We recently connected with Tate Kenney and have shared our conversation below.
Tate, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?
Earning a living as an actor is a full-time job on top of a full time job. I am constantly working long hours on set, usually on location, while auditioning and submitting myself on lunch; constantly looking for work while I am at work. I am always reading the trades and casting breakdowns to know what’s being cast and what I might be right for/who I know in casting or production to reach out to, all while maintaining my physical health & mental well-being. It is in constant flow, like the tides- and I have learned from being in New York City for 10 years that there are periods of feast and of famine, so to speak, and how to maximize both.
I started out on a visa so everything I did had to be related to acting, which made it difficult to make a livable wage. I taught children acting, I coached, I modeled, did hosting gigs. I was a parts model, mostly my hands, and found my way into doing background work, which eventually led me to standing in, doubling, stunts and principal acting work. It has been thrilling.
I think knowing you have to be necessary to a production is important. We are all one unit trying to accomplish the same goal. Being a hard worker, who has no vanity or ego, and is willing to be both an independent leader and a team player is crucial. You have to be on your game. so that you can let it all go and focus on the task at hand with the team around you. Listening and responding to your other actors, exploring the set/space, getting to know the crew, just being present. You get to the place where you can really do great work when you come to work prepared, and are in it for the shared experience. I have taken a lot of jobs that didn’t pay me what I was worth, or were brutal on me for one reason or another, but they were all valuable to me. I took them for a reason – professionally or personally- and they led to greater opportunities and more experience. I found my way into doubling, which led to stunt work and intimate/nude work, and that was all from being a present, team player as a background actor. PAs, producers, directors, writers and showrunners would notice me or appreciate me, then subsequently upgrade me in some way. All my speaking opportunities from the last year blossomed from that. And I think there’s this real myth among actors that background work isn’t real work but it is the only way I have found work, good work. I have made a livable wage, qualified for health care every year I have been in the union, and encountered numerous opportunity by being on sets, plus the deep personal satisfaction of not having to wait tables anymore.
Tate, 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?
Born in small town Canada, Tate began commercial modeling with FORD as a child and fell in love with acting in children’s theatre. A self-professed bookworm, she fused her artistry with her social activism early on, all the while excelling at competitive cheerleading, dance, and long-distance running. She graduated with an Honors Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Western Ontario before studying at the prestigious Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York City, completing their Two Year Conservatory Program, where she was the recipient of the Vincent D’Onofrio Scholarship Award.
Beginning to work professionally in New York, Tate frequents both the stage and screen. Onstage, she has played Flirt in William Inge’s “The Dark at the Top of the Stairs” (Lee Kasper, dir.), Darlene in Lanford Wilson’s “Balm in Gilead” (Jenna Worsham, dir.) and Marcia in Stephen Adly Guirgis’ “Our Lady of 121st Street” (Kelly O’Donnell, dir.). She was last seen onstage in leading roles in both Unhinged: the 9th annual Women’s Work Short Play Festival presented by New Perspectives Theatre Company and The Future is Female Festival, presented by MultiStages, in honor of Women’s History Month.
Tate’s recent work has been primarily on screen. She played Chloe Jones in Rian Johnson’s series “Poker Face” (Peacock) alongside Joseph Gordon-Levitt (S1 E9 “Escape from Shit Mountain”) and she played a lead walker on “Dead City” (AMC) in their premiere episode (S1 E1) [bottom photo]. She doubled onscreen for Anna/Emma Roberts on “American Horror Story”(FX) season 12, “Delicate”, working with directors Jennifer Lynch, Bradley Buecker, Gwyneth Horder-Payton and Jennifer Lamb in various episodes. In addition to doubling as Anna/Emma Roberts, she performed stunts and intimate/nude work and worked with dogs, cats, birds, goats, snakes, spiders, maggots, SFX, puppeteers and prosthetic make-up.
Tate worked on the new limited mini-series “Dying For Sex” (Disney/FX), starring Michelle Williams, Jenny Slate and Sissy Spacek, based on the hit podcast of the same name, where she doubled, performed stunt and intimate/nude work as Molly/Michelle Williams in addition to two co-star roles, in episodes one and four, portraying the Naked Woman and an Emergency Room Nurse respectively. All episodes of this highly anticipated miniseries drop April 4th on Hulu (US) & Disney+ (Internationally)
She additionally worked on Netflix’s miniseries “Sirens” (LuckyChap) from showrunner Molly Smith Metzler (“Maid”), working alongside Julianne Moore, Kevin Bacon and Milly Alcock in various capacities. She was written into the finale by showrunner Molly Smith Metzler. This mini-series will be released in 2025.
She is currently working on the movie “The Housemaid” (Paul Feig, dir.), starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried, which will be released around Christmas 2025.
Tate has been employed as a teaching artist in both the Young Actors and the Institute program at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. She taught full time during the 2023 WGA/SAG strike.
Tate continues to model occasionally, and has been featured in campaigns for Hint water, Dudley’s restaurant (NYC), The Home Tee, EJ Skalde jewelry, Adobe, Orseund Iris and Urban Outfitters.
Tate is a proud member of SAG-AFTRA and is represented by Dream Maker Talent Management.
She splits her time between New York, Los Angeles and Toronto, though she’s primarily based out of Manhattan, where she resides with her husband. She is a dual Canadian-American citizen.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
I want to be the best at what I do but, I have learned that really means working with the best. I want to work with top talent to challenge my craft, I want to be uplifted by the best crew and artisans working in the industry today. I want to make something that lasts, that means something to somebody else. I have found fulfillment in getting to work with crew members, watching and learning from them and their skills, in tandem with mine; it’s like bottling lightning to get the shot perfect and capture it. I find it incredible every time, the amount of work that goes on behind the scenes to make it work, to get the shot.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
I had a tremendous amount of difficulty moving successfully through the visa/immigration system as an artist. Because of restrictions in 2016/7, after working for months to land my “big break”/breakthrough lead role, there was no legal pathway for me and I had to leave the country, forgo the role and abandon the life/career I had built for myself. It was devastating to work so hard for so long and finally get my chance to showcase my skills, only to have it taken away from me through no fault of my own. When I returned to the United States after a couple years of healing and resetting, I started with no agent or manager, and doing non union background work, right at the bottom, square one.
But this only
motivated me. Like a shark, once I had tasted blood (ie good work/worthwhile opportunity), I knew I was worthy of it and was validated to continue seeking it. That kept me hungry to return to acting and sets, in whatever capacity. I was reminded that I love the work, and deeply value every single opportunity I have ever given because of it. It made me appreciate every “win” so much more.
It also made me political. I stay abreast of the latest goings-on in the world, I attend rallies and marches, sometimes even speak at them. I am vocal about my own experience and am far more engaged in my community as an immigrant than I was before. I also became a citizen so I could protect myself, and not having anything taken from me in that way again. I stay politically active in my spare time in hopes it doesn’t have to devastate anybody else’s life and career like it did mine.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.tatekenney.com
- Instagram: @tatekenney
- Twitter: @tatekenney
Image Credits
Headshot David Noles