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

Hi Sheena Leigh, thanks for joining us today. Was there an experience or lesson you learned at a previous job that’s benefited your career afterwards?

One of the most important lessons I have learned at a prior job was that not only do you actually learn the most from your failures, but how you respond to your shortcomings can actually get you much further than never having made the mistake at all. I learned to get curious. I asked questions. I was lucky to have a boss who told me on my first day that no question was a dumb question and to be humble enough to know there was always more to learn. I made mistakes and I owned them and that led me to promotions, pay increases, and above all, being trusted.

Sheena Leigh, 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?

I am an actor and a horse girl. Both my love for acting and horses began when I was very young and shy. My cousins and I all had coveted Bryer Horses and we’d create our own world of stories in our garages or backyards. When we were a bit older, my cousins got to begin taking riding lessons and I would tag along and watch. We’d attend the Cowlitz County Rodeo every year, screaming from the rails, “Wrangler butts drive us nuts!” long before I understood what that phrase implied lol. Because equestrian sports are so expensive, and my parents were in no position to fork out that kind of dough, I learned to wait patiently on the sidelines for a chance to go on a trail ride or get a lesson from my aunt in the arena. In the meantime, I joined Drama Club. I was cast as Dorothy in the play Teens in Tinseltown, a story of Dorothy (Yes the same Dorothy from Kansas) traveling to Hollywood to make it in showbiz. I fell in love with the thrill of being on stage and in the moment. I participated in all the school and community plays, and once I graduated I moved to Southern California where I went to Chapman University to get my BA in Performance. After University I was accepted into South Coast Repertory Theatre’s Professional Acting Program and not long after that I was living and working full time in Los Angeles. I had moved to the Burbank Rancho and realized I was in the heart of a horse haven. I had to get into horses. This was about the time that HBO’s Westworld was wild popular and I was obsessed with being in a western. After attending several weeks of riding lessons, I was finally introduced to the owner of the horse I had been working with. And he happened to be one of the main Wranglers on Westworld. Before I knew it I was riding on set. It is such a testament to go after your wildest hopes, because I started off not in a financial position to ride horses and in the end I am now getting paid to do what I love.

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

A lesson I have had to unlearn is that if you are nice and polite and dedicated and wait your turn, things will work out. That is just not how it works. I had been struggling to find the balance between confidence and conceit, because I sure didn’t want to come off as arrogant. However, being polite and proper wasn’t getting me too far, in fact, it wasn’t getting me anywhere. I even had opportunities pass me by because I didn’t want to come across as someone who was just trying to get ahead. One of these particular opportunities that comes to mind was when I was on set working with a known director who’d overheard I also worked with horses. He came over and struck up a conversation about a movie he’d done recently and asked my opinion on the horse scenes. It was his first time doing anything horse related and he said that he’d love to get more involved with westerns. I admitted I hadn’t seen it yet but that I knew and frequently worked with a few of the wranglers he’d used. Towards the end of the day, he mentioned I should get in contact with him after I had watched his film. I didn’t even try to get his contact info. I didn’t want to come off as “that girl” trying to get the director’s info. I didn’t want to come off as “inappropriate”. Even though it was not in the least that energy. I think about that from time to time. Where would I be if I were a bit more bold? It’s something I am working on.

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

I think for me the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the ability to really tap into the sensation of emotion. Being able to sit in the uncomfortable rawness of feelings to understand nuance is pretty astounding. And then to be able to bring it all together to create a character, to create that character’s emotion in a riveting way, that’s art. Thinking about the strike and our battle with A.I., What’s so special about watching A.I.? So what? I am more interested in a human who’s open and raw. I can connect with that. That’s real. That’s being private in public, and you can feel it through the lens of the camera. The human condition is layered and complex. Being an actor is a daily retrospective of myself in which I am continuously getting to peel back layers and dive deeper. The bonus reward of being an artist is that I get to be so many things at once. Growing up I felt overwhelmed by the idea that we had to choose just one thing to be when we grew up. I couldn’t decide! Some days I wanted to be a Veterinarian, others a meteorologist. As an actor I am afforded many ample experiences.

Contact Info:

• Website: sheenaleighgraves.com
• Instagram: @_thecowboyqueen

Image Credits
Lauren Hurt Ella Hovsepian