Black and white photo by Maya Kay Photography Group photo with Marcel Walz, Joe Knetter, and I by Steven Shea Photo in actors chair by Steven Shea Photo in white in large red chair by Steven Shea Photo in all black in front of black wall by Steven Shea Space Wars poster by Kern Creative Design Photo holding slate by Joe Knetter